And Away We Go!!!

While working in the pen last week, Bob inadverdently left a gate slightly ajar. It is not common for the alpacas to leave their hay, but it was about the time for them to cross over and take a roll in Kaboom's dusty shed. Alameda in her excitement headed the wrong way.....out between the house and barn with Irish Rose, Princess Nomian, Sooleana and Kimi on her heels!!! All it took was one loud "Hey!" to send them galloping down the main road and out of sight.

John was standing by the doorway as his father rushed past him. I opened the entry gate wide and coaxed him to move over to the other side of the barn. His steps were like a frozen robot. His grip on my arm and the look in his eyes signaled panic.

Matt, our manager and John's second oldest brother, happened to be at the farm that afternoon. He walked quickly to the rescue. Grabbing some grain, I joined the pursuit.

Suddenly, the top of Matt's head appeared. All five alpacas passed him running right at me!!!! They needed no urging. They passed me in the driveway, entered the barn and went straight to the entry gate and into their pen. Not even the Tourette Syndrome outbursts from the other side of the barn could deter them from their destination.

Just a soft "Come on" had prompted the about-face, Matt later recounted.

Fiber and the Spin of the Wheel

Fiber preparation is a new venture for Alpaca Shack. We have bags of raw fiber that were shorn from our animals last May. We store it in our cedar hope chest and during the winter afternoons, we begin the preparation of this beautiful fleece.

John and I each have a container: his fleece is separated for spinning, while I put other clean, crimped locks aside to either sell as raw fiber, or to give to the buyer of the alpaca to whom it belongs.

Last week I took a spinning course in an attempt to learn more about working with this precious commodity. John was immediately intrigued with the rented spinning wheel. Beginners spinners are advised to start with sheep's wool which is not as fine or slippery as the alpaca. There is no oil in alpaca fleece and the length of the fiber (the staple) is shorter-a more difficult spin. Even with sheep's wool, it takes much practice.

The afternoons fly by as we alternate between sorting and spinning. I am amazed how much John enjoys filling his bags with the wispy tufts of alpaca. And I know it won't be long before he will ask to have a try at those enticing pedals!