2008 December

A Glorious Christmas for Georgia Alpaca Breeders

December 31, 2008 By Katy

This guest post was written by Caroline Mixon of Carodel Alpacas.

Twas the glorious day of Christmas 2008
Being up very early was the Carodel Dona.
The guests slowly left; only after they ate
but the greatest gift this day, a cria for Dona!

Yes you guessed it, we had our first Christmas present; a Christmas morning cria this year and she is magnificent. The morning was glorious. This is quite an experience that I wish I could really describe. Only hours before, at 2 AM, returning from the holy smoke and incense of our ushering in the Christmas season, I noticed a dam in deep contemplation, standing very quietly, while all others were helping her keep guard. Babies had no clue for they were sound asleep under the twinkly lights on their barn roof.

Went into our house and had shallow slumber to awaken at 6 AM to check the girls. Sitting down, now quite narrower and pulled up. No fuzzy one yet. Then as the sun came up and the cooking was not done; guest to arrive at 10:21. To my expectation, she went into Stage II; I called Penny, her owner, said, “It is time”.

And do you know that she was here in record time? The head appeared, then two legs, twist and turn from the Dona, and she was on the ground; “Coeur of Coup”. Penny saw it all!! What a Christmas present for her!

Another miracle was that my 86 year old mother, who has moved to Georgia, and is not very ambulatory, found her sweater and her way out to the pasture to witness this birth. Now friends, that is full circle; a beginning and a near ending of life.

Take time to ponder your moments for they are so fleeting.
~Caroline

Donna and Cria - Photo by Caroline Mixon

Filed Under: Alpacas, The Alpaca Lifestyle ~ 2 Comments

Alpaca Syndrome

December 30, 2008 By Katy

watercolorecria
It starts with not being able to sleep…

or, in my case, early morning awakening.

You know that feeling when you are so excited about what’s going to happen the next day that sleep evades you? Like when you were a kid and you were going to Disney World the next day?

That’s what Alpaca Syndrome feels like. You find yourself constantly thinking about alpacas. You dream about the color your cria will be. You fantasize about the incredible males to breed to your females. You wake up out of a deep sleep to run to Alpaca Nation to put a package of alpacas together that you know will be irresistible to Buyers. Your show schedule is constantly on your mind. So much so that you forget to book a hotel for the show and wind up having to drive 75 minutes back and forth to the show because the only hotel you could get was two towns over. (or maybe that’s just me.)

Your mind continuously whirs and hums with alpaca plans, crunching numbers, breeding plans, and adored cria. You pester friends and colleagues from your day job with alpaca pictures until they want to throw up – or get their own alpaca farm.

When my husband looks over at my side of the bed at 4:37 am and I’m not there…he knows I have succumbed to Alpaca Syndrome. He will find me at the computer or on the couch tweeking next year’s breeding plan. Because when you are this excited you just can’t sleep!

I first began researching alpacas after my oldest child received the charming book, Llama in Pajamasin 1998. I have been obsessed with alpacas for 10 years. I’m not sure how each day with them is as full of wonder and promise as the last, but it is.

Tell me. What keeps you up at night?

Filed Under: Alpacas, The Alpaca Lifestyle ~ 3 Comments

Annual Alpaca Walk for New Year’s Eve

December 30, 2008 By Katy

Every year, Florida Alpaca Breeders walk their alpacas on New Year’s Eve in downtown Lake Placid, FL. They also plan to have alpacas in team jerseys appear at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, and the Orange Bowl in Miami. Read the story here.

Love this publicity for alpacas. And I am so glad that it is them and not me doing it. I can tell you from experience – it is more difficult to get alpacas’ feet in a shirt than it is to dress a wiggly 3 year old.

My family will be glad to know that someone else has taken this torch and I can be left to hopefully vegetate and maybe play a game with them this New Year’s Eve. The Artist has long feared that I would put jerseys on our alpacas. I have already named several after football players. BTW, how wrong was it that I told them that my Colt McCoy alpaca was cuter than their Tim Tebow alpaca? I know I’ve lost my mind, but it’s been a rough couple of weeks.