We're taking the animals to a show this weekend. They will parade in front of judges and get 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. for the softness of their fleece, their shape, the look in their eye, their thoughts on 3rd world animal cruelty. Well maybe not the last one, but sometimes I wonder what else the alpaca tells the judge that makes the judge pick one over another when they seem identical!
We will have two 12 x 12 pens. One for the girls and one for the boys (because of course we can't keep them together!) We provide information about our animals and we network with other alpaca owners and breeders. Alpaca shows are held across the country! The one we are attending is in Topeka, Ks. I think this show will have 500 animals. Some shows have more than 1000 animals!
We are a small ranch. And relatively new at this. Sometimes we learn lessons the hard way. We tried to enter 3 of our animals in a best of sire competition. For this catagory you have 3 animals from one sire, except I missed the part that said they must have 3 different mothers. Two of our three had the same mother and we were disqualified. Boy did I feel stupid!
The first show we went to we took our two year old male and our 6mo. old Sophia. They had been in the same paddock at home without any problems. We get them in a pen and they decided it's time to mate! WHAT! Along with Sophia's 6mo. old cousin Zak they were having a menage a troix! We got a phone call at our hotel from the show superintendent. She asks "Shouldn't we have ordered 2 pens since we had males and females?" Duh.
So we'll see how it goes. We have two pens. Just the regular halter entries. All the equipment. What can go wrong? ...farm living is the life for me. Sanetha
WICKED!!!
My daughter and I went to see the musical "WICKED" last night. We wanted this, we needed this, we DESERVED this. The tickets I purchased said row "C". Hey! 3rd row! Not bad! Row C was actually the front row and we could reach out and touch the orchestra. We loved every funny, dark, beautiful, revealing minute.
But to truly appreciate how much we enjoyed this evening you must understand what happened to us eleven years ago when "West Side Story" came to Wichita. My daughter and I loved this show. We talked about it for weeks. The night of the show I was on crutches, Sharon was 7 months pregnant and the sitter for Levi(1 1/2 years) cancelled at the last minute. We looked like some kind of weird war memorial. Crippled grandma, fussy child and pregnant woman. All we needed was gun smoke behind us for the picture to be complete. The hall monitor looked at us pitifully, like we must have traded our food stamps for these tickets and the law would soon drag our sorry butts out of the lobby. Levi had slept all the way to the show. As we sat in our seat Levi thought it was time to talk and play! We were ask to take him out side. We took turns standing with him in the hallway. Neither of us saw much of the show. So "WICKED" for us was wonderful!
But to truly appreciate how much we enjoyed this evening you must understand what happened to us eleven years ago when "West Side Story" came to Wichita. My daughter and I loved this show. We talked about it for weeks. The night of the show I was on crutches, Sharon was 7 months pregnant and the sitter for Levi(1 1/2 years) cancelled at the last minute. We looked like some kind of weird war memorial. Crippled grandma, fussy child and pregnant woman. All we needed was gun smoke behind us for the picture to be complete. The hall monitor looked at us pitifully, like we must have traded our food stamps for these tickets and the law would soon drag our sorry butts out of the lobby. Levi had slept all the way to the show. As we sat in our seat Levi thought it was time to talk and play! We were ask to take him out side. We took turns standing with him in the hallway. Neither of us saw much of the show. So "WICKED" for us was wonderful!
This is one of those evenings when I can sit and not feel guilty that I'm not doing something productive. Because as you know a blog is FUN! It has been raining pups and kittens all afternoon and I think its a great time to type and think. One of our grandsons was here this evening for a little birthday party. For his birthday he wanted a car from Wal Mart "that only cost a dollar"! Grandpa talked him into some lottery tickets too and he won $17. The guy is LUCKY!
