Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Alpacas--Can I have one?
During my mother-in-law's visit, we decided to take a morning to see our local Alpaca farm--Americana Alpacas. I have been thinking about visiting this farm for a while and was happy to finally be able to drive the short distance to see these adorable little animals!To visit you need to make an appointment. I set up one and was greeted by Paul Roberts. He and his wife Robin own the farm with the 61 alpacas--expanding daily as many of the alpacas were ready to have babies or crias. Apparently in Texas, where the weather is so hot, the breeding season is timed a bit differently, so the crias will arrive when it isn't 90 plus degrees. Paul was incredibly informative and a wonderful host. We spent an hour with him, walking in the pens, watching him feed the animals, petting the animals, learning about alpacas and their fleece, and asking tons of questions. Here's Paul feeding his lovely animals:
All of the animals have names and are well loved. I know alpacas can spit, but these animalsare not aggressive at all, but seem sweet natured and gentle.
The alpacas are mny colored--grey, chocolate, white, paint, and more.
Here's a grey fuzz!
and a cute white alpaca who has a pure white fleece when washed:
and a goofy brown girl:
The crias were just too cute. This little girl is a few months old:
She was very intrigued with my daughter, nibbling on her feet and smelling her.
And here is the new baby--just a week old:
The alpacas were just amazing and silly animals. Here's a great picture:
Americana Alpaca sells lots of knitted items and yarns on line, but they had everything in a little store on the site. I was able to touch all of the lovely things, see their potential new made goods, and of course pick up some yarn to knit.... Robin is skeining it for me, so I don't have it yet, but it is a lovely lace weight purple alpaca. And, Anna wanted to have her own alpaca--her paca--to take home:
If you are near central Texas, please make an appointment to visit! The alpacas are not to be missed!
