Seldom Scene Farm

Art on the Farm, Dec. 10th and 11th!

2011-11-30T16:24:00.001-08:00

In past years, we've had holiday open houses in our farm shop, but we're really excited this year to offer Art on the Farm! We'll have several exciting artists offering their creations, from woodcarvings and paintings to handspun yarn and handmade ornaments, and from luminaries to handmade soaps. On top of all of that, we'll have luscious alpaca products such as the ever-popular socks, scarves, blankets and silky alpaca fur teddy bears. Next week, I'll be featuring some of the artists and their lovely works on the blog :)

We're far away from traffic and mall crowds, but you may want to make a day of it by visiting nearby Woodford Reserve Distillery or having lunch at the new Bootlegger's Run Restaurant in Millville. We are located in the northern part of Woodford County, just 15 minutes from Versailles and Frankfort, and 30 minutes from New Circle Rd. in Lexington.

If you saw our listing in the Lexington Herald-Leader events section, please be aware that the map on there isn't exactly correct- we'll have signs up, and you'll need to come to the END of Watts Ferry Rd (for those that have GPS, it's 3605 Watts Ferry Rd., Frankfort, KY). We'll have heat and refreshments in the barn, and you'll be able to see our newest baby alpacas!!!! Admission is free.If you need additional information, don't hesitate to call Lindy at 859-873-1622.

If you are interested in purchasing alpacas, please let me know ahead of time and I'll send you a current sales list and arrange to show you the alpacas you desire. Prices start at just $1,200 and up for females!

AOBA Nationals 2011

2011-05-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo

We had a great time and sales success at Nationals in Denver! El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo sold for the hefty price of $120,000 (you'll be hearing more about the buyer), and Happy Hour will be heading to Chimera Ranch in Colorado!

Competitors in costume class, aren't they darling?

It was great to see old friends from around the country, to check out the vendors, and then to celebrate our sale with a big group of people at a neat Brazilian restaurant on Friday night. As fun as it was to make the trip to Denver, we are VERY excited with the announcement that Nationals will be back in Louisville, Kentucky next May!!!

The Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival was very enjoyable, though sales and traffic were a tad slow for many of us. Most of the vendors were grumbling that the crowds were thin, though people did seem to flock to the livestock tent this year! I had a great time on Sunday, and probably spent more than I made at the incredible booths of high quality fiber, buttons, pottery, yarn and more. Thanks to the organizers, it was bigger and better than last year but as is the case with so many endeavors the marketing budget needs to increase with the event.

We were blessed with a gorgeous, healthy black FEMALE cria today by Michelangelo! I am thrilled, as I'm hoping to maintain some of his daughters in our breeding program and this looks like a dandy.

After an incredibly busy week, I was really happy for a quiet day in the studio yesterday, you can check out my most recent felt creations on the other blog here.

Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival and AOBA Nationals

2011-05-16T04:16:00.000-07:00

It's a big week around here for those that love natural fibers and handmade items, it's the 2nd annual Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival! To see some of the things I've been making, you can check out our other blog (click to go there). Seldom Scene will be sharing a booth with Alpacas at Booker's Corner in the vendor tent (we're not taking animals this year), and I'll be there on Sunday.

Also, don't forget this week is the AOBA National Show and AUCTION! We'll be selling the legendary El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo (Lot 7) as well as SSF Happy Hour, our beautiful black champion daughter of Snowmass Nova's Private Reserve who is bred to Michelangelo!

Can't wait to see our friends, either in Denver at the auction or in Lexington at the Fiber Festival!

Spring Shearing

2011-04-28T06:47:00.001-07:00

One of the tasks that I used to dread but now not so much is shearing all of these fleecy critters! Our shearing days have really evolved... from me HAND shearing most of our alpacas and llamas, to using a shearing table with a professional shearer, to having a pro but still having to do a LOT of the physical restraint ourselves, to now.

For the last 4-5 years we have used a team of shearers from Ohio that come in for the day and pretty much do it ALL. My old bones are very appreciative! It's still an exhausting and long day of keeping the animals moved around, giving worming injections, scooping up the fleece and bagging it, and sweeping up the trimmings, but not as bad as before!

We have been inviting our clients with just a few animals to bring them here for shearing (and they all pitch in, too, which is appreciated!) and this year's total for llamas and alpacas (both ours and clients) was 80..... plus two sheep. Much better than the 120 or so we did in a day a few years ago! We're having good luck with getting our herd numbers down a bit, and I can feel the difference on shearing day.

The alpacas are always relieved to have it over with, too, and they are much better prepared for hot weather now!

Stay tuned for new cria photos coming soon!

El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo- FOR SALE!

2011-04-25T06:12:00.001-07:00

Click HERE to watch the video!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted here, spring is just such a whirlwind on the farm! That being said, we have a few nice crias on the ground, shearing is behind us, and we're STILL waiting on lambs and more crias to be born.

Our big news this spring is that we're offering our elite stud, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, in the AOBA National Auction in Denver on May 20th! It was a tough decision, but our three partners and I all feel that Michelangelo has made a supreme impact on our herds but he's still in his prime at only 7 and 1/2 years old and he can benefit other farms now! For a while, I'll be feauturing Michelangelo here on the blog as there is just so much to say about him! (And, I'd love to tell you about the sons we've retained in our breeding program as well!)

For now, enjoy the video which features Michelangelo and many of his winning offspring!

Late Winter Hiking

2011-02-23T05:33:00.000-08:00

We had a great llama trek last week with Gayle and Emily from Louisville. A lot of people don't think about hiking in the winter, but it's actually a GREAT time to be outside! The temps can be so pleasant with a few light layers to take on and off, and you can SEE so much more without foliage on the trees. There are no insects, and it feels extra nice to be outside!

Emily and Gayle helped us move some alpacas to a new pasture. Cherry Bomb, our 2010 bottle cria, enjoyed checking out Emily!

The Kentucky River is just beautiful right now, it's the prettiest shade of green and is very clear. Let us know if you'd like to schedule a llama trek- we only need a day's notice most of the time! The first show of the season is Southern Select on March 4th and 5th, our first spring alpaca crias are arriving at the end of March..... and then on to shearing in April

Spinning my Wheel!

2011-01-31T07:29:00.001-08:00

I recently had a great opportunity to visit with friends in NE Ohio for a little fiber retreat (more here). Although I have recently been more in the mood for felting, that quickly changed as I was introduced to carding art batts and spinning art yarns at the retreat.

My friends Donna and Robbie have The Alpaca Fiber Studio in Chagrin Falls, where they create incredible yarns, dyed fibers, and felted products, as well as teaching classes in spinning. They are great teachers and got me excited about using my carder to produce colorful and unique batts for spinning and felting.

The coolest yarn I've ever produced was this skein of coiled yarn. It was tedious to spin, but using multicolored roving made it more fun as the combinations changed each time I added a coil. I just keep looking at it and thinking of the possibilities for using this in felt or as trim on knitted works. The thing I loved best about spinning art yarns? NO RULES, no "you're supposed to do it this way." That's my style.... and if I can do it, so can YOU!

Mikey's Back!

2011-01-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

... the gorgeous El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, that is. We've owned him with two other farms since 2005 (purchased as a yearling at the Parade of Champions Auction), and he moves around for breeding throughout the year between Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. It's been a wonderful and amiable partnership with great communication and mutual respect amongst the three farms, I'm happy to say! Larry Johnson of Likada Farm and Paul Kezdi of North Coast Alpacas are wonderful partners.

Besides holding a beautiful fleece with record-breaking density, softness and enduring fineness and siring champions in every color group coveted by farms across the country, Michelangelo has about the best disposition of ANY alpaca I've ever known!

Last weekend we met Paul for the handoff in the back of the parking lot of Kenwood Mall in Cincinnati. I was frustrated that I had forgotten to bring a halter when Paul got him off his trailer without one. He said, "don't worry, I never use a halter with him." Yes, I've gotten him out of our pasture just by putting my arm around his neck and have led him that way to the female barn for breeding, but I was a little nervous about having him in a busy parking lot. My concern didn't last long, as he stood quietly while I hugged him.

Some passers-by stopped and asked to see him up close- we stepped back and let them hold on to Michelangelo while they got their photos taken! The woman was from Argentina and quite familiar with alpaca products, but she had never touched an alpaca before and she was thrilled!

Mike jumped willingly into the back of my Suburban for the ride home and laid down instantly, familiar with this semi- annual ritual. A security guard walked over and remarked that this was a new sight for him after several years of watching over the lot!

As we approached the farm, Michelangelo began humming and it was obvious that he knew where he was once again. He got out of the car willingly and pranced into the barn, looking for girls! He'll be with us through May, and is available for breedings at a new 2011 fee of $3,500.

Alpaca Art at Addies

2010-12-10T04:55:00.000-08:00

I've had several nice opportunities to sell my alpaca products lately, but wanted to give a bit more detail about what we're up to tomorrow, Saturday, December 11th. It's a busy time and I know that lots of you have wanted to shop with us but other chances didn't work out for you. We had considered having a small barn open house, but thought it might be more convenient if we set up on the deck at nearby Addie's Creekside Cafe in Millville from 11-2 (rain or shine, it should be dry enough and people can go inside to get warm or purchase lunch, a hot chocolate or coffee). A lot of people have been asking me what I'm bringing, prices, etc., so here's the plan!I've got several colorful felted birdhouses ready to go. Most are $22 and a few larger ones are $30 or $35. I'm getting a great response to these and have sold quite a few already (also have some pre-orders I plan to ship next week) and am making them as fast as I can to supply my own needs as well as the galleries where I sell.

I have a pretty limited supply of alpaca socks. I've only got about 10 pairs and they're a variety of women's or up to size 10 men's sizes, all are $20 each. I can order more on request and have them by the end of next week if you let me know.Alpaca felted soaps are a popular, unique gift item, and I've got several in Christmas colors and other pretty shades. They are $8, and if you'd like to order a quantity of 5 or more I can take $1 off and have them for you next week!

There will be some alpaca hats ($20-$25), scarves ($30 for commercial, $60 for handmade nuno-felted silk and alpaca), and I'm putting special pricing on our entire inventory of alpaca sweaters ($40-$100). I didn't go to Peru this fall, so I won't have the cute ornaments or some of the other items that I brought back with me last year.Handmade silk and alpaca scarf

I have some handspun, hand-dyed yarn but will also be offering some special "stash" alpaca yarn for $3-4 per skein.

Making jewelry (seen at top) has been a fun new endeavor for me this year and it's been well-received so far! Some of the jewelry incorporates felted alpaca beads but I also use swarovski crystal, sterling silver, lots of copper, roman glass, etc. Prices on jewelry ranges from $8-$20 for earrings, $30-$40 for bracelets, and $15 to $60 for necklaces.

If you plan to eat lunch at Addies, you may want to consider making a reservation at 873-0273.

So, that's the general scoop, though there are probably some things I've left out! If this goes well, I may do it again next Saturday so please do let me know if you are interested. We're open at the farm by appointment, and I can ship in time for Christmas if it's by next week (and I have time to make!!!) Thanks for all of your support and encouragement of our products, the handmade items in particular.

Art in the Barn!

2010-11-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

I've been on a creative roll (when I can find time!), partly getting ready for my friend's upcoming event this weekend, Art in the Barn, at Alpacas at Booker's Corner in Paris, KY and partly just the holiday rush in general. You can see some of the things I've been busy making on my other blog.A friend suggested that I might attempt to make felted bird houses, so today I finally had a go at it. What a fun project! I was pretty pleased with how my first attempts turned out.
I'm learning more and more that using the correct type of fiber for the project makes a big difference. I wanted to use a fiber that would shrink considerably into a thick and water-repellent fabric, so I chose C-1 wool (a pretty generic and somewhat coarse fiber) from New England Felting Supply. I also used some softer wool roving from my friend Dianne for the inside of one of the houses, and will probably try some alpaca along with the C-1 wool next.
These are $22 each, and I hope to have some more made in other sizes by the weekend (They are about 6-7 inches tall by about 5 inches wide). I am experimenting with the best way to hang them, and will probably felt a hanging cord onto the next ones. If you are interested in purchase, drop me a line and we can arrange payment by PayPal or credit card.

On another note, I've had people asking about our cria Forrest Gump (who couldn't stand at birth and walked with a big limp for a while). He's doing GREAT and I plan to put a video up of him later in the week.... and by the way we are thinking of naming his buddy Bubba!

Going home...

2010-11-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

BJ in 2002

The matriarch and oldest member of our herd, 3Peruvian Betty Jane, passed on to greener pastures last night. She had been with us longer than any other animal on the farm, since we purchased her at the 2000 "Sale of the Century", the first private alpaca sale ever held (it was a glitzy affair, held at a hotel/casino in Atlantic City, sponsored by WoodsEdge Wools Farm).

Betty Jane was a unique "harlequin" grey with stunning coverage, fineness, and a special presence and dignity about her. She appeared almost fawn when her fleece was grown out, but was a solid silver underneath with spots only on her face. She was our most expensive purchase to date, and we were very excited to add her to our then-growing herd. (We also purchased 5Peruvian Aymara in that auction, she's our second-oldest girl and one of our most outstanding producers).

BJ and her multi-champion son, SSF Peruvian Seabiscuit

Betty Jane never gave us the unusual greys we coveted, though we did have several nice crias from her before infertility issues turned her into a non-breeder. We didn't mind keeping her around, as she was a good sentry and herd leader (sometimes too smart for her own good), and her fleece stayed fine and soft with a very low CV throughout her lifetime.

Like most direct imports, she never came to fully trust humans but instead of being nasty, she mostly just objected with high screams and an angry expression when getting shots or her nails trimmed. She's the only alpaca that I knew to have no birthdate listed on her ARI papers, though her prior owner had listed her birth year as 1993 based on import records, so she was at least nearly 18.BJ and another favorite, Machuca, also now passed

We sold a single female to a new breeder this summer and we gave them Betty Jane as a companion. When I visited their farm recently, I was shocked to see how much weight she had lost and it was as if her age had suddenly caught up with her. We agreed to bring her back here so that she could winter over in a tight barn with a coat on if necessary and be pampered with good hay, and we would give them a different female instead.

Before I could do that, I got a call the other day from her new owners that Betty Jane was down in the field (though they were able to get her up again), and I went to pick her up yesterday. She walked willingly but feebily to the trailer, as if she knew she was going home. When we got here, she pranced into the barn and immediately began chomping hay. Later she was having trouble getting up, and she passed quietly during the night.