This is a pic of our alpaca Joy with her daughter Ebony. Joy is one of our unpregnant alpacas. She had this name before she came to us and sometimes doesn't live up to it. Last spring when we tried to breed her to our brown male, she went alpaca ballistic! She ran. She screamed. She tried to jump the fence. She knocked me down trying to get away! (Nary a scratch on this old girl). So okay, that didn't work out well. Anyone that knows alpacas would say, "she is already pregnant", but she hadn't been with a male! I was a little scared about ever doing this animal breeding thing again (remember I am a city girl)! I was ready to pay someone! But yesterday I got a bright idea to let the two of them out in the field by themselves. They could just stay there until she was pregnant! Free to do what nature intended. I swear they were skipping as they ran to the middle of the paddock. She cushed immediately! They bred for thirty minutes. And again, later for twenty minutes. Yes I timed them! She even nuzzled his knee! Later they walked on opposite sides of the paddock occasionally glancing at each other, like they were in a singles bar. I think I heard the "Bee Gees" playing! (No wait, I'm confusing that with my own 1970's experiences in a singles bar, so sorry, could be dementia). Anyway, now it is raining and it may be days before I get her back to her girl mates. But I think she's okay with that....farm living is the life for me. Sanetha
This is a pic of our alpaca Joy with her daughter Ebony. Joy is one of our unpregnant alpacas. She had this name before she came to us and sometimes doesn't live up to it. Last spring when we tried to breed her to our brown male, she went alpaca ballistic! She ran. She screamed. She tried to jump the fence. She knocked me down trying to get away! (Nary a scratch on this old girl). So okay, that didn't work out well. Anyone that knows alpacas would say, "she is already pregnant", but she hadn't been with a male! I was a little scared about ever doing this animal breeding thing again (remember I am a city girl)! I was ready to pay someone! But yesterday I got a bright idea to let the two of them out in the field by themselves. They could just stay there until she was pregnant! Free to do what nature intended. I swear they were skipping as they ran to the middle of the paddock. She cushed immediately! They bred for thirty minutes. And again, later for twenty minutes. Yes I timed them! She even nuzzled his knee! Later they walked on opposite sides of the paddock occasionally glancing at each other, like they were in a singles bar. I think I heard the "Bee Gees" playing! (No wait, I'm confusing that with my own 1970's experiences in a singles bar, so sorry, could be dementia). Anyway, now it is raining and it may be days before I get her back to her girl mates. But I think she's okay with that....farm living is the life for me. Sanetha
Last night as I lay in bed I saw something shine briefly on my headboard. Okay just a fluke, my eyes playing tricks on me. Then my eyes were closed and I saw it again! I turned over in bed to see the time, and I saw the shine at my back door! Someone was roaming around outside my house with a flashlight! I got up and walked into the living room. What was I going to do if it WAS someone outside my rural house with a flashlight? Give them a blanket and pillow? Offer them my robe? I could see the alpacas in the beam of the security light sitting cushed on their chests, kind of like a cat. They weren't concerned that there was a strange entity roaming around the house with a flashlight! Then I saw lightning. duh.
We worked the yearling girls today. We put halters on them and walked them around the paddock. I was leading our bay black "Ebony". She's had a halter on before and didn't get the hang of it. But today I think she figured it out. I gave her enough lead that she could either keep it slack or tight, but she had to stay by me. Her mother watched proudly saying, "That's MY girl"! She started to cush. I firmly held the halter and she did not cush. What a milestone! She looked me in the eye and said "Now I understand what you want from me, and it's not that bad". We walked back toward the shed after a very good learning session. I removed the halter and she walked away. But not before throwing her back leg out for one good kick. Thankfully she didn't make contact. That would have left a bruise. I learn from these animals. They have taught me patience, perseverence, and how to dodge a kick!
I changed chicken feed a couple weeks ago and the chickens revolted! They have only laid about three eggs all week. I ask them what the deal was! You know what they said? Cluck. What did I expect? Excuses?
Trapper is earning his keep! Hubster found three dead mice on the floor in front of his work bench. Trapper plays with the mice before he goes in for the kill. I don't care how he does it, as long as he doesn't puke them back up. That would do it for me. Trapper would be a house cat. Rocky and Trapper play. Anytime I've seen a dog and cat in the same household they kept a respectful distance from each other. But not these two. I've seen Trapper's entire head inside Rocky's mouth! Then Rocky will roll over on his back and Trapper will get on top of his chest and nip at his fur! But they don't hurt each other!?
Leaves are starting to turn red on the maple trees in front of our house. The bugs are almost gone. Rocky and I went for a walk last evening. It was nice not having to swat mosquitos or watch out for spider webs. But I always walk with a shovel. You just never know what other animals have decided it's a nice evening to walk around in the country! ...farm living is the life for me!
We worked the yearling girls today. We put halters on them and walked them around the paddock. I was leading our bay black "Ebony". She's had a halter on before and didn't get the hang of it. But today I think she figured it out. I gave her enough lead that she could either keep it slack or tight, but she had to stay by me. Her mother watched proudly saying, "That's MY girl"! She started to cush. I firmly held the halter and she did not cush. What a milestone! She looked me in the eye and said "Now I understand what you want from me, and it's not that bad". We walked back toward the shed after a very good learning session. I removed the halter and she walked away. But not before throwing her back leg out for one good kick. Thankfully she didn't make contact. That would have left a bruise. I learn from these animals. They have taught me patience, perseverence, and how to dodge a kick!
