A Day of Beauty

So yesterday we had what we like to call our  "Day of Beauty" in the barn. The alpacas probably think of it as the "Day of Terror," right up there with shearing day and shots day. The "Day of Beauty" is the day we do topknots and toenails and then weigh them before winter sets in and they're full fleece. Its hard to tell in February if your alpaca has lost weight. Their fleece really can be deceiving and if you have a female who's making a baby and nursing one as well, then the weight loss can be dangerous. As for the topknots some of them get to looking alittle sloppy and some just plain get in the way. Two of our boys, Skye and Concord, are nearly blinded by the fleece just flopping over their eyes. Poor boys. You can walk right up to them and they act so surprised when they finally realize it's you and not another alpaca!! Aren't they just fun? The last thing is the clipping of the toenails. In case you didn't know, alpacas have 2 toenails on each foot. They curve just alittle. If they get too long they curve too much. Have you ever seen one of those women who have fingernails that are many inches long and they curve alot? Its sort of like that! Of course we don't let it get that bad. Even when it's just alittle long it gets uncomfortable for them to walk. We had a successful day until it came to my crankee yankee Mikey. He just plain doesn't want to be bothered so we didn't bother him! His topknot is actually good and his toenails are good. Probably from running from us or running after Concord!

Come on over and chat!

We often have visitors to our farm. Either to see our alpacas, the 400 grapevines(yes, for winemaking), or our house(the author of Peyton Place, Grace Metallious, used to live here). I remember when we were first thinking about starting our alpaca business and we visited alot of farms. On our first couple of visits we didn't know what to do. Should we just go up to the barn? Should we knock on their front door? It was usually so quiet that we even wondered if anyone was home! Then, when we finally ventured out of our car, someone would just appear from their barn or their house and act like this was perfectly normal. Usually if a stranger pulls up in your driveway you pull the chainlock across, or encourage the dog to bark, or you pretend you're not home. At a farm though, its different. I've learned that people who run farms are used to people just stopping by and some, like us, encourage it. It's always a good idea to call first, but sometimes you might just happen to run across an interesting looking farm or animal (alpacas anyone?), and you just have to stop. It's usually okay with the owner as they/we love to talk about how wonderful their animals or crops are. So, if you've ever wanted to see an alpaca, or check out our grapevines, or locate the "Peyton Place house", stop by, we'd love to chat!

Visit

Conversations?

You know how you're having a 'conversation' with someone and as soon as you open your mouth to speak they talk right over you? It's one of my pet peeves. I confess that I have been guilty of it too. However, when I go up to my barn, we all take turns. The goats are always the first to say 'hi', and when they're finished I say 'hi' back, usually in the form of 'baaaaaaaahhh.' We take turns. Hmmmmmm. Thats my alpacas saying 'hi.' To them I use their names and I watch their ears perk up. My ducks think I'm the most wonderful person in the world. Thats because I feed them. Anyway, we all get along because we take turns. Just my thought today. I'm off to the Big E today to volunteer.