I was only a little sad about this, as I know that she had a much better life and death than many or even most animals and even people will have. If she had stayed in the high mountains of Peru, she would have likely been slaughtered at an early age and eaten, partly due to the realities of the culture and farming economy and the need for protein in a place where few food animals thrive. If she were human, she may have been poked with needles and hooked to machines so that her life could have been lingered a little longer, possibly prolonging suffering and inducing fear and a lack of control. Instead, she died peacefully at "home" after a long and productive life where her essence and contributions were appreciated. RIP, Betty Jane.

Sahara Rose

P.S. We have a great-granddaughter of Betty in our herd, CH Peruvian Sahara Rose. She is the same color and also has exquisite fiber and a sweet but vocal disposition.

Fall Fun on the Farm

2010-10-31T17:47:00.000-07:00

The past month has been filled with volunteering at the World Equestrian Games, a trip to Michigan for a felting class, home schooling, trail riding, cria births, crafting, international travel for Paul, the Kentucky Classic Show, and.... isn't that enough????!
We ended the month with a llama trek on a gorgeous fall afternoon. Pat and her little friends Austin and Alyssa loved strolling on our leaf-covered trails with a llama at each side.
The kids enjoyed helping with bottle-feeding our sweet cria, Cherry Bomb.
Any fears that surfaced early in the visit were definitely gone by the end after several llama kisses were dispensed by Phoenix, and our trekkers discovered how sweet and manageable the llamas are!

Making Stuff!

2010-09-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Alpaca fiber beads, ancient Roman carved glass, copper

Working with alpaca fiber is my passion (okay, one of quite a few!) and I've been really busy making things to sell at upcoming events such as the Midway Fall Festival (September 18th and 19th) and Agritourism Day at Life Adventure Center (September 25th). We'll have a booth set up with animals and alpaca products at both of these events, and hope to see you there!Set of felted pillows

Here are some recent projects, I'm especially enjoying making felted pillows and jewelry, as well as dyeing roving for use in felted shawls and scarves!

Alpacas being auctioned at Kentucky Horse Park!

2010-08-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

This Saturday is the annual Hats off for Horses Day at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, but horses won't be the only ones shining! We'll be in attendance with two alpacas as part of the Silent Auction at the Rood and Riddle Grand Prix, to benefit the Kentucky Equine Humane Center.
If you've never been to the Kentucky Horse Park, here's your one day of the year to go for FREE and experience all that our beautiful horse park has to offer. The Grand Prix jumping competition will be held starting at 7 PM in the new, air-conditioned Indoor Arena (same venue where next Spring's Kentucky Classic Alpaca Show will be held!), but there are fun happenings going on all day.

We really had a hard time trying to decide which animals to select for the honor of raising money for this cause. We decided to let the buyer decide, and we will be offering a selection of two from a group of 14 animals identified. These include pregnant production females, herdsire-quality males, show animals, and fiber/companion alpacas. In order to ensure that these animals go to a worthy home, these conditions apply:

The purchase price will include an educational visit to our farm in Woodford County, during which we will provide information on the care of alpacas, facility setup, scope of the industry, and introduction to alpaca fiber and its uses. The winning bidders may choose two from a pool of 14 alpacas, males and females, which have been pre-selected by us, and we will advise them on which animals will best fit their goals. There are no warranties expressed or implied, other than that the alpacas are healthy at the time of purchase. The two that we bring to the event will be part of the selection.

The sale is contingent on the buyers showing that they are able to provide an adequate facility for the animals which includes a fenced area with grass, shade, water, shelter, and protection from dogs and predators and that they will be committed to providing appropriate food, worming, and annual shearing of the alpacas. We will provide up to 21 days of free board for the alpacas. A boarding fee of $3.00 per day per alpaca will be charged if the animals are left over 21 days, and the buyer will be responsible for any veterinary bills after the time of purchase. Delivery to the buyer’s farm may be arranged with appropriate fees.

Here are some of the animals we have pre-selected for donation (click to biggify), but remember that the buyer may CHOOSE! Please feel free to call us with ANY questions you may have before the auction. We will be at the horse park in a shady outside area near the Indoor Arena's Exposition Hall starting at 4:00, with two alpacas to represent the donation. Hope to see you there!

Crias 'Round the Clock

2010-07-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

We had two gorgeous crias born on the morning of July 4th, and YES, one is a girl! (The other is true black and gorgeous, so we're happy with him, too). Both crias are sired by our Snowmass Nova's Private Reserve. Thanks to reader suggestions from Facebook and Twitter-@locolindy, we are naming the male Revere and the female is Cherry Bomb.We already knew to anticipate trouble with Cherry Bomb, as her 15-year-old mother, Aymara, had damage to her udder years ago (probably from mastitis), and has only one teat out of four that is able to produce milk. We have managed with her crias in the past by initially milking out Aymara, supplementing the cria through bottle or tube feeding, and having a barren dam, "Nanny" help with providing a little bit of extra milk.Revere, though he looked as strong as could be, just couldn't figure out how to find his very willing mother's milk bar. Fortunately the dam, Na Tay, has easily let us milk her out to feed the cria and couldn't be sweeter about it. Why he just couldn't get it at first we don't know, but it could be due to prenatal stress from the awful heat wave we've had recently. We tube-fed both crias with colostrum and plasma in the first few hours, and both of their IGG's are acceptable, so they've gotten off to a good start.Sounds easy enough, right? Actually to do this correctly we've been feeding them every 3 hours around the clock... not real conducive to sleep. My husband is a saint when it comes to this, and the kids are learning to help as well. You may have heard the Hallelujah Chorus when Revere finally latched on to his dam last evening and won't be requiring supplementation any longer!Cherry Bomb is another story, and we may have a full-time bottle cria on our hands this time. Nanny isn't as interested as in the past, and Aymara isn't doing a lot to encourage her to find the one milk-producing teat. Bummer..... but we'll keep trying! Fortunately, Cherry is a strong and beautiful cria with amazing fleece like her full sister, Rachel Alexandra (blue ribbon winner in her only show so far, seen below). Aymara has produced other outstanding offspring, such as SSF Peruvian Pablo, so hopefully all the trouble is worth it!

Summer Splendor

2010-07-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Despite June's extreme heat, it has been a lovely summer so far with lots of good things happening around the farm. One of the best things is that we've been making lots of time to go trail riding- you can read about one of our recent extreme adventures here. This past week, I was lucky to get to join my friends Marti, MB, and Martha for a lovely day of riding at Taylorsville Lake. It was a great ride except when two of our horses decided that the jet skis on the lake sounded like a swarm of horse flies, and got all loosey-goosey excited for a bit!We had three llama treks this week! First were two women from Lexington, Barbara and Stephanie. They felt like my own old friends, very sweet ladies, and it was cool that our two barn cats decided to join us for the entire hike- ironic since Barbara is a huge cat lover who has rescued over 30 felines herself!Next we had Steve, Lee and Ethan. They were looking for something different to do outdoors to get away from the TV and video games... fancy that, teenagers who like those things?! They discovered that they like llamas, too (or at least they seemed to enjoy them!)
Lastly we had 3 llovely llama lladies (Mary, Helen and Bernice) that came today. They also seemed to really enjoy the farm and animals. They met our newest cria, Mirian's lambs, and these two little alpaca guys, Mousse and Precious (you can read about when they were born here).I love how the llamas are so patient with people of all ages, and they seem to naturally adjust their pace to the speed of whomever is leading them. Llama LLife is GOOD!

Fiber Friday

2010-06-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Three class participants with nearly-finished hats

Last week I got a good fiber fix, with this commission felting project completed and two hat felting classes!Despite one particular fleece giving us fits (it was slow to felt, and Kay, above, was ready to turn her hat into a place mat at one point!), everyone had great success with their hats, once again. Everyone stopped to see our newborn cria on their way out. Yes, another boy, but a lovely one at that.
I look forward to scheduling more classes in late summer, or if two or more people want to get together and request a class before then, I'm happy to do it! In the meantime, trail riding is beckoning and I'm having trouble finding more studio time. Here are a few nearly-finished projects that I made during classes....

Fiber Friday

2010-06-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

I've been squeezing in miscellaneous projects as I can, and am ready to deliver some new spring/summer nuno felted scarves back to Damselfly Gallery in Midway and Truly Bluegrass in Versailles.I was requested to make this hat in solid brown (same size and style) for a Truly Bluegrass customer, so I'm gladly working on that! I have two upcoming hat felting classes scheduled for next week, so if you're interested in those check them out on the calendar, as I still have some spaces.
This little bird (I got the kit from Alicia Paulson) watches over my felting, and I think she looks really cute paired with the needle-felted nest that my internet friend Chrissie gave to me. I wonder when those eggs are going to hatch?

More Trekking, Sales!

2010-05-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's already been a great weekend, with two groups of people coming for llama trekking and the sale of one of our outstanding young alpaca junior herdsires. My friend Kaylen (from Sheffield Alpacas) and her family came out today to check out some young breeding prospects, and selected SSF Peruvian Mystery (Accoyo America Sinbad x AF Maisy). He is displaying fantastic potential with an extremely dense and well-organized fleece, and should contribute great fleece genetics to their herd!
We had two llama treks this weekend, and both went well! Saturday's trek was a birthday surpise, and I think everyone had a nice time.
Mirian's friend was helping, and she spotted a snake on the trail, the first she had ever seen! It was a colorful (and harmless!) milk snake and it allowed us plenty of time for a good look before I used a stick to gently move it out of the way. (I originally identified it as a king snake, but realized my mistake when I looked it up!)
Our group today had two young children amongst the 6 in their group. It was the first time our llamas have been around small kids, and they were somewhat fascinated by the "little two-leggeds" and did great with them!Keeping with the reptile theme, we did encounter a box turtle today, which fascinated the kids!
Enjoy the photos from our hike(s). We feel very blessed to be able to share our farm and special animals with so many awesome people! We're looking forward to a great day of rest and play tomorrow, and hope all of you have a wonderful holiday, too!

First Llama Trek!

2010-05-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today was the debut of our llama trekking since starting it back up this year (we previously did trekking here in the late 90's)! We were fortunate to have nice weather after tons of rain this past week, and a great family to get us rolling again!Ed from Cincinnati booked the trek as a surprise for his animal-loving wife Andrea's birthday, and they were joined by their 13-year-old daughter, Natalie. The llamas were a bit frisky at first, but they settled in nicely after a while on the trail.
Ed led Leo, who carried the pack with snacks, water, and cold lemonade and he took to it well after only having had the pack on a few times. He did hum his complaints a few times going up hill, but overall was a good sport (Talking about Leo, Ed never did complain)!
Paul and the kids all helped, which made it extra-special! The trails revealed lots of critter tracks, including turkey, deer and raccoon. We also saw a 7 inch-long, colorful skink in the trail.
Hopefully this was an experience that Ed, Natalie and Andrea will always remember!
Next weekend we have another group coming, and we also have a trek booked as part of a photography workshop in July so hopefully it's catching on again! Enjoy the rest of the photos from today's hike, and book yours soon!

Activities Galore!

2010-05-19T04:31:00.001-07:00

I'm really glad we haven't had crias due recently, as there have been so many other things going on lately! We do have 5 girls in the "due barn" now, so hopefully I'll have new babies to report soon. The Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival took up most of my time recently, and you can read more about it here.
Now I'm getting ready for Art in the Park in Versailles on Saturday, May 22nd from 9-5 at Big Spring Park!Check out the new class schedule here at Seldom Scene! There will be a Hat Class on Thursday, June 10th, another Hat Class on Saturday, June the 12th, and a Basic Felting Class on Sunday, June 13th. You can click on each class on the calendar above for details. As long as the weather is comfortable, we'll have the classes at our new barn in the midst of alpaca crias, which should be a lot of fun!

My friend Dianne has scheduled a great Photography Workshop at her beautiful Tanglewood Farm in southern Woodford County, with part of the program taking place here in conjunction with a llama trek. I'm so excited about this weekend workshop in July, and hope you'll consider signing up, too! Everything you need to know is here.

Someone Stop Me!

2010-05-11T10:22:00.001-07:00

I just can't seem to stop putting my hands into silky-soft fiber! I'm busy getting ready for the 1st Annual Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival which is this weekend and plan to offer our best in dyed rovings, yarn, and finished products.Although I should be taking the time to get myself better organized, I just can't resist doing more dyeing and making things! I recently took some of our finest fleeces to get processed, and these are some that I'll be offering in both dyed and natural colors. Although I wanted to spin up every lot that I dyed (leaving none to sell!), I did indulge myself in spinning and knitting a sample swatch... ahem... JUST so that others could determine what they'd look like!What? You're not familiar with a fiber festival? I can still remember my first, Fiber Fest in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it must have been about 15 years ago. I took a spinning class, and dropped off llama and alpaca fiber and wool with Ohio Valley Natural Fibers to be processed into roving. That festival introduced me to the variety and wonder of working with fiber, and I went on to make spinning, knitting, dyeing a hobby and breeding top quality alpacas became my full-time job after a few years.

At the 1st Annual Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival, you'll see over 6o vendors. Some of us will have livestock (come meet Jasper and Midas, two alpacas that are for sale and Phoenix, our friendliest pack llama). There will be several breeds of sheep, and angora goats (which produce mohair), and angora rabbits (which produce angora) and who knows what else! There will be TONS of yarn and spinning wheels and FIBER for sale (including many pounds of roving that I have been dyeing!).In addition, there will be local FOOD and wine available for sale. AND, if that's not enough, the Bluegrass Classic Sheepdog Trial will be taking place, too. All of this is happening at Masterson Station Park in Lexington from 9 to 5 on Saturday, May the 15th and Sunday, May the 16th, there are some fiber arts classes available on the 14th, too.

I am very excited as well as appreciative of the people who stepped up to make this happen- local fiber, local food, fiber animals, a festival atmosphere, and the opportunity to meet others and sell my wares from the farm.... I hope to see you there!

2010 Futurity Sale and Show

2010-04-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

It was an eventful weekend for us in Oklahoma City, the first time the ultra-competitive alpaca Futurity and Auction had been held at Heritage Place in 8-10 years (I think!). My good friend Deb of Seven Springs Alpaca Farm and I took our animals together and I drove the motor home with trailer in tow. All went smoothly until we were a bit north of Tulsa, and had a blow-out on the motor home. We felt thankful to maintain control and get to the side of the road safely! Five hours later the appropriate tire had finally been located and changed, and we barely made it in time to check in our animals and get to the annual fundraising banquet for Quechua Benefit.

