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Alpacas 101 - October 2008 Edition

Jeremy instructs participants in alpaca training and handling techniques

A alpaca enthusiast takes Napster for a walk

Brady gives our guests some practice with a reluctant alpaca

"Alpacas 101" went beautifully yesterday. The weather was great, and we had a wonderful group of people attend the class. We had one relatively new suri breeder from Mississippi and six other people at various stages in their research of the alpaca business. The group really loved the outdoor, hands-on portion of the class. They learned about trimming alpacas' toenails, as well as haltering and leading.

I had a terrible case of the "um"s yesterday. Those poor people. I must have uttered "um..." at least twice a minute. Annoying. I am haunted by visions of my high school speech teacher giving me a bad grade, and buzzing me with her buzzer named Beula all day. (She used to "buzz" us everytime we uttered "deadwood" words/sounds.) Now that I think of it, I should look her up and ask her to come to my next class...that would cure me. I was off my game a little, no surprise as I was distracted by some real estate rumblings, but more on that later.

The Alpaca 101 participants were quite forgiving of my foibles and a great time was had by all. We talked about fiber more at this class than at any Alpacas 101 class I can remember. Fitting that our next class will be a fiber class entitled, "Basics of Alpaca Fiber & Smart Skirting for Great Rewards". It will be geared to beginning to intermediate breeders and will take place at our farm in January 2009.

NY Alpaca Farmers

Check out this article about Alpaca Breeders in New York. Nice article. Props to the Poughkeepsie Journal.

We'll miss that big puppy!

Scamp 4 weeks
7 weeks
8 months old

I love livestock guard dogs! Love them. Guess that's why we have 6. After today we'll have only 5 because "Scamp" is going to his new home today at Serenity Farms. Look at how he has grown.

Scamp's new owner, Rochelle, also welcomed female alpacas Ivy By Knight, and Windy Cindy into her herd today. Both girls are blue ribbon winners. What can we say? Rochelle has good taste. We'll miss them all but are so glad they are going to such a great home.

BUSY getting ready for Alpacas 101 tomorrow.

Weekly Web Finds

Here are some interesting things I've found on the web this week:

• This family is living off the grid. They're moving to a farm with no electricity, no TV (I would die!), etc. All I can say is "WOW!"
  
• I think this is my favorite. Check out this post from Rooster Hill Farm on the AI Guy. This is about the guy who goes around artificially inseminating cows. You HAVE to see his car! One day there will be an AI guy for alpacas, but maybe not in my lifetime.
  
• American Farmland Trust: Saving the Land that Sustains Us. Website for your activist side.

Two social networking sites:

• Farmers for the Future
• Alpaca Social

Roscoe helps with the Laundry

Wordless Wednesdays

Just a Little Protein

Why do bugs keep flying in my mouth?

Only recently have I had this problem. Twice in the last month, bugs have flown in my mouth while I have been entertaining visitors to the alpaca farm. Most recently, I was with a friend, and the bug was big. So I just swiped my hand through my mouth, removed the bug, and said, "Yuck! A bug was in my mouth." Gross, but I survived.

The first time, however, was a different story. Picture it: National Alpaca Farm Day. Open House. People milling around, learning about alpacas. Me, floating around, talking with people, sharing the joy of alpacas. la, la, la. Then I see a couple who have visited me before. This time they have brought other family members. They are really interested in the alpaca business. As I chat with them, intelligently discussing the unique and divine benefits of being an alpaca farmer - a bug flies into my mouth. Make that throat. I am stunned. I want to choke. It's wings are tickling my throat. My throat is dry and I cannot quite swallow it. But it's too far back to spit it out. I smile, and continue to converse with the lovely visitors, as though there is not an insect fluttering around in my throat trying to escape.

Finally, I clear my throat a couple of times, and...swallow. My visitors are none the wiser. I wonder how I became this person. And I like to think Jeff Probst would be proud.