We recently heard about a local alpaca farm having an open house and as soon as I knew we could visit with them I had to go. I’ve always thought they were such interesting creatures and have been fascinated by them. Eric used to work with a guy that owned alpacas and would breed them. Let me tell you, apparently there is big money when it comes to alpacas.
You know I had to get the family on board with taking a visiting and seeing what it was all about. I love exploring new things with my little guys and seeing their excitement. We’ve been to tonsss of petting zoos and local places that have animals, but it’s not every day you get to hang out with a herd of alpacas.
It ended up being a beautiful day and the weather was just perfect. I love when days are like that. Lately it’s been so gloomy here that I’m looking back on this sunny day and hoping for many more.
Not knowing what to expect we all had our ideas of how the afternoon would go. Little nugget asked if we would be able to ride them and A was already talking about wanting one as a pet. He seems to want a new pet every week now. When we walked up the farm there was a woman spinning the alpaca wool into yarn. We loved hearing more about the different colors, textures, and a little more of the process before we went around back to see the alpacas.
The boys were beyond excited and of course wanted to touch everythingggg in sight as we walked through the barn. When we got to the back we saw two different areas where they kept the alpacas. The males were separate from the females and they only let them commingle during certain times (if you know what I mean 😉
We were greeted by these curious creatures with their big eyes and distinguished jawlines. They all brought a smile to our face in each of their unique way. We learned they are part of the camel family and in fact do spit like a camel does. Let me just say, we witnessed this first hand. It was actually really funny to see, and to hear. All the sudden one would start hocking something up and before we knew it they were just spitting away. Thankfully we all ducked out of the line of fire and they spewed their saliva on each other instead. Well, wouldn’t you know the boys thought it was just the funnest thing to see (of course they did).
We all got to feed them, pet them, and hang out with them for as long as we liked. The owner was in there with us and another mother and her daughter joined us as well. My boys somehow managed to find a worn in the alpaca pasture that fascinated them for a bit while Eric and I talked with owner and asked a bunch of questions about how you farm them. You all know us, our wheels are always spinning. After finding out that you have to strap them down to file their nails often, keep certain ones separated at times, and sheer them like a sheep, I think it’s safe to say we won’t be in the alpaca market any time soon.
After we snapped a bunch of pictures with the boys the woman who was there with her daughter offered to take a picture of all of us. I knew this was going to be interesting when she commented that my camera was heavy (it’s really not but it’s certainly not a sleek cell phone). In a rare case scenario we all looked towards her, even the alpaca, and smiled. It would have been a great family picture until I was looking through them later on and realized she cut Eric’s head off! I’m not holding any judgements because most people don’t feel comfortable or know how to work a “big” camera, but poor Eric. We were cracking up. Of course the other ones his head actually made it into the frame everyone’s over it and not paying attention. What I’ve learned when a stranger offers to take a picture for us is to just go with the flow. Whatever we end up getting we make it work. You can’t blame someone for trying.
We finished up with our alpaca friends and made our way back through the barn and towards the car. One of the owners was talking to us about the baby and mentioned their cousin’s daughter was born with a cleft lip as well. They were so sweet and gave us such kind words of encouragement and invited us to come back for their next open house. We mentioned the baby might even have his surgery by then so we’d love to come back and visit. We found the boys out front glued to the nice lady spinning wool and mesmerized by the process. They seriously would have sat out there with her all day if they could. We even joked that we’d be back in a few hours to pick them up.
Afterwards we stopped off for lunch and the rest of the day was filled with alpaca talk and reminiscing of our memories. The next day the boys seemed to have extra energy and were just all around ornery. I was trying to get some laundry done (because it seriously never ends) when one thing led to another and next thing I know I hear a bunch of spitting going on. I ran out of the room to find out what was going on and sure enough I see my two big boys tackling each other and spitting on each other. I didn’t want to lose my cool but I can’t say my voice was all kinds of calm and mellow. When I confronted them about it, they just looked at me and said, what? I said, why in the world are you spitting at each other??? That’s gross!! With a smart little reply they informed me, well if the alpacas do it why can’t we?
Prayers everyone. I need them all. Life is never dull with a house full of alpaca spitting boys. I am glad to report that after a few days of the alpaca visit and the excitement wore off there have been no more incidents of spitting taking place. At least not for now.