I worked hard to get the word out on our subsitution animal, Xxxtremely Sweet, one of our herd's best young females, who was Lot #51 out of around 75 in the sale. It wasn't difficult, as she is an eye-catching girl and the armload of blue ribbons and purple banners helped to get attention for her as well. In the end, she was one of the higher selling females at $21,000, purchased by Jim Webb and Sharon Brown of Virginia Alpaca Farm.
I was on cloud nine as the auction began, as I had the shock and honor of being awarded the Craig Wilkins Memorial Sportsmanship trophy! I can't say enough about the strength, friendliness and integrity of the Wilkins family, and very much appreciate them honoring me with their special award that is in memory of their beloved son. Congratulations to them as well for selling the high-selling alpaca at $77,000!
We ended up buying two sale lots, first a 13.8 micron white female, Hummingherd's Amazilla. Our finest foundation female, Dulce de Leche, came from Hummingherd in Idaho and I have always admired the Gedney's emphasis on fine fiber.
We also purchased a stunning dark fawn son of Snowmass Matrix, Snowmass Nebula! Nebula is young and has lots of maturing to do, but what a beautiful and exciting male to add to our stable of Thoroughly Bred Herdsires (co-owned with Stuart and Michele Ray of Catalpa Creek Alpacas).
I got to show Xxxtremely Sweet one last time, and she did not disappoint. She won first in the brown yearling female class, then was awarded Reserve Champion Brown Female! We couldn't have been more happy for Jim Webb and Sharon Brown of Virginia Alpaca Farm, and are glad to have her younger brother, SSF Serendipitous, winning championships for us already.

The weekend was fun once we settled in, and it was so great to reconnect with long-time alpaca friends from all over the country. It's now time for me to concentrate on breeding strategies for the rest of the herd, birthing crias, and getting ready for the Kentucky Fiber Festival. I also had an order for 100 felted soaps, so I've got lots of work ahead of me!

On to Another Exciting Weekend... 2010 Futurity!

2010-04-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend at Heritage Place in Oklahoma City is The Futurity Show, one of the country's largest and most prestigious alpaca events. It draws many of the best breeders from coast to coast, and the Futurity Auction is always one of the most exciting. Just some of the big names we have had the pleasure of watching sell at Futurity have included.... Accoyo Legacy (a multiple Herdsire of the Year), Snowmass Casanova (also a Herdsire of the year, I think!), Snowmass XXtreme (2006 and 2007 Herdsire of the Year, you'll hear that name again here!), Snowmass Enlightenment (2009 Top-seller, son of XXXtreme) and other greats.We needed to make a substitution for our Lot #51, and have decided to use the same strategy we did in the 2000 AOBA Auction when we were asked to fill an empty slot at the last minute. Knowing that we were at a disadvantage without pre-advertising, we chose to put in our most eye-catching, quality, gorgeous, BEST from the top of our herd. That was the year we sold Accoyo Royal Performance and she was the 2nd highest seller. This year we are digging deep and chose to offer..... XXXtremely Sweet!
In just 6 shows, XXXtremely Sweet has won 5 blue ribbons and 3 Color Championships in huge color groups, including being the 2009 AOBA National Brown Female Champion! The judges have RAVED about her extreme fineness and uniformity, size and structure, breed type, presence, "the total package, a clear cut winner!"We agonized over giving her up, however we do own her outstanding dam (Snowmass Sweet Serenity) and a younger brother, SSF Serendipitous is already making a name for himself with a Reserve Championship from his first show and breathtaking fiber stats. Her sire, Snowmass XXXtreme's genetics, however, are not easy to replace. Keep in mind that XXXtreme himself sold for over $250,000 a few years back at Futurity, his son Enlightenment was last year's high seller, now here's your chance for a Champion Female from XXXtreme! Her grandsire on both sides of her pedigree is Royal Rose, who is a Hemingway son, so she has deep genetics for fineness.Sweet is entered in the Futurity, and is then ready to grace YOUR pastures with her beauty and her crias. She's now ready to breed, and we'd be more than happy to bring her back here and breed her to any of our herdsires including El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, Snowmass Nova's Private Reserve, Accoyo America Sinbad, or Accoyo Maverick.

Please contact us if you have ANY questions regarding XXXtremely Sweet- I'll be on the road starting Thursday morning and can be reached at 859-428-8883.

Wonderful Day of Shearing!

2010-04-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Each year gets better, and hands-down this was our best shearing day in every way. The weather was absolutely perfect, and lots of people came out to enjoy the farm.As always, we had a few unexpected "angels" show up to help- special thanks to Libby and Ken- we can never have too many sweepers and fleece-gatherers. Paul and Sue were the uncomplaining heads of the sweeping crew!The kids worked especially hard, and one of my favorite points in the day was when I sent Robert into the big field on a scooter to herd up a group of rogue females that were heading for the back forty. He got around the group, and they took one look at him and headed immediately to the barn! It was priceless, and Robert was proud of this particular contribution!
Here, Mirian is gathering up the fleece from her alpaca, Willow, who is a Snowmass Casanova daughter with very fine fiber.

Several of our clients came to watch their animals getting shorn, and a few brought animal over.
More people signed up for the upcoming Hat Felting Class which is scheduled for Sunday, April 25th from 1-5. (I still have a few more openings, so let me know if you're interested! alpacalindy@gmail.com).
The shop was bustling- I especially loved watching this young customer trying on hats! We sold lots of products and three alpacas as well. We are continuing to downsize our herd with the goal of being down to 60 by the end of this year, so contact us if you're looking for some great buys!
We all collapsed at the end of the day (this is the shearer, John Gunther, being particular silly after completing 93 head of alpacas and llamas).There's always plenty of cleanup, but we got it done- I love this picture of Mirian sweeping with the spring evening sunshine coming in to the barn behind her. And now, the biggest chore of springtime is complete!

Shearing Day at Seldom Scene Farm!

2010-04-09T10:17:00.001-07:00

Accoyo America Sinbad being shorn

Well,, Shearing Time of 2010 is almost here! It's the day that I used to dread but now somewhat look forward to. The reason I don't dread it any more is because we have GREAT shearers and they bring a team of four to help get it all done. It has made it such that our crew pretty much organizes the animals and picks up the fleece, and they do the rest!This year the event will be free and open to the public (10-4) since it's scheduled for a Saturday. Unlike most years, I haven't had the worry of bad weather- it is gorgeous today and is going to be dry and beautiful tomorrow as well! Bring out a picnic and come watch as over 80 alpacas and 8 llamas are de-fleeced.

Inside our farm shop- the great wall of yarn!

We'll have a spinning demonstration (compliments of Linda Hofacker with LSH Creations who will have spinning wheels, fiber, books, etc.). There will be specials in our shop on yarn, fiber and products, new crias to check out, etc. We also have some great new prices on alpacas- check out our new sales list and breeding information. If you are a fan on our Facebook Fan Page or join by 4:00 tomorrow, you are welcome to take an additional $300 off any breeding or purchase over $600 if you make a deposit by the end of this weekend! (AND we'll be drawing for a llama trek for 4 to be won by one of our Farm Fans!)

It's a pretty drive out to Seldom Scene at the very end of Watts Ferry Rd. (follow the signs), and you can stop at Woodford Reserve Distillery on the way or eat lunch at Addie's Creekside Cafe in Millville. We'll have signs up, and you can't miss us if you just keep coming- look for the new barn and pond. If we haven't met, be sure to come and introduce yourself!

Felted Soaps- What the Heck?

2010-04-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

One of the more popular items that I make and sell are "felted soaps". Some people look at me REALLY strangely when I say that, trying to picture a soap made of felt or felt made of soap. Actually, it's more like a combination of the two!I start with hand-dyed alpaca roving or batting(fiber which has been "carded"), wrap it around a soap, then wet it and start rubbing to make it felt permanently around the soap.
The end result is a pretty little soap which is kind of like having a washcloth or loofah AND soap all in one. When you wet it in the shower or tub, soap suds come through the felt and you can scrub with it!
I sell these at Damselfly Gallery in Midway, Truly Bluegrass in Versailles, and here on the farm. They make a great gift, and come wrapped with handspun or fabric scaps tied around them and a tag which explains what it is! I'll have plenty available for our Shearing Day which is this Saturday, April 10th, from 10 to 4.

A Rare Happening

2010-04-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

Well, the necropsy report came back on the beautiful full Accoyo fawn male that we lost a few weeks ago. If you remember, he had seizures and a very high temperature followed by blindness and then what seemed like recovery before he died.

The necropsy showed that he had a rupture in the 3rd stomach (C3) and subsequent peritonitis-there would have been nothing that could have helped him.

Why did this happen? The best the vets can guess is that he was stepped on... just one of those things. Small solace, but it's always good to know the cause and is soothing to know that there's nothing we could have done to prevent it or to save him....

Two in one day!

2010-04-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

Two of our anticipated crias arrived within about an hour of each other today! I went to the barn to check on everyone and found Savannah's cria already on the ground and alert. Greyetta (at day 352) was VERY interested in the little brown guy, sniffing him all over and kissing/licking his mouth a lot. I treated the navel and went to the house to get my camera. When I returned just a few minutes later, Greyetta was laboring heavily. I guess that sweet little cria just got her in the mood!When you watch the video, you'll hear the cria taking some pretty noisy breaths- don't be alarmed, it's all normal! Often after the cria is born, they'll breathe heavily for a while- they're just "oxygenating", and it was pretty obvious that this guy was just fine. I did help a little bit since I could tell that it was a very large cria! Note that one should always pull the cria DOWN toward the dam's feet, and work with her contractions.

One interesting point regarding the birth of two brown boys today from the same sire, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo. I have a lot of clients ask about the birth weights produced from our sires. The first cria weighed 13.5 pounds (this dam always has smaller crias), while the 2nd cria is a monster at 25 pounds, one of the largest we've ever had! I definitely believe that the dam determines the size of the cria. What has been your experience?

Another interesting point- of the four females in our due barn, the two that delivered today were due AFTER the two that still haven't delivered! Perhaps that means that the other two will be girls? Let's hope so!It was fun checking in on the new boys as I went about my day with lots to get ready for next Saturday's Shearing Day (April 10th)! If you weren't already aware, it's open to the public from 10-4. As always, we're happy to have helpers, or just bring a picnic and come enjoy! There will be spinning demonstrations, fiber, yarn and products for sale, new crias to see, and sale specials on our animals! Hope to see you there.

Busy Times!

2010-03-25T13:54:00.001-07:00

Wow, Spring is such a hectic and productive time on the farm! We have 6 alpaca crias due in the next month, a show/auction in Oklahoma City, Spring Break, another hat felting class, llamas to train, word to get out about our llama treks starting up, shearing, breeding, and more!

Wanna keep up with us? I promise not to inundate you with reports on "poop patrol", pasture growth, or to let you know that Fluffy spit off Michelangelo! But, I'll let you know of our events and highlights in a colorful and concise way if you become a fan of Seldom Scene Farm on Facebook!

Become a fan by April 10th (Shearing Day), and you'll be entered in a drawing for a Free Llama Trek for 4 with deluxe lunch!

More felting and learning

2010-03-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

We had another great class here on Sunday, with several coming from near and far to learn the basics of felting.Christina brought her college daughter and her roommate, and they were very enthusiastic learners. I think it was a neat way for them to spend time together on spring break!
We did a little bit of wet felting...And needle felting.....It's been fun to watch people discover felting for the first time, especially if they are unable to do other fiber arts due to arthritis or simply not having success with needle crafts.
I am truly enjoying being back in teaching mode, especially when it's something I am so passionate about, felting! The next class will be held on Sunday, April 25th from 1-5. It's a Hat Felting Class- the cost is $70 and includes all materials, snack, and a reusable hat form that you get to keep! If you're interested, contact me at alpacalindy@gmail.com as the class is already filling up.

Stuff Happens.....

2010-03-16T07:07:00.001-07:00

(Tube-feeding a cria- the mustard bottle is good for solo tube-feeding, I learned this from a Twitter friend!)

.... and sometimes it all turns out okay!

We had a cria crisis on Saturday when Mirian discovered a 2 day old cria in a violent seizure. I had checked on that group twice already that day, and he was as bouncy and normal as could be just two hours earlier. When I arrived at the barn, the cria was still convulsing and his temperature was 106.9 degrees! Vets couldn't be reached, wouldn't you know it was right before the start of the UK game and after regular Saturday hours?

We had a similar situation a few years ago, and short of a vet of putting in an IV catheter, I did everything I could remember to try. We wetted the cria down to help bring down his near-fatal temperature, I gave him some banamine to reduce inflammation, and he got a shot of Naxcel in case he had infection going on. After what seemed like forever (but was probably about 10 more minutes) the seizure subsided and his temperature then plummeted to 97. In fact we had to warm him back up with a blow dryer and cria coat in the warm stall!

The cria appeared to regain strength fairly quickly, but it was immediately apparent that he was now blind. I gave him a shot of thiamine, put a bit of karo syrup on his gums for energy, and left him to rest for a bit. Two of the three vets eventually returned my calls, and both confirmed that we had done everything correctly and to continue to provide supportive care including feeding (Thank you, Dr. Evans and Dr. Lipp's partner who was on call, the third vet never did return my call, and is getting very little of my business any more!)

We began the tedious regimen of milking out the dam (who wasn't exactly crazy about the idea- we had to lay her down each time) and tube-feeding the cria every 2-4 hours... night and day. We gave him as much of the dam's milk as we could get, and supplemented with Vit D milk as well, as we always use.

By the next day, he was much more bright, but still completely blind as we continued with the Naxcel and banamine for 3 days which the vets advised. By yesterday, it was clear that his vision was returning as he ran around the pen and turned as needed. Last night, we encouraged him to nurse and he just about hooked up- bless her heart, the dam was practically shoving him up under her (she'd MUCH rather he take the milk himself rather than us two-leggeds wrestling her for it!). We tubed him a little less than usual one more time and skipped the middle-of-the-night feedings. Hallelujah, this morning he's nursing!
So, what caused this? Dr. Evan's Field Manual says that it could have been caused by an electrolyte imbalance or infection, and isn't all that uncommon in 1-3 day old crias. He also said that if the seizure didn't recur pretty quickly, it will probably never happen again. The cria didn't have the tell-tale signs of septicemia (such as reddened membranes), and his temperature stayed stable once the seizure ended, so it wasn't likely an infection. So, we'll never really know. We will of course monitor the little guy even more carefully than usual, weighing him daily, etc.

I guess when you've had enough crias (we figure over 400 born on the farm over 18 years!), you'll see just about everything at least once. We are so thankful that this one turned out okay, and are grateful that we had the experience to know what to do this time, with some phone help from our vets. (The other cria that had the seizure a few years ago was fine as well).

Southern Select Success for Seldom Scene!

2010-03-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

It was really good to get back to Shelbyville, TN this past weekend after missing the Southern Select last year, and as always our southern friends made us feel kindly welcome. The glorious weather was a big bonus, too!

We hadn't shown since last spring at Nationals, so I was looking forward to testing a mostly-new show string of young alpacas. My expectations were high, but even after over 15 years of showing, I still have to remind myself not to be "barn blind." Our animals didn't disappoint, and we had one of our very best showings EVER!
With 6 animals showing (plus production classes), we earned:
Fawn Male Color Champion- SSF Peruvian Jolly Mon (above, just sold to Craig and Michelle Embry of Rolling Ridge Alpacas, so glad Craig could be there to see Jolly's big win under judge Amanda VandenBosch)

Brown Female Color Champion- Xxxtremely Sweet- her 3rd championship!
Reserve Light Color Champion- SSF Serendipitous (above)- I have SUCH high hopes for this gorgeous male, and he's off to a super start!
1st Place Brown Female- SSF Rachel Alexandra (above, with our farm manager, Sue, who did an excellent job handling at her first show).
3rd Place Black Female- SSF Happy Hour (above)

3rd Place Beige Male- SSF Hopalong (placed behind the champion and reserve!)
And, the best part of all! We did great in the production/group classes, which are the true indication of the quality of a farm's breeding program:
1st Place Get of Sire- Accoyo America Sinbad (6 entries in class)

1st Place Produce of Dam- Snowmass Sweet Serenity

2nd Place Breeder's Best Group of 3- Jolly Mon, Serendipitous, Rachel Alexandra

Llama Love

2010-03-04T04:55:00.000-08:00

We had two new llamas arrive last week to start our pack string for Seldom Scene Llama Treks, with 3 experienced trekkers coming in April from Montana's mountains (we'd prefer to have them here sooner, but transporters aren't too thrilled about trailering in that area this time of year!). I'd love to find two more to round out our group.It turned out that the llamas belonged to a friend of a friend, and I couldn't be more pleased with them, what a find! Phoenix is sooooo sweet and constantly gives kisses to whomever is nearby.
Leopold is a bit more shy, but he's cute as can be and is really cooperative on the lead.
Mirian and a friend took them for a hike yesterday, and I took some photos to put together our promotional materials. They had a lot of fun.... and the kids enjoyed it, too!

Complete Cuteness

2010-02-22T07:11:00.001-08:00

Can't you just see crias pronking through the fields decked out like this? I love Kristen Nicholas' beautiful knitting and farm site, and this pattern is definitely going to be in the works... one for our lap dog Munchie and one for the next especially photogenic alpaca cria that comes along! I recently purchased a Kristen Nicholas pattern for her Quarters Cap, and if this one is anywhere near as nice and fun, I'm in for a treat.

Thanks, Kristen, for continually inspiring us with color!

Farm Activities

2010-02-22T06:11:00.000-08:00

I taught a hat felting class this past weekend at the Seldom Scene Fiber Studio- what fun! Read here for all of the details, and please note on the calendar that I have scheduled two more felting classes, one in March and one in April.The alpacas all look wonderful right now, and I'm getting psyched up for our first show in quite a long time, the Southern Select, which is the first weekend in March in Shelbyville, TN. Some of our show line up includes the animals shown here!SSF Jasper

SSF Rachel Alexandra

From L- Rachel, Serendipidous, Jasper, Hopalong, Happy Hour (f)

SSF Happy Hour

Farm Visitor

2010-02-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

Our little house dog, Munchie, has been carrying on a lot today and I looked out to see a new visitor under the bird feeder, chowing down on fallen seed as fast as he could....

I'm one of the rare people that has a soft spot for possums, and he seemed to know that I meant no harm as I moved close to take his picture.... though he kept his eye on me! This wasn't our usual visitor, Albert, that I wrote about here, but appeared to be a younger possum.

He didn't tell me his name.

There was a recent discussion on Alpacasite about possums, here's an interesting link for the Possum Society of North America (no, I'm not a member!)

Fibery Goodness

2010-02-10T04:58:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted here in a while, but let me direct you to my other blog, as there's LOTS of fibery goodness being shared over there! The animals are holding up just fine through this cold and nasty weather, and I'm being reminded of how wonderful and warm their fleece really is, as I stay nested with my knitting and spinning just as much as humanly possible. Take a tour of Ohio Valley Natural Fibers and see what's been happening in the Seldom Scene Studio... www.locolindy.blogspot.com .

Puppy-Paca?

2010-01-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

What else can you call a cria that looks like THIS???!!! This beautiful little girl (yes, we started 2010 with a female after long strings of males last year!) was born a few weeks ago early on a chilly 22 degree morning. We found her already dry, nursing, and warm (in the due barn, of course) with her maiden mother who was attentive and maternal. All looked great and normal!

Then, the next day her ears began to droop, and droop, and droop. She wasn't droopy, in fact she was as spry as you'd ever want a cria to be, with straight legs and a good appetite. We have had very slightly droopy ears before, and a variety of other aberrations of the ears on crias. Sometimes their ears are a bit "inside out" for a while from the way they've laid in the womb, and we have had to tape them the correct way for a week or so and then they're fine. This one was different, and I became concerned that perhaps her ears had been frostbitten following birth.

She was pitiful and cute and funny all at the same time!

We debated about taping the ears, but within a week they were looking like this- 99% normal, and now 100% normal!

All's well that ends well, and I've thought that perhaps those rather canine-looking ears are just and indication of future greatness!

Staying warm

2010-01-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

There have been lots of tips floating around on the internet about how to keep your alpacas warm in the extremely bitter weather. Many of the tips are good, and we are following some here, even though we have never had a cold-weather-related illness or death in our 14 years of raising alpacas (and longer for llamas).

The MOST important thing that we can suggest is to offer unlimited, quality hay to your alpacas. Hay is what keeps the rumen healthy and working, and the rumen is like a furnace for the rest of the alpaca's body. It's absolutely critical that your animals have water available at all times as well or they can quickly dehydrate. Some farms offer hot water (our 3 late pregnant girls who are cozy and cushy in the new "due barn" are getting hot water, their "tea" a few times a day), and adding electolytes or gatorade isn't a bad idea.

Observation, as always, is key and it's smart to hone in on the youngest, oldest, and lactating females who will be most vulnerable. Shivering is cause for immediate concern. Our 18-year-old female, Satin, is wearing an "extra" alpaca coat after she was shivering on the first really cold days last month and is doing fine. Any animal that isn't completely thriving should be scrutinized carefully, as the extreme cold is an extra stress- healthy alpacas can handle one stress at a time (like weaning, showing, etc.) but multiple, layered stresses can prove deadly.

We did follow one newer tip for our boys who are without shelter (though we can bring them into a nearby barn if we feel conditions warrant it). We put up a windbreak along a fenceline, in a spot they already liked to lay, under the neighbor's security light. It is made of some poorer quality hay that we are trying to use up (we had it on hand, and it's cheaper than straw).

Yesterday when it was snowing like crazy and temperatures were dropping, the alpacas gathered right alongside the windbreak, welcomed with more "good" hay scattered along the ground where all can reach it without fighting. Putting it along the fence worked well and gave us something to tie the bales to.

We find that the hardest thing for the alpacas and llamas is in earlier fall (or late spring after shearing), when we have driving rain followed by large temperature drops. The drier cold is really not that hard on them- they do have on thick alpaca fleece from topknot to toenails, right? Still, they don't appreciate strong, cold wind and those that have shelters will go inside when it's windy or wet most of the time.

It was fun watching the weanlings experience their first snow- they didn't quite know what to do about it and seemed a bit captivated by it all!

And the dogs, well they take it all in stride. They truly seem to thrive in the cold! Shown here is Lucy, our newest livestock guardian dog (a Great Pyrenes we bought in Quechua Benefit's charity auction last spring at the Futurity).

New and Improved!!!

2010-01-05T04:31:00.000-08:00

If you're a regular visitor here, you've probably noticed a few changes... one that I haven't been writing much since the Peru trip and secondly that we have a new look on the site. (The beautiful side of winter, that is! Brrr, it's cold out there!)

I've been anxious to share our news... we are going to be emphasizing the LLAMA part of our farm name again (Seldom Scene Farm Alpacas and Llamas). We are scaling back our alpaca herd somewhat, with a goal of getting back down to fewer than 35 alpacas (including some old girls who will live here through their twilight years). That is a major change from our high of around 135 alpacas, including visitors for breeding. Why? Alpacas have been a great success for us, the "bread and butter" of our farm, but with young teens we know they'll be needing us to stick close in their years left at home. That means going to fewer alpaca shows, auctions, and meetings. (By the way, contact me if you're interested in some great alpaca bargains!) We do plan to get out to lots of our favorite spring shows (check out the show schedule in the calendar overhead, just cutting back a bit overall. Now, we're not going to all of those shows, just posted them for your convenience).

We don't plan to breed llamas, but hope to keep a nice herd of friendly geldings strictly for trekking. Llama treks were a lot of fun and a good business when we originally did them (in the early 90's), but it was difficult then to juggle a young family, work off the farm, and nurture our growing alpaca herd. Now our kids are mature enough to contribute to the endeavor! In addition, we have a beautiful new barn and shop area with a bathroom and much-improved trails and acreage (over 400 scenic acres now, including 3 miles of Kentucky River frontage for hiking).

I look forward to blogging here regularly about our new venture (as well as upcoming alpaca births!), but to learn more now about what in the heck a llama trek IS, or for detailed information on how to schedule a trek, check out our trekking page.

Back from Peru

2009-11-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

We're back after what sometimes seems like 2 months and at other times just a few days! (It was 2 weeks). I got lots of great alpaca pictures, especially at the Accoyo Ranch and some at Pacomarca- some also just outside of the van's windows as we crossed over the bumpy dirt roads of the altiplano.

Here's a link to my first blog post, a summary of the trip with more to come!

http://locolindy.blogspot.com/2009/11/where-to-begin-peru-2009.html

Be on the lookout for details of our upcoming Open Farm Days for holiday shopping! I brought back some unique items, as well as those always in demand such as alpaca gloves, chullo hats, and teddy bears, and don't forget we are always open by appointment as well!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T04:38:00.000-07:00

As is typical with our kids (most kids?), ideas for Halloween costumes come at the very last minute. This morning found me fashioning a beard for Robert's costume for school. He's dressed as a "famous" hobo that used to frequent our small town, I'm told.

The beard is not of alpaca, but some BFL (Blue-faced Leiceister sheep's wool) that I got from my friend, Dianne. It is beautiful fiber and I still plan to do "something" with it... this is the something for now!

I have spent the last while scouring my photo files for a picture of the time that Robert had to dress up as a President- he was George Washington and we made a wig together out of white alpaca rovings, it was a hoot!

I needle-felted these pumpkins out of hand-dyed alpaca fiber.

Everyone have a Happy Halloween, and remember to use what you have on hand!

Felting Class Fun

2009-10-23T03:25:00.001-07:00

Things have been going much more smoothly on the farm lately, with the recent felting class being one of the highlights. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures since I was teaching, but here are a few.
The best part was the fun and energetic attendees, which included an artist, an alpaca breeder wanna-be, and some current alpaca breeders with varied backgrounds in working with fiber. Planning the timing for a 4-hour class which included several demos and hands-on was a bit tricky the first time, especially considering what a chatty group we had! All in all, everything worked out fine and I think everyone had a good time. Each participant took home a few small finished projects as well as some door prizes.
One of the husbands had to try it, too, when he came to pick up his wife and I think he enjoyed the needle felting immensely!

You can be sure that I'll be scheduling more classes in the near future- let me know what you'd like to see the most! This was a beginner's overview class (of which I'll offer another) but future topics will include Felting a Hat, Nuno-felting, and a specialized needle felting course.
Thank you very to each person who attended, and I hope to see you at future classes!

Images from a week on the farm....

2009-10-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

Always Learning

2009-09-29T04:33:00.001-07:00

Isn't that what life is all about? Sometimes we don't learn things in time (that's called The School of Hard Knocks), but we tuck away those tidbits to apply in future situations.... That's all I can glean from the rather bad experience we went through with Maisy. She's the alpaca dam that we thought was perhaps going to have twins.... I'll write in more detail about it soon, but I'll just say here that we had almost the worst possible outcome. Maisy died and there were no twins, but we do have a male bottle-baby. Again, more details in time because I do have some helpful things to share about prolapsed uterus, bottle-feeding, and working with your vet. It's still a bit raw for me to talk about.

Okay, on a happier note!!!! One of my goals for the year has been to do more felting and subsequently more teaching here. As many of you know, I have lots of fiber interests- knitting, spinning, dyeing, and best of all for me, FELTING! I'd love to have you join me for this upcoming class on Sunday, October 18th! (If anyone can explain to me how I can insert a flyer such as this below so that it can be downloaded and printed, please let me know!) If you'd like for me to send this to you as an attachment, please just email me. Hope to see you there!

Change in the SCENERY

2009-09-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned in other posts, my word of the year is ADAPT, and it's been one of those cases of "Be careful what you wish for." Flexibility and thinking on my feet has been a necessity time and time again this year.

We have chosen NOT to go to Shaker Village this weekend as originally planned, but to have our own Alpaca Farm Day here at Seldom Scene Farm after all. The weather is very iffy for Saturday, and the ground will still be soggy on Sunday. After sitting through rain and trying to keep alpacas and merchandise dry last Sunday at Midway, we have decided it will just be better to invite people HERE, rain or shine.... and it's FREE! Our new barn is comfortable and dry, a lovely spot overlooking the fish pond, and a nice place to come learn more about alpacas and their fiber.
Please come out and see us AND our newest cria (above) on either Saturday, September 26th OR Sunday, September 27th between 12 and 3. I'll have apple cider and cookies available, fiber products, alpacas for sale, and will do a quick felting demo each day at 2:00. You can pet the alpacas, take a farm tour, or buy Christmas presents in our farm store! As a potential bonus, we have an alpaca due right NOW and after examining her, our vet thinks she may be carrying twins. After having over 400 births here in the past 14 years, we've never had twins so this could be a historic occasion! Complications with twins are common, however all we can do is be prepared and hope for the best (the dam, Maisy, is an excellent mother and milker so hopefully all will be well). We are watching her constantly on our barn cams.

Hope to see you on Saturday or Sunday, don't hesitate to call for information or directions at 859-428-8883.

Sunday Morning Blog Roll

2009-09-20T04:41:00.001-07:00

Although I was looking forward to sleeping in the morning before heading to the Midway Festival, I guess I've been on such a roll that I woke early anyway. I love catching up with my blogs on a Sunday morning, and here are some cool things I found today...

A lovely wedding was held in England yesterday, feast your eyes on wedding festivities and alpacas combined on Rob's Alpaca Blog.

Here's a fun fact I learned regarding whether or not alpacas have more bones in their neck than humans, read about it on Debbie's Alpaca Blog.

This is an awesome photo from the Popham Alpaca Blog. (Beware!)

As always, I enjoy reading AlpacaFarmGirls' blog, and try to participate in each week's Fiber Arts Friday- check it out! The last one included information about raising silkworms to grown your own silk!

Adapting to the Seasons

2009-09-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again that I love (officially starting tomorrow!), the transitional season of fall. I love the fall wildflowers, the hint of color on the trees, the bucks in velvet (the young one above should be quite majestic in the next year or two), and the cool nights.

One of my favorite activities in autumn is the Midway Fall Festival. As always, we'll be there with alpacas, fiber, yarn, and finished products including hand-felted shalwls and scarves, socks, etc! Many of the recent projects I've highlighted on my blogs will be available. Hope you can make it out! (Check out the website for hours, activities, and directions).

It's always fun to follow tradition, and the seasons bring out that feeling of comfortable repetition. BUT, as these current times remind us, we all need to ADAPT! (That's my word of the year, in fact, and it has been extremely timely in many ways!). With that spirit in mind, here's a past and current project I'd like to share.
This is a purse that I knitted and felted from alpaca and wool a few years ago. I was making a lot of these then, and they were literally flying off the shelves. It finally hit me that the colors in this one were just a bit much for most people (including me!) I decided to challenge myself to re-dyeing it, and was pretty pleased when this is what came out of the dyepot!!!! (I soaked it in water, then overdyed it with a greyish and orange mixture). It will be fun to see whether or not it sells this fall!

Sales Season!

2009-09-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Extreme Progeny Auction was a great overall experience, and was super well-run, organized and upbeat. We had a lot of fun and our two girls are both going to great new homes! Congratulations and thank you to Gary and Kay Burtoft of Capture Your Heart Alpacas in Bloomfield, KY for their purchase of SSF Runalong! Congratulations and thank you to Alicia Childers of Luna Bella in Clearwater, FL for her purchase of SSF Peruvian Trina!

One highlight of the weekend was that our partnered herdsire, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo won the Extreme Progeny Light Herdsire for the 2nd year!!!! This was earned based on the sales average of two of his progeny- our partner Larry Johnson of Likada Farm had entered two spectacular Michelangelo daughters and they sold for excellent prices! (We also own Michelangelo with Paul Kezdi of North Coast Alpacas.)

SSF Peruvian Bounce

With it being the season for lots of sales activity, we are starting a new weekly SALES SPECIAL. To start things with a BANG and in honor of Michelangelo we are going to offer one of his daughters at a fantastic price! The special will last for one week.

SSF Peruvian Bounce is a beautiful light fawn female that comes from stellar bloodlines on both sides of her pedigree. Her dam, CMR Peruvian Na Tay, was purchased from the acclaimed herd of Rachel Hendrickson of Heartland Ranch in Arizona. Na Tay has produced numerous champion offspring including HRAZ Allegra, a multiple champion who sold for $40,000 at the 2005 AOBA National Auction! Na Tay is a foundation female to whom we are very attached and will likely stay in our program forever!

Bounce's dam- Na Tay

Bounce is a very elegant female, tall in stature and with a gorgeous way of moving. Her fleece is extremely soft and uniform. Don't forget, she holds the genetics of her sire Michelangelo who has one of the highest skin follicle densities ever measured!

To top it off and start things in an exciting way, we will offer TWO free breedings with Bounce! She should be ready to breed in late October- you may choose a complementary breeding to ANY of our sires (see http://www.alpaca-herdsires.com/ and also keep in mind our Michelangelo sons which we co-own with other farms, SSF Peruvian Cupid and SSF Peruvian Barbaro). In addition, you may have a second complementary breeding to use either for Bounce OR for another of your females.... and it can be Michelangelo (limited to one)!

El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo

We will provide two months of free board to allow for time for you to prepare and to let the weather become more conducive for an early fall 2010 cria from Bounce! Bounce's dam had a gorgeous black female from Snowmass Nova's Private Reserve this spring, so that might be one to consider.... but then there's also Sinbad, or Maverick... or 7 others to think about!

Oh yeah, that one small detail... the price! Bounce's recently listed price was $8,500 with a partial breeding credit. Act now and you can get her for $8,000 WITH the two breedings! (And, financing is available for up to one year).

Auction Preparations, phew!

2009-09-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

Been busy getting ready... read about it here!

http://locolindy.blogspot.com/2009/09/auction-time-again.html

A Second Job

2009-09-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

People sometimes ask, "what do alpacas DO, what are they FOR?" and we politely explain that they are raised for their fine and luxurious fiber which is shorn once per year. We also discuss how they are gentle and interesting animals to have around, easy on the land, etc. We mention that they are routinely eating in S. America, but not routinely here.

Another job that they can and do perform is to act as guardian animals for smaller herd animals. We recently sold a male, Friday, to watch over 4 miniature babydoll sheep. Awwww, they are so adorable!

The owner was thrilled with him, but reported that Friday and the sheep were petrified of each other! She was concerned that he was unhappy without another alpaca, and opted to purchase Jack as well. (Alpacas will bond with other herd animals, but are always happiest with another of their own kind!)

I was glad when I returned to the farm to deliver Jack to see that Friday and the sheep were hanging out closely together. Jack and Friday were happy to be reacquainted but quickly went back to grazing!

Mirian was, of course, more infatuated by the owner's cats though she did think the sheep were pretty cute, too!

Often Seen!

2009-09-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

The name of our farm, Seldom Scene, is appropriate in many ways*.... we are a bit off the beaten path (but only 15 minutes from I-64!), have had many unusual animals which aren't common around these parts, and at times I don't get out much. But... this fall we'll be quite visible! Here are some of our plans...

Fall Calendar of Events

September 11 and 12- Extreme Progeny Alpaca Auction, Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino, Chester, WV. Watch here for more information on our two beautiful auction girls, daughters of Accoyo Maverick!

September 18 and 19- Midway Fall Festival in Midway, KY. We'll be there with alpacas and lots of beautiful alpaca products including hand-felted shawls, hats and scarves! Demonstrations of spinning and felting.

September 26 and 27- Alpaca Farm Days and Harvest Weekend at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Several local farms will be there with lots of alpacas, yarn, fiber, demos, etc.

October 17- Open Farm Day with Free Demos, Door Prizes, Alpacas for Sale, Special deals, etc.

October 14- Felting Class to be offered in the Seldom Scene Studio!!!! I've had people asking for a class, and since felt has regained it's rightful status as my favorite fiber endeavor, I'm ready to do it! More details forthcoming soon, mark your calendars now!

November 6-19- Medical Mission Trip to Peru with Quechua Benefit. Our daughter and I will be travelling to the altiplano of Peru to assist on a medical mission. Please make donations of over-the-counter medications for us to take along (aspirin, tylenol, advil, etc.) or help the cause through $ donations! (If so, please mention Mirian and I as it will help to offset our costs).

December- Weekend Open Houses at the farm

Always feel free to call us for any information about these events- 859-428-8883.

2009-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! What was I thinking, trying to have TWO blogs? It's doable in slower times, but with back-to-school and other stuff I can't keep up.

Please come over to my other blog, Loco Lindy, where I've been posting lots of fiber projects lately! Also, you can follow me on Twitter- @locolindy.

If you're thinking about attending any auctions this fall, I think that theExtreme Progeny Auction will be hard to beat in terms of FUN and EDUCATION! We've got two fantastic daughters of 419 Peruvian Accoyo Maverick consigned to the auction, and they both sell with breedings to the Light Huacaya Extreme Progeny Herdsire, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo!

A Word about Accoyo Alpacas!

2009-07-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Lindy and Paul with Don Julio Barreda at the Accoyo Ranch, November 2000

Accoyo... schmoyo... that's what some say and what I USED to say... until I visited THE Accoyo Ranch in Macusani, Peru and met Don Julio Barreda in the flesh, saw hundreds of his incredible alpacas, and began to raise huacaya alpacas of Accoyo descent. Hopefully I'll find time to say more about this incredible visit to Accoyo next week.

Here's what I knew about them before that visit in November, 1999. They sold for a lot of money. They were highly touted by some of the more "monied" breeders in the business. I didn't especially like some of their type. Nor did I understand density! When we went to look at Accoyo Augusto at Magical Farms to consider him for breeding, I didn't comprehend what I was seeing and feeling, and instead went away thinking that Augusto had a lot of guard hair (really NOT, it's just that he was soooo dense that his primary follicles were a bit more obvious than on some of the less dense and coarse (mostly unimproved) Chileans that I was accustomed to seeing at that point.

Okay, I'm almost out of time with a plane to catch out to the National Elite Auction. I could write volumes, and others have about Accoyo alpacas. I'll leave you with this simple thought: top selling alpacas of all time.... (not including suris, huacyas only)....

1. Peruvian Accoyo Legacy (sold to Virginia Alpaca Farm, half interest for $750,000 with Crescent Moon Ranch). Broke another record years before at $165,000. Now deceased...

2. Accoyo Royal Fawn- Sold to Maple Brook Farm and Double O Good for $600,000?

3. Accoyo Augusto- Sold to Five Star Alpacas for $220,000?

Accoyo America Auction- always one of the top selling average sales of the year....

The list could go one, get the picture?

National Elite Auction

2009-07-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
As active participants in the alpaca industry for nearly 15 years, we have always prepared for a softer market (simple supply and demand), and that time has come with our crazy economy. How have we prepared? By giving generously of our time as industry leaders, learning about fiber, traveling to Peru and conferences nationwide to maximize our education, and partnering and networking with knowledgeable people all over the country and the world. Most of all, we have selected and bred to the BEST, most sought-after bloodlines, promoted them through shows and active participation in auctions, and through solid customer support! Every livestock industry has several levels of animals (show-seed stock, registered and grade), and we have always strived to offer high-end seed stock for our customers.

El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo and winning Offspring

The National Elite Alpaca Auction is a first-class event which we have participated in for 3 years, and this year we proudly offer two outstanding daughters of El Nino’s Accoyo Michelangelo (above). Michelangelo’s offspring earned him the 2008 Extreme Progeny Herdsire of the Year, as well as the high-selling entry at the 2009 AOBA National Auction! His skin has been tested by Dr. Norm Evans as having one of the densest follicle counts in the country at 105 follicles sq/cm. Michelangelo’s offspring excel in the show ring, auction arena, and are now breeding and producing. Simply put, this Accoyo bloodline is one of the most solid you can find in the alpaca industry today. (Michelangelo is co-owned with North Coast Alpacas and Likada Farm.)

Lot #13, SSF Peruvian Bounce, is from a female (CMR Peruvian Na Tay) that we purchased from Rachel Hendrickson’s herd in AZ a few years ago. Na Tay just gave us an outstanding true black female from our newest black sire, Snowmass Nova’s Private Reserve. Bounce herself is elegant and stretchy with a very fine and soft-handling fleece. We recommend breeding her to Private Reserve (complementary, as is the choice of any of our world-class sires, OR you may use a Michelangelo breeding on another of your females). Lot #50, SSF Accoyo Noel, represents one of the hottest niches in our industry, a FULL ACCOYO FAWN. Quite simply, Accoyo genetics add value!Her dam is MA Accoyo Princess, one of our herd’s foundation females. Noel shows the potential to excel in the show ring, with great “type” and an elite fawn fleece. Another Princess daughter, SSF Accoyo Drama Queen, is our #1 female and has produced offspring that we have sold to some of the top farms in the country! Noel is unrelated to 419 Accoyo Maverick and this combination (Michelangelo and Maverick) is producing some wonderful results! She sells with a complementary breeding to Maverick or ANY of our sires (OR you may use a Michelangelo breeding on another of your females).

We haven’t really yet promoted another exciting fact about Michelangelo- one of his male offspring, SSF Cheshire Cat, is on his way or has just arrived in England! We sold champion brown Cheshire Cat last year to Ben Harford of Ashcroft Alpacas in Cotsold, Great Britain, where he will soon be standing stud!

Anyone who loves the alpaca industry as we do knows that there will be a strong demand for top breeding stock for years to come…. We feel that these Michelangelo daughters can help to infuse your herd with the fiber fineness and density and soundness that you’ll need to excel into the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at the farm at 859-873-8352 through July 26 or on my cell at 859-983-8808 after that. Tim Vincent with Celebrity Sales is excellent to work with for phone or proxy bidding, so feel free to call him at 503-704-9229 for assistance!

Thanks for reading about our outstanding consignments to the National Elite. You can learn more about the auction itself by checking out this link- it should be a great time with lots of great alpacas, seminars, food, friends, and fun-ALL FREE!
Sincerely,

Lindy and Paul

On a roll with felting!

2009-07-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last week on my other blog I shared some recent felting projects and talked about having a creative rush without a lot of time to follow my urges. Well, it seems that positive intentions have resulted in both additional time AND continued inspiration!
I've been doing even more felting, and had a particularly great time making this hat! It is made from hand-dyed alpaca fiber, with the embellishments part merino and part hand-dyed and handspun alpaca.

Not a very patient person am I, but I am FINALLY learning to put unfinished projects aside occasionally when I get "stuck." I needled in the flowers last night, but didn't know what else to do the hat and it needed something. This morning I immediately had the idea for the lady bug and spiral, as well as the dotted band and handspun line on the brim.

After needle felting, I got the entire hat wet again with hot soapy water and wet-felted it again very gently with a palm sander (be sure to read up on safety precautions if you try this). I can't decide whether or not to stitch the edges like on the last one, but that can wait.

More Felting Fun

2009-06-29T20:30:00.001-07:00

I've been having a fantastic time with felting lately- check out my latest projects here:

http://locolindy.blogspot.com/2009/06/all-inspired-with-no-time-to-play.html

New alpaca owners!

2009-06-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

I always love delivering a new owner's first alpacas, and try to never forget our own first days of having alpacas. It felt soooo special just seeing our first 3 alpacas out in OUR own fields, and although I now pass our farm's 100+ alpacas several times every day, I still feel very lucky.

The Gillespies had purchased two young maidens last winter, and they (Frazierlene and Black Beauty) were ready and confirmed pregnant. These owners had done a beautiful job of preparing an excellent space for their animals (safe, cool, and lovely with guardian dogs coming soon) and we did our part by providing a little extra training since we knew it was important that they be gentle with the Gillespie's young grandson, Ben.

As always, I showed them how to trim nails, give shots, and check for correct halter fit. I also provided them with a New Owner information packet and made subtle suggestions about the alpaca's stalling area (ie. no shavings, as they get caught in the fleece). I think that these are going to be two lucky and well cared for alpacas, and I hope that Rod and Bette are feeling as lucky as we did on our first foray into alpaca ownership!

Manic felting

2009-06-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not always the most motivated or self-disciplined person in the world (not news to those who know me!), and I've been needing to make some felted soaps for the Truly Bluegrass shop for some time. Dropping off fiber for processing at Flaggy Meadow last week got me excited about working with my fiber again and boy did I get a lot done on Sunday!

I made felted soaps galore. Cat balls with a bell in the middle.

Mirian and I made a prototype for a Cat Mat. Sushi loved it but Munchie felt that it would be great for dogs, too. I was excited about a new, original idea I had... felted coasters using space-dyed rovings. They look nice with a bit of zigzag stitching around the edges. (Those newly-acquired sewing skills are coming in handy).

I also figured out how to make Bird Nesting Balls (to hang in the trees for the birds to take tufts of fiber for their nests!) These and other items will be available soon at Truly Bluegrass,here at the farm, and at my Etsy store. I hope I can keep this groove going for a while!

Report from Nationals

2009-06-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to write about Nationals here, but have gotten so busy that I'm going to bring over the summary from my other blog. Read about it all here:

http://locolindy.blogspot.com/2009/06/summertime-routine-not.html

Nationals inspired me to get off my duff with my fiber, so check back soon to see what I've been doing! Have a great day.

Off to AOBA Nationals and World Alpaca Conference!

2009-06-03T02:47:00.000-07:00

Today is the big day when we head to the IX Center in Cleveland, Ohio for Nationals! After missing it last year (Salt Lake City is a loooonnng drive), I'm excited to be a part of the action again. We'll be taking one for the auction, Lunar Light, (Lot #49) and five to show in full-fleece.

"Luna" (she got her name for being born on the night of the lunar eclipse, which we saw vividly), is a very special female with one of the nicest pedigrees we've ever offered at auction. Her sire is none other than 6Peruvian Accoyo Elite. Elite is behind some of the industry's best farms top stars! These include Snowmass Quechua and his son Snowmass Matrix (both of whom have been Futurity Herdsires of the Year MULTIPLE times), DDF Rico Suave, The Elite Maximus, and Crescent Moon's Shiftin' Gears, to name just a few!

Luna herself earned a Reserve Color Championship her very first time out, at the Heartland Classic, placing second and reserve behind a Michelangelo daughter! Hmmmm, that tells me that a Michelangelo mating might be just the thing! (Yes, it's included with purchase, or choose from any of our other sires! Sinbad would be a wonderful possibility as well, adding Nautilus, Caligula, Hemingway, and Sunipani to the mix!). Luna's dam is a daughter of THE Accoyo Legacy (now deceased), also a Herdsire of the Year and foundation behind many top animals in the industry! Legacy's Lexi is a gorgeous dark fawn, and was a great mother for Luna, her first cria.

Luna possesses excellent conformation and structure, a darling head, gentle personality, and a super fine fleece with lovely crimp and density. What more could you want? If you won't be able to attend the AOBA Auction of Friday, arrangements can be made for phone bidding. Questions? Call Tim Vincent at (503) 704-9229 to arrange absentee bidding, or feel free to call me at 859-983-8808.

Very Funny Ad!

2009-05-27T05:35:00.001-07:00

You'll notice that I have several new blogs on my blogroll, mostly from alpaca farms around the world. Check out this video, it's a commercial for an insurance company, played in Australia and possible the UK- you're gonna love it!

Woodford Farm Field Day

2009-05-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

We were invited to bring alpacas and educate 4th graders about them as one of 15 "stations" at a farm field day held at Life Adventure Center of the Bluegrass. It was a beautiful day and a great venue, just a lot of fun!

It's amazing how far we've come as an industry in exposing the public to our great animals, and I get only infrequent "ignorant" questions and far fewer people ask if they're baby llamas, etc. I like to think that it's partly because of those of use who "get out there" with our animals, to farmer's markets, festivals, libraries, schools, farm events, parades, etc. We have done literally dozens of these sorts of things over the years, and they are still gratifying.

Even though we live in a rural county, there are children growing up in our area who are completely out of touch with farms, their food sources, and exposure to animals. Fourth graders, I believe, are ideally receptive to learning about these things and I was very impressed with some of their great questions and attention.
We talked about the alpaca's use and origins, their habits, and defenses. I demonstrated my spinning wheel and let them all try treadling on it. They got to pet our 4-day-old cria, Ginger Spice. Each child left with a little bit of roving- what a thrill that was for some of them! Hopefully they'll go home and tell their parents about all that they learned and saw today- who knows, some may become alpaca breeders or at least consumers of alpaca products someday!

A night scene in fiber...

2009-05-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's been really hard for me to find time for fiber lately, and I may be breaking a new personal record for time spent NOT knitting (it's probably been at least 3 weeks since I've even picked up any needles!). I did, at least, make time for a bit of felting a few weeks ago, and put the finishing touches on this little project today (I knew it needed something, the recent full moon gave me the idea!)
I started with a felt sheet, purchased from the Kentucky Alpaca Association and processed by Flaggy Meadow Fiber Works. This was a great surface for needle-felting! I keep a good stash of my own hand-dyed fibers, and needled on the design and stitched in some tiny beeds.

Then I sewed a little border about 1/2 inch from the edge to give it a little more finished look and put a hanger on the back. I look forward to doing more of these quick and easy little projects and plan to sell some in my Etsy store and at Truly Bluegrass in Versailles.

A Mamma AND a Nanny!

2009-05-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

Amidst all of the other busy-ness of springtime, we have had a special situation to deal with the past few years with one of our dams, 5Peruvian Aymara. Aymara somehow developed a problem with her udder. (Possibly mastitis after a stillbirth? We just don't know), and starting about 4 years ago we had problems getting her babies "hooked up" and nursing. Her udder gets very large and tender, and ultimately only one teat is functional. To get her to the point where she'll allow the cria to nurse on the one teat has required milking her out (which she HATES), warm compresses, banamine, isolating her with cria, bottle-feeding the cria, and any number of other methods which take almost daily, round-the-clock tweaking for at least a few weeks.
Ultimately, we have been able to make it work and the trouble has been worth it because Aymara is one of our most outstanding dams, having produced multi-champions SSF Peruvian Pablo (above, owned by The Criation Station) and Barbaro (below, co-owned with RobAsia Alpacas) and others. The biggest help to this process has been, without a question, "Nanny." A little over two years ago, we purchased a large group of alpacas from a woman getting out of the business after the death of her husband. She mentioned that one of the females was no longer able to have crias, but that she would "adopt" other's crias and eventually come in to her milk. I was skeptical, but when we were having trouble with Aymara's newborn I asked our farm manager to go pick up Nanny and put her in with Aymara and her cria.

It was and is amazing to watch Nanny as she immediately starts giving the targeted cria all of the signals that she is willing and able to nurse it- sniffing the cria's behind, staying nearby, positioning herself just so. She always defers to the dam and the crias do seem to know who mom really is, but she is right there when the baby needs an extra drink! We tried to use Nanny to help with our last bottle cria, but unfortunately she had started bonding with another cria first and just never attached to the one in need. This time, she seemed to remember that Aymara is a special situation.

Last Monday, "Rachel Alexandra" (one of our first crias from Snowmass Nova's Private Reserve) was born to Aymara and we were super-prepared and excited. We had Nanny already in the maternity ward with the older crias moved out, we had frozen colostrum saved from another dam, plasma ready to give orally within the first 3 hours, etc. The cria, a beautiful dark brown female(!), was born strong and lively and has stayed that way with supplementation with Vit D. milk. She's nursing on both Aymara (with her one good teat) and Nanny (who is just now starting to lactate a little), and we are ready to discontinue bottles since she's gaining about a half a pound a day. The whole process can be challenging and often frustrating, but I think that Aymara and Nanny are learning to trust us and our goodwill toward the cria and we are able to relax and know that this process can work! It is very satisfying, and I'm looking forward to putting the three of them out together in the pasture with the other crias soon. Lest you think that Nanny is an angel, I must say that 99% of the time she's a real pain! She is an older import female from Bolivia who is very set in her ways and fearful, and she responds to any quick moves by spitting profusely, screaching, and peeing! Still, she's absolutely worth her weight in gold....

Futurity 2009

2009-04-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was great fun and WOW, the competition was as ruthless as ever. How is it that every year I forget just how many incredible alpacas there are out there, and how many of them find their way to the Futurity to compete? The picture says it all, Snowmass seemed to dominate once again- congratulations to Don and Julie, their animals are incredible.

The auction was soft, which we feel is simply indicative of the economy right now. The very best of the best still brought good prices, and we were very grateful that both of our girls sold to excellent farms! Congratulations and thank you to Gary and Kay Burtoft of Capture Your Heart Alpacas in Bloomfield, KY on their purchase of Michelangelo's Peruvian Muffin! Accoyo Shimmer went to our friend and co-owner of Michelangelo, Larry Johnson of Likada Farm in Illinois- thanks and congratulations once again!!!

I hadn't mentioned it yet, but we recently sold Accoyo America Prophecy to Scott and Tracy Murphy of Harvest Farm in Madison, Indiana- watch for a special blog about that coming up!

Finally, we are off to the 10th Annual Kentucky Classic Alpaca Show in Louisville this weekend! As a co-founder of the Kentucky Classic, which was the first significant AOBA-certified alpaca show, we are very proud of the growth, tradition and success of this fine event. Something new this year will be an interactive fiber arts demonstration by Jan Durham, which will culminate in a felted wall hanging that will be auctioned at the Saturday Night dinner! Should be lots of fun!

We are showing 12 of our finest alpacas, many of which are available for purchase at the show- come look us up!

Futurity Bound!

2009-04-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Producing quality breeding stock is undoubtedly a long-term endeavor which requires a lot of perseverance and patience (something I'm often a bit short on). We are proud to offer two of our best 2008 girls, from top bloodlines that we have been cultivating for quite some time! Michelangelo (above) is the sire of both Lot #26, SSF Michelangelo's Peruvian Muffin and Lot #73, SSF Accoyo Shimmer.

Muffin is an exquisite female who has done very well for us in the showring, just like both of her parents (El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo x Consistency- by Camilio). Her fleece appears more and more dense each time we open it, and we are always stunned by it's brightness and uniformity! She sells with a FREE breeding to ANY of our SSF or Thoroughly Bred Herdsires.

SSF Accoyo Shimmer is also a very special female with an endearing personality to boot! (She is very talkative!) Her fleece shows absolutely no medullation, and is very soft, crimpy and dense. Shimmer's dam is a maternal sister to our Accoyo Maverick- we have always dreamed of combining the Michelangelo and Maverick lines- her she is! Muffin also sells with a complementary breeding.

Both females can be financed, and both are eligible for the Futurity Show. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to call during the weekend at 859-983-8808!

We are looking forward to showing our brown champion female, XXXtremely Sweet, SSF Peruvian Jack Black (it'll be the first show for this Cody son), blue ribbon beige Sinbad son SSF Gallantry, and blueribbon dark fawn Sinbad son SSF Jolly Mon! Hope to see you there!

Getting Ready for the big day- Shearing!

2009-03-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

John Gunther and crew take off an elite "blanket" of fleece

It's hard to believe that shearing time is here again! As in the two previous years, we will have a crew from Biosecure Alpaca Shearing (http://www.shearingalpaca.com/) come to do it, and although I always anticipate shearing day with some trepidation, they have truly made the process much more easy and pleasant for us. We have come such a long way in our ability to prepare the animals, execute the shearing, and process the fleeces, as seen above and below. Then again, anything is better than the first few years we sheared! I would do the llamas using Fiskars scissors and then hand-shears to do strictly a barrel-cut. (In the very early years, nobody even bothered to shear llamas, barrel-cuts were all the rage!). Our favorite llama ever, Grato 1, at the All Kentucky Ag Exp at the Kentucky Horse Park, 1995?

The first year we had more than a few alpacas, I was unable to find a shearer and had only a few hours of extra help per week. Many of the alpacas that were here were newly-imported animals (read: WILD!) that we were brokering for Pan American Alpacas, and they weren't halter-trained and had been handled very little. In order to get them cool and get the fleece off, I would wrestle a halter onto them, tie them up high on the wall, and then start clipping.

One of our first alpaca females, Sweet Tiara

The fleeces weren't very clean since a lot of it fell onto the dirt floor in our only barn at the time, and due to the kicking and protests of the frightened and angry animal, it was nearly impossible to go past their upper belly area or to do around their head (hence, the poodle-looking cuts!). Paul always said the difference between a good and bad haircut is a few weeks, but I think some of those bad cuts lasted for the year! Now, there are travelling crews of experienced and trained shearers who are experts with alpacas, and we have all come a long way in knowing how to safely and quickly get a nice clean fleece off of each animal.

In several of our early years, (when we did at least have a sheep shearer come), we had an annual Shearing Day and Country Festival in the barnyard surrounding the old cabin. It was a crazy time, as we would invite vendors with crafts and food, have spinning demos and a speaker, a bluegrass band, shearing (of course), and usually about 300 people would come. We may do it again in the future now that we have our nice new barn, but inviting in the public for the busiest farm day of the year is a little bit loco.

With my parents and some of our "menagerie" at a Shearing Festiveal, 1996?

On Monday, March 30th starting at around 7:30 AM, we'll be shearing 90 alpacas. All are invited, either to help (with fleece-gathering, sweeping, etc.) or just to watch! Give me a call so that I'll have plenty of food on hand- 859-873-8352.

I've been at the barn doing extra sweeping (an extra-clean barn environment has been mandated for the past month or more), preparing the fiber bags and labels, and rethinking the "traffic flow", since all of the animals will need to be moved quickly in and out of the shearing area. In addition, I've got dinner and breakfast meals prepared for the shearing crew, who always seem to be a bottomless pit and we sure try to keep them nourished and happy! I think we're ready!!!

Best of Midwest Success!

2009-03-23T14:29:00.001-07:00

Last weekend's show and auction in Columbus was a great way to get back into the alpaca scene for springtime. It's always so fun to see our alpaca friends again, to get our young animals into the ring for the first time, and to regain enthusiasm for the industry!

Jitterbug, consigned to the auction, gained a wonderful new home with John, Mary and Sally Francis of Alpaca Corner in Shandon, Ohio. They are long-time loyal customers, and we are excited that they got such a lovely Michelangelo daughter! (She placed 2nd in a very competitive fawn class!) Thanks and Congratulations, John, Mary and Sally!!!

Our new farm manager, Jenny, was great to have along and as always she was a sponge, trying to learn every nuance of showing and judging. She is proving to be a fantastic asset to our team here on the farm!

Our animals did great, with the highlight being XXXtremely Sweet taking the brown female championship in her first show at just 9 months(seen at top). I have had high hopes for her since birth, and it's going to be a lot of fun showing her this year!

Our newest Thoroughly Bred Herdsire, LMFI Man of Steel (co-owned with Catalpa Creek) took a blue ribbon as well in the greys, and he garnered lots of complements with his distinctive good looks. Competition is always brutal in Ohio, and since most of the animals that we took placed high, we were really pleased! We look forward to attending the Futurity, Kentucky Classic and Nationals later this spring- hope to see you there!

Spring visitors!

2009-03-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun yesterday visiting with two knitters, Maude and Elizabeth, who scheduled a tour of the farm. Although I can't always accomodate people who just want to stop in, I nearly always make time for knitters when I can, simply because I enjoy them so much! As it turned out, the weather was spectacular and it was just a great day to be enjoying the beauty of the farm and the alpacas.
These two ladies were just so enthusiastic about everything we do here, which made it fun for me to share. Even the alpacas themselves seemed to sense that these ladies just adored them!

Flashpoint was pretty good about having his incredibly soft fleece touched.

Grato was happy to let the ladies hug him and to see the difference between a llama (which he is) and an alpaca.

Thank you, ladies, for visiting and I truly hope you enjoy your yarn, sweaters, and other goodies! Feel free to come back for our annual Shearing Day on March 30th!

Jitterbugging toward spring!

2009-03-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

We are so ready for spring, and excited about attending our first show and auction of the season, the Best of the Midwest Alpaca Show and Sale in Columbus, Ohio on March 14th and 15th. Highlighting our attendance is the offering of one of the best from our 2007 vintage, SSF Peruvian Jitterbug. She is Lot # 37 in the auction which will be held on Saturday evening. Jitterbug is the daughter of El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo and SSF Peruvian Jericho's Junebug, daughter of MFI Peruvian Jericho. Both of these lines need little introduction, they are two of the most prepotent sire lines in the alpaca industry!

She is already a blue ribbon winner, having taken first at her first show, the Heartland Classic. She is showing readiness for breeding this spring, and she sells with a complementary breeding to any of our hersires, or you can use a Michelangelo breeding on another of your females if you choose!

Please feel free to contact us for any further information about Jitterbug- she is just the type of female that any breeding program would appreciate adding to their herd!

Fun Fiber Creations

2009-02-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

All is returning to normal now that we have the big ice storm behind us! The warm days have made the alpacas more playful, and it's easy to see that love is in the air and spring is around the corner! I've been playing around with some needle felting, and am fortunate to have a nice stash of dyed fleece. Here are some of my recent creations, which can be found either at Truly Bluegrass or on my Etsy site, http://www.alpacalindy.etsy.com/. Hope you're getting out and soaking up some sunshine!

To see some other neat alpaca fiber arts creations, check out my friend Katy's site at http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/ !

A Wild Winter

2009-02-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

Seldom Scene and the surrounding vicinity was hit hard by the now infamous Ice Storm of 2009, but we finally have power after 6 days without! The animals all did fine, and seemed puzzled as we ran around throwing out hay and breaking ice. Sometimes they seem to be a lot tougher than us!

Someone new...

2009-01-23T05:41:00.001-08:00

It's been an exciting week here as we are "breaking in" our new farm manager, Jenny. We were sad to see Jamie leave after 3 years, but it was an amiable mutual parting and things have fallen in to place for all of us. Jenny's equine background and education as well as enthusiasm and fitness (she's an event rider and marathon runner) will serve her well as she learns about alpacas and the ins and outs of maintaining a busy farm operation.

I'm also enjoying Jenny's sense of humor, especially as we were both sliding around in the mud this morning while catching the weanlings for worming!

Reading Dr. Evan's Field Manual cover-to-cover and asking tons of questions, Jenny is currently a sponge and I appreciate her eagerness to learn. She's already giving shots and meds and we are finishing up herd health. She's worked cheerfully through some of the coldest weather we've seen around here in years with nary a complaint!

Welcome, Jenny!

RIP, Sweet Belle

2009-01-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

Silver Belle captured our hearts as much as we tried to stay a little distant, and I am feeling pretty broken-hearted right about now as she died this afternoon. For whatever reason, something was just not right from the start and we tried everything to give her a chance.... round-the-clock bottle feeding to rule out infection, bloodwork, and lastly a plasma transfusion. This is the last picture I took of the sweet thing, at the vet's yesterday.

Although her IGG had been good (we tubed her with her mom's colostrum the first day), she could never get the hang of nursing. We even had our suspicions that possibly her neck was injured somehow as she always seemed to find it awkward to put her nose up. Despite round-the-clock bottle feeding, Belle wasn't growing. I told Paul last night that the transfusion was either going to pep her up considerably or she would take a big downturn today, which is what resulted. In the end, she died quickly.

I hesitated to write about this on the blog, but this is in fact a reality of raising any kind of animals. The loss is sentimental and emotional, but also represents a loss of time and money. Farming is not for the weak!

I chose to do something which I did once years before, and is extremely difficult.... I skinned the hide. Belle had an absolutely exceptional fleece, and I am going to have it tanned. It will honor her in some way, either through becoming a piece of art or for being used for education.

This is not a common occurence, we almost never lose a cria! But, death is a part of life and life will go on... it always does on a farm and spring is just around the corner (well, maybe around a few corners). I hope that my sharing the bad with the good will help someone else in some way.

Alpacas going Beserk! (Aberrant Male Syndrome)

2009-01-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

Alpacas are normally quite safe for even young children to handle!

Alpacas and llamas can develop an issue that was previously called Beserk Male Syndrome (no, we're not talking about men going through mid-life crises or anything), but is now more commonly referred to as Aberrant Male Syndrome. This is basically a problem that is caused/made by inappropriate human interaction during a sensitive time in a cria's development.

It seems that crias that are overhandled (especially in conjunction with bottle-feeding) have their "brain wiring" mixed up. They may appear to be extremely friendly toward people, running up to you, nibbling at clothes, sniffing your shoes, getting into your space. Although it might seem cute in a small cria, these should be red flags of a potential problem, as this is not normal behavior and if not nipped in the bud early on, there can be irreversible dangers. The alpaca may appear more confident than most, which seems appealing, but watch out when "puberty hits!"

Alpacas and llamas, especially males, have a herd pecking order and can be territorial. To establish this hierarchy at maturity, they may chest-butt, mount each other, bite at ears, spit upon, or even tackle each other. This is normal and even healthy behavior that rarely results in injury. Males that have their identity confused by inappropriate bottle-feeding or handling can act in the same ways... toward people. Females with the same issues may also bump, jump on, or otherwise be very pushy or spitty. It is almost as if they aren't sure if they are human or you are alpaca... they are confused and if these behaviors are not discouraged at a very young age, the problem cannot be resolved later on, even by the best of camelid specialists/trainers. Sadly, many owners have had to make the difficult decision to put these animals down rather than put their children or themselves at risk. We actually heard of a man in Ohio who was bitten by a male llama with ABS (Aberrant Male Syndrome), and the bite hit an artery in his arm which could have been fatal! Biting is definitely NOT a normal behavior that alpacas or llamas engage in toward people!

Why is it that nearly every farm visitor we've ever had has recounted a story of being spit upon by a llama at a petting zoo? They tell me their sad story, and when I ask if it was at a petting zoo, they all ask how did I know that? It's simple.... petting zoos like to have friendly animals and bottle feeding produces that. It's not such a big deal with many species, but for alpacas and llamas it definitely is! Tragically, many of those petting zoo animals are sold when mature to unsuspecting newbies that are thrilled with such a friendly new pet... until they are knocked to the ground when they have their back turned, or their new pet starts spitting on them all of the time! Not every petting zoo llama or alpaca has been bottle-fed, but lots of hand-feeding can encourage some of the same behaviors.

So..... we have a bottle cria right now (though she is starting to nurse on her mom a bit more!) How can we prevent these issues from occurring? When we feed Belle we make every effort to do the following:

1. Refrain from talking to her. We routinely talk to many of our animals which is completely fine, but not a bottle cria.

2. Handle only when absolutely necessary.

3. Encourage as much interaction as possible with the herd, never separate her from her mother.

4. Don't make direct eye contact.

5. If one acts too friendly (ie. nibbling on clothes), give them a swift and matter-of-fact knee in the chest while saying NO and immediately leave the area.

Over the years, we have seen just a few crias develop over-friendly tendencies even though they weren't bottle-fed or overhandled- they just seemed to be wired this way. We handled these boys as little as possible and put them with slightly older ones at a younger age then usual to sort of help them be put in their place (not so that they would be injured, just so they wouldn't grow overly-confident).

For further reading about this topic, here are some excellent articles:

http://www.mallonmethod.com/llearning4.html (by John Mallon)

http://www.gentlespiritllamas.com/html/articles/berserk/berserk1.htm (by Cathy Spaulding)

Belle update

2009-01-07T04:13:00.000-08:00

Well, above is what we'd like to be seeing more of....But this is what is happening much more often.... bummer. We may have our first full-time bottle cria ever. Over our 14 years, we've had to intervene with perhaps 1 cria per year to make sure they get their initial milk and work through some early problems with the dam. We once had a cria orphaned at nearly 3 months, but he really fought the bottle at that point and found another dam who would allow him to nurse to supplement the food he was already eating on his own. We've had perhaps 3-4 premature crias (out of nearly 400 born here) that needed early assistance because they were weak, and we have had one dam with an udder problem whose crias need extra care.

For whatever reason, Belle just doesn't seem to want to latch on well to her mom. We've done bloodwork, exams, milked out the dam regularly, everything but they just can't seem to get hooked up.... yet (I haven't lost all hope).

Crias are tougher to get to take a bottle than lambs or calves, they just want to resist it even if they're hungry and they drink pretty slowly. To maintain their body weight they need at least 10% of their total weight in milk and to gain they need 15% or more... which equates to about 28-30 ounces for Belle, at an average of 5 ounces per feeding (IF she takes it), which is 5-7 feedings per day. For the first week, we did round-the-clock feedings but now we don't feed during sleeping hours, so it's a lot to get in all of those bottles.

We use regular Vit. D milk at our vet's recommendation, and sometimes add a tad of cream and plain yogurt for the probiotics.

Next I'll talk about how NOT to create a monster from a bottle-fed cria! What, that cute little sweet friendly thing a monster? They can become pretty crazy if not handled correctly. Fortunately, Belle is a fantastic female cria so I know that it'll all be worth it in the long run!

SSF Silver Belle!

2008-12-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

One of the best alpacas we have ever raised is SSF Peruvian Silver and Gold (shown above). Born on Halloween a few years ago, she appeared fawn at birth but had a tinge of silver at the skin which grew into a solid grey. She would become one of the most stunning, rare harlequin greys we've ever seen, and was a top seller at the 2007 National Elite Auction. She was purchased by Always Accoyo, LLC in Michigan, and was a multiple champion in both fleece and halter. She had a darling personality as well, and was a favorite of our daughter and her friend- I love the picture below where she appears to be smiling for the camera! The Wrights at Always Accoyo adore her, and have sent me some great pictures as she has matured.Yesterday we had the privilege of welcoming her full sister, SSF Peruvian Silver Belle! CH Peruvian Sahara Rose is her harlequin-colored dam, and Accoyo Maverick is the sire. Although she doesn't have much silver showing yet, Belle has some hints of grey in her prime fleece and has the telltale spots on her face like her dam.
Sahara (who has now had 4 female crias in 4 years) has had a skin issue with her udder the past few times, and we have had to intervene with the crias for the first week or two to make sure they get their colostrum (first milk) and subsequent nourishment. The cria appeared to be slightly early, and isn't quite able to get ahold of her dam's teats on her own, so Paul and I milked the mom every 4 hours throughout the night and tube-fed the cria. Sahara is generally very laid-back and cooperative, which definitely makes the job more pleasant.

Although Paul and I don't communicate that well on some things (like backing a trailer or herding a group of animals), we have developed what I think is a beautiful unspoken communication when it comes to caring for newborns and their dams. At 1:30 AM, we arose to the alarm, drove to the barn, and got the job done while saying barely a word to each other! We have learned to be very calm and patient with a dam and her newborn cria, as a situation like this can cause great stress to both and develop into secondary issues like ulcers, milk drying up, etc. Over the years, we know from experience that it doesn't pay to try to force a cria to nurse, but rather to encourage them by positioning under the dam and then letting go, and that most dams will respond gently if you treat them with respect and patience as they seem to know we're helping.

We will continue to monitor the cria closely and make sure she's attempting to nurse regularly and getting enough nourishment from us for now as she grows stronger and more sharp. We'll also do an IGG blood test to be sure she received the proper immunity from her dam's milk. We will milk out the dam to keep her milk flowing and keep her from either drying up or becoming engorged, and will supplement what we give the cria with regular Vit. D whole milk. Few dams and crias require this kind of intervention, but our 14 years of experience tell us that all will be fine and it will be SO worth it! (See the photo of Silver and Gold's champion fleece below!)

We are winding down our birthing season on a great note... when I told Paul the name I liked for the new cria, he said, "At least it's not Silver Balls!"

Quiet Times

2008-12-14T19:04:00.001-08:00

Well, it was a very light turnout for the Open House due to a lack of much advertising- perhaps I was secretly wishing it would be so. My friend Marti always says, "Thoughts become things, always choose the good ones," or something like that, basically be careful what you wish for! Nonetheless, I really enjoyed our visitors and it did get me to organize the barn office a bit better!I hoped to get a lot of spinning and knitting done in "down periods," but what little down time I had was somehow filled up with the kids and chores. I did manage to finish spinning some bright green hand-dyed baby alpaca I'd started earlier in the fall! I also enjoyed a few stolen moments just watching the crias and cats.

Open House Saturday, Dec. 13th

2008-12-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that we will have lots of great alpaca goodies for sale tomorrow in our barn shop from 11 to 3 (originally advertised from 10 to 4). We're having some great discounts, and I'll be glad to show you our new crias, and will be spinning. We'll have hot spiced cider and cookies! Should be fun, feel free to call for directions!

Gratitude and Zippy's cria

2008-12-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

I finally took some pictures of our newest crias. Zippy had a wonderful, bright-white male by Michelangelo. With two champions for parents, this little guy has wonderful potential! We proudly co-own mom and cria with Donna Christley of Moonlight Meadow Farm.
Here are some updated photos of SSF Accoyo Gratitude! She appears to have as much if not even more potential than her two full siblings, SSF Accoyo Sundancer (owned by Flying Pony Alpacas) and SSF Accoyo Empire Maker (owned by Always Accoyo, LLC). Shown at the bottom are Sundancer and Empire Maker!

Whirlwind Weekend

2008-12-09T11:59:00.000-08:00

I'm glad to be finally home from the Carolina Classic Show and Belleau Wood Farm Auction!!! It was GREAT fun, but tiring and there were some stressful moments. It started with a near-fire in the RV the night before we left, and ended with a near-breakdown just outside of Asheville, NC that got us home in one piece but much later than anticipated (see my other blog for details!)

All in all, I was pleased and grateful for the outcome of the weekend- all of our animals sold well and the show went super, too! The auction was festive, and despite the uncertainty of selling animals, I was able to party and have a good time with friends.

SSF Peruvian Pink Pansy sold to our great friends, Mary Beth and Jim Anderson of Alpacas at Booker's Corner in Paris, Kentucky- THANKS and congratulations!

SSF Accoyo Michael AND Eyecatcher and Eye Candy sold to Ron and Cathy Downs of Twisted Lock Alpacas in Shadow Hills, California- THANK YOU so very much!

Although the show was fairly small, competition was stiff and all of our classes were of pretty good size. Runalong took a 1st in the light fawn juvenile females, Gallantry took 1st of 10 in beige juvenile males. Muffin was 2nd in white juvenile females, and Optimist took 3rd in a large white yearling male class! (4 animals, 2 firsts, 1 second and 1 third) Be sure to check back soon for the photos of Gallantry doing tricks!

We had a beautiful white male cria born from Zippy while we were gone, with just a few left for the season. We'll be ready to hunker down for rougher weather and to enjoy the holidays. Tomorrow, I'll write in more detail about our breakdown and give some tips for travelling with the pacas.

Consignments to Belleau Wood Auction!

2008-12-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

Did you see the alpacas on the CBS Evening News last night? How very cool that alpacas (thanks to AOBA) were featured as one of the alternative investments to which many have turned! I know that we have thoroughly enjoyed our alpaca way of life. There are some excellent tax benefits to be gained by investing in 2008 as well, through the Section 179 Deduction.

This weekend we'll be travelling to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Belleau Wood Auction and Carolina Classic Show. We are featuring three top entries in the auction.

SSF Peruvian Pink Pansy (seen above) is a fawn-roan daughter of the incomparable El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo! Her dam is our rose-grey Peruvian Savannah. She has incredible fleece length and is fine and dense. Pansy has excellent breed type with great coverage. She is a full sister to SSF Michelangelo's Cupid, a gorgeous and unique grey that we co-own with Tres Amigos Ranch in Colorado. Like Cupid, she has an extremely friendly and curious disposition, as most Michelangelo offspring do! She should be ready to breed by late spring or early summer, and she sells with a free breeding to any of our unrelated sires! Show her and then breed her, you can't go wrong!

SSF Accoyo Michael is an elite-fleeced white, also sired by Michelangelo. His dam is our foundation female, SSF Accoyo Bella Vida (an Avenger daughter). Judge Kevin O'Leary commented on Michael's extreme potential, and he does appear to be getting better and better! His full brother, SSF Accoyo Optimist, always places at the top of his class, and his follicle density was tested at a remarkable 95 follicles sq. mm with an S/P ratio of 15 to 1! I can think of no better way to add full Accoyo genetics to your herd than through the genetics of Michael (he has Michaelangelo, El Nino, Caligula, Avenger, and Royal Fawn in his background)! There may be some bargains at this auction, so position yourself to take advantage and add these SSF Accoyo genetics to your herd!

SSF Eyecatcher and SSF Eye Candy make up a 3-in-one package that includes Eyecatcher herself, her young FEMALE cria by 419 Peruvian Accoyo Maverick, AND a complimentary breed back to ANY of our sires! We will be happy to transport Eyecatcher back home for the buyer and breed her for you. Eyecatcher, a daughter of our black herdsire Ndume, is shown here below with her 2007 black male cria. Eyecatcher's new cria at side (shown below, DOB 11/17/08) is Eye Candy. She looks like definite show material- she is heavy-boned and typey, with excellent fleece character already evident.As always, we are offering financing and our full farm guarantees! If you can't be at the auction, please contact Erin McCarthy with Belleau Wood for arrangements to bid by phone or by proxy. Let us know if you have any questions!

Calendar of Fun Events!

2008-11-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

November 27- Happy Thanksgiving!
November 29-30- Farm and Shop Open to Visitors by Appointment- We have great gift items including alpaca socks, felted soaps, luxury yarns in natural and hand-dyed colors, sweaters, blankets, and TEDDY BEARS! Check out our beautiful alpaca items from Red Maple Sportswear! Dec. 4-6- Carolina Classic Show and Belleau Wood Auction in Charlotte, North Carolina- contact us for information. We have 3 beautiful lots consigned, and will have others available at the show!

Dec. 13- Farm and Shop Open from 10-4, Christmas Open House with gift items for sale, crias on display, demonstrations, refreshments- all FREE!

Dec. 20-21- Farm and Shop Open to Visitors by Appointment

Dec. 25- Merry Christmas!

Merchandise from Seldom Scene Farm is available here in our shop (please call first), at Truly Bluegrass in Versailles, and at http://www.alpacalindy.etsy.com/

Gratitude

2008-11-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

We had some super nice folks visit yesterday, and the mom that called to schedule said that her daughter was crazy about alpacas but had never met one "in person." Kaylyn and her brother Jake had a great time meeting Maverick and all of the babies, and we were all thrilled to discover a newborn at the new barn, SSF Accoyo Gratitude, daughter of Drama Queen and Michelangelo. Kaylyn and Jake got to help dry off the cria and watch her take her first steps! I'm sure I'll be gushing some more about this cria very soon, as she's likely our best of the entire year! Here's a thank you letter I received this morning-

This is Kaylyn from yesterday. I just wanted to write you and thank you so much for taking time out of your day to show me your alpacas. It was so amazing. That was the best day ever. I learned a lot of new things about alpacas and I thought it was great that we were there when a baby alpaca was born. That made it even better. Everything about your farm was beautiful and serene. I loved it so much. You and your husband and daughter are very lucky. I haven't taken off my scarf or socks yet and I've read that alpaca book/magazine about 4 times already. :) I'm very glad we choose your farm to go see for my first time ever seeing alpacas. I can't even begin to explain how great my day was but I just wanted to thank you so much for letting my mom, my brother, my boyfriend, and I come see your farm. I really appreciate it. Well take care; and take care of the alpacas. Good Luck. -Kaylyn

We are very grateful for the opportunity to share our farm and the magic of alpacas with others- thank you also for coming to see us!

Eye Candy

2008-11-22T16:15:00.000-08:00

Today I turned out the newer crias on pasture, partly so that they can be free to run fast and stretch their legs and soak up some healthy sunshine, and partly to make room for more expectant moms in the nursery area. I made sure to have my camera ready, as I knew they'd be happy and frisky! Above, Maverick is looking over the fence to see which babes may be coming to see him soon!

Above and below is SSF Eye Candy, Eyecatcher's beautiful new girl. It's always hard to get a still photo of her, as she's so exuberant. Whoever buys Eyecatcher and Eye Candy at the Belleau Wood Auction will be lucky indeed, she is looking awesome!
Below, with the striking grey face, is Fury's little boy, looking quite a bit more pert than when he was first born as seen here.Below is Paris's little girl, also sired by Maverick.

Here's Roana's boy, growing up so fast! He and Shiva's cria at the bottom are both sired by RPeruvian Dakotia Decadence.

We are really pleased with our fall cria crop!

Eyecatcher's Little Girl!

2008-11-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

Finally, Eyecatcher presented us with her beautiful brown female cria (sired by Maverick) this morning, all 22.2 pounds of her! Our other fall crias have been averaging around 16 pounds, so she was definitely a whopper and acted bright and mature from the start. She was up and nursing in a record 10 minutes, and Eyecatcher seems to be recovering just fine. Above, she's about 4 hours old and we let her run with the other crias for a while.

I got some pretty neat video of the birth! Before you watch the clips, I would advise making sure to turn down the sound. Eyecatcher is MUCH more vocal than most (many make no sound whatsoever) and was with last year's cria as well. Paul said she sounds like a dieing dinosaur, but he admitted he would, too, if he were having a baby! I don't know how to edit the sound, sorry.

We like to leave the dams with their herdmates during the birth if at all possible, (often on clean pasture if it's not too cold) and then will either keep them with the herd or isolate them in a stall to bond. It was cold today, so we quickly got them into the warm stall and partially blow-dried the cria after weighing, which was difficult as she was SO active! They are snug as bugs in the warm stall tonight, with Paris and her new cria to keep them company. Obviously, these are just partial clips of the labor and delivery- this one took about 15 minutes once she was in active labor.

Eyecatcher and her cria will be sold in the upcoming Belleau Wood Auction in Charlotte, North Carolina. Would anyone like to suggest a name for the cria?

Easily Amused by Yarn!

2008-11-17T14:17:00.000-08:00

Despite having many projects in the works, I was completely entranced by the scarf project that I saw here the other day on The Yarn Harlot's blog. After looking at most of her links and then dozens of versions on Ravelry, I had to cast on immediately and I've had the knitting in my hands nearly every waking minute since. The pattern calls for Noro Silk Garden and I combined it with some of our dark grey alpaca yarn. I had honestly never knit a scarf in the K1, P1 rib stitch, and I adore the way it looks like stockinette but with no front and back sides.
Noro is an incredible yarn which comes in different high-quality fiber blends (Silk Garden has silk, kid mohair, and lamb's wool), but the neatest part is how the yarns change colors in very long, gradual repeats. You can find more photos and the complete instructions here. I can't wait to knit some socks with the pattern that I found here using Noro sock yarn, but I need to do some more scarves first! (Pssttt... they're for Christmas!)

(This is one of my favorite color transitions).

A Little Drama Everyday

2008-11-14T04:16:00.000-08:00

My friend Dianne describes farm life with animals as being like a series of mini-dramas going on all the time. That was the case yesterday when I got the call that Fury was in labor in the field at our top barn. We hadn't expected this cria quite yet, so it was an "all hands on deck" sort of event. Maybe I should say, "All feet on deck", because all four of our guardian dogs gathered around to watch, as did the rest of the female herd.

The cria was a little slow to come out due to one elbow being lodged in the tract, (which I corrected) and Fury went on to deliver just fine after that. Our very shy female Maremma guardian dog, Rosa, just couldn't wait to sniff the the little boy but Fury wouldn't have it! She chased off our other Maremmas, Dylan and Crockett, but Rosa just layed there while Fury threatened to stomp her. Oh how I wish I'd had my camera just then, as Rosa displayed perfect guardian dog submission to her, getting closer and closer to the ground, averting her eyes, and then laying on her back completely exposing her belly to Fury to gain her trust. Fury nipped at her ears as if to say, "Hey, I'm watching you", but didn't hurt her as she easily could have!

The Great Pyrenees, Yoda (our very own Head of Ranch Security), just ran in circles barking around the entire group, keeping his eyes on the sky for any buzzards, which he detests even more than tires coming up and down our road. I don't know what we'd do without our great guard dogs!

We got mom and cria to the cozy warm stall at the new barn, but the cria seemed a little bit weak and slow, and he wasn't holding his head up strongly as I would have liked. I was worried that he may have been slightly deprived of oxygen during birth, so we opted to give him a little from the oxygen tank we keep on hand. This is not something we do routinely by any means, but it worked great and the cria really rallied after that and was on his feet nursing in no time! Here he is today, a beautiful Maverick boy (this must mean that Eyecatcher's going to have a girl, right? She is finally isolating herself, so maybe the birth is finally imminent?)

We had some super nice visitors today, Rod, Betty and their darling grandson Ben. Congratulations to them for becoming new alpaca owners with their purchase of two females!

(Here is Ben and Rod with our very sweet Pink Pansy, who will be available in the upcoming Belleau Wood Auction in N. Carolina).

A Gentleman Country Vet- Dr. Norm Evans

2008-11-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

James Herriot's books, such as All Creatures Great and Small (the tales of a Yorkshire country vet), had a huge impact on my interest in animals and even though I chose to be a teacher rather than a vet, biology has always fascinated me and vets are some of my favorite people. Our local vet and good friend, Dr. Ashley Keith, has been our hero-on-call many times, but the one nearest and dearest to my heart will likely always be Dr. Norman Evans.
Norm (he calls himself "Nearly Normal Norman") has been an integral part of Seldom Scene's success from the start, and has been worth every penny that we have paid him over the years (and there have been lots of pennies!), saving many animal's lives and helping us learn and move on when things haven't turned out so well. Early on, we had the painful experience of losing two beautiful, black female crias within 24 hours. I was inconsolable, and Dr. Evans sent us a very special book, signed by the illustrator (Nancy Noel) called, All God's Creatures Go To Heaven . I have always treasured it, and have read it to both children as they have experienced losses of pets. He has grown attached to several of our alpacas that he's seen over the years (especially our first female, Machuca), and has a remarkable memory for past issues of interest with our animals.

Aside from being such a kind and compassionate person, Norm Evans is a brilliant vet who has helped to formulate the alpaca feeds being used by most breeders in the US, and is one of the more popular seminar speakers and teachers on alpacas anywhere. He has written several editions of the indispensable Alpaca Field Manual (and apparently has a new rewrite coming out soon). In addition, he is on the cutting edge of skin follicle evaluation via skin biopsies, and has helped us identify strengths and weaknesses of the alpacas within our own herd (Our co-owned herdsire, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo has one of the highest follicle densities ever tested, and his offspring are testing very high as well!)

I hadn't intended to gush so much about him, but wanted to report on Dr. Evan's visit yesterday to do some ultrasounds, pre-purchase exams for the upcoming Belleau Wood Auction and Carolina Classic Show, and a few other items. Reproductive efficiency has been a vital aspect of growing our herd, so it's important to optimize each and every breeding and he helps us to do that.
There is just so much that Dr. Evans can see via a high-quality ultrasound machine using a rectal probe. Aside from confirming pregnancy, he can often tell if there is infection or scarring within the uterus, inflammation of the cervical rings or the status of the ovaries (Are they there? Are they developed? Is there a follicle that is "ripe" for breeding?). In addition, he can often detect twins (NOT a good thing), or abnormalities within the reproductive tract. It is essential to have a great, strong holder like our farm manager, Jamie, and it keeps things much safer for the alpaca, the people, and the valuable ultrasound machine! Strangely enough, the alpacas object more to being ultrasounded via the outside of their belly than rectally, and the internal probe gives a much clearer picture.

Norm's visit yesterday revealed that some animals need treatment for infection via an intrauterine catheter that he inserts for direct delivery of antibiotics to the uterus, some girls aren't cycling due to having large crias at side which are likely "draining resources", and some are pregnant as we hoped. Although we have detected pregnancies at just a few weeks, here's a shot of one of our best dam's Dulce's cria in utero (skull showing) at about 6 months- she's bred to our newest black herdsire, Snowmass Nova's Private Reserve. We always joke around that it looks like it must be a grey girl with awesome fiber! (Of course not even Norm can make that prediction, nor can he tell the gender).

We are so grateful for the assistance of all of our great vets, but especially to the humble and remarkable Dr. Norman Evans, DVM.