I changed chicken feed a couple weeks ago and the chickens revolted! They have only laid about three eggs all week. I ask them what the deal was! You know what they said? Cluck. What did I expect? Excuses?
Trapper is earning his keep! Hubster found three dead mice on the floor in front of his work bench. Trapper plays with the mice before he goes in for the kill. I don't care how he does it, as long as he doesn't puke them back up. That would do it for me. Trapper would be a house cat. Rocky and Trapper play. Anytime I've seen a dog and cat in the same household they kept a respectful distance from each other. But not these two. I've seen Trapper's entire head inside Rocky's mouth! Then Rocky will roll over on his back and Trapper will get on top of his chest and nip at his fur! But they don't hurt each other!?
Leaves are starting to turn red on the maple trees in front of our house. The bugs are almost gone. Rocky and I went for a walk last evening. It was nice not having to swat mosquitos or watch out for spider webs. But I always walk with a shovel. You just never know what other animals have decided it's a nice evening to walk around in the country! ...farm living is the life for me!
Mowing season is over! You know there is only 2 seasons - Mowing season & not mowing season. I do enjoy mowing believe it or not. There is an instant gratification to mowing. I see the results instantly. Nice neat rows of newly cut grass. When I am mowing I go into my own little world where I make plans, declutter my mind, forgive, enhance, discover and create peace in the world. I paint the house, remodel my home, buy new furniture, lose weight, color/straighten my hair, breed my alpacas to national studs, landscape my world. I conquer poverty, racism, sickness, greed, jealousy, and if Obama would just catch me when I'm mowing I could really help him out! When mowing season is over I can rejoice in laziness. Until April when mowing season starts again:(
My brother-in-law's memorial service was held here recently. He grew up here in Wellington, Kansas. His life took him all over the country. He was what most would call an "Old Soul". He accepted people, lifestyles, attitudes for what they were. He met life long friends after a five minute conversation. One of the funnest evenings I spent in my life was night fishing on Fort Myers pier with him. The hubster's mother had surgery on her back in 2005. I went to Florida to help out with her care. When she went to sleep early one night during the two weeks we were there, Roger dragged me out to "night fishing." We had poles, bait, beer, smokes and a "lets have fun fishing" attitude! We sat in a bar and listened to a live band until the sun went down. Then went out on the pier and put our lines in the water. He gave me coaching as to how to fish in deep water and I didn't catch a thing. But... he and everyone else on the pier caught shark, stingray and sea bass. I had only ever caught catfish, so I was in fishing heaven! About 2:00am we were presented with a meteor shower like I had never seen before! Shooting stars with red, yellow, green trails every few minutes. It was an amazing night I would have never seen if it weren't for him.
I really love my in-laws. I know all people can't say that but I can. They live in Florida. Kansas weather isn't always cooperative to their visits, and I hate that. They used to live here, but have been in Florida for 20 yrs. and feel the cold in their bones even when we're still sweating! My own father changed our family when my parents divorced many, many years ago. Another father figure was present for a number of years but became a false presence. But my father-in-law is rock solid at 89 years old. He cares for my mother-in-law which is challenging. They come to my house and and I think I helped them to be comfortable though I didn't have the things they really needed in my pantry, bathroom, kitchen. They accepted that we occasionally leave more lights on than we should, use the dishwasher when it's not quite full, wash small loads of laundry, and throw our aluminum cans into the regular trash. I love visiting them in Florida. I get Florida. If my ranch was miraculously transported to Florida I wouldn't appreciate the weather, but in Kansas I get it! It is always shorts and flip-flops in Florida. The Garden Shop at Wal-Mart is open year-round!
Once a year we open Sweet Grass Ranch to visitors. People can feed the alpacas, see where they live, and the care that goes into thriving alpacas. Our national organization picks a date for this event, but they don't ask us if this convenient. My husband usually works the weekend of the national event, so we have ours the next weekend. This is the second year we have opened the farm to visitors. I brought our alpaca stud Leon, into a small pen for everyone to see up close. He looked at me with a definite glare in his eye and said, "I will never forgive you for this!" I first had him within his vision of the girls paddock. He was pacing the small pen and trying to jump over his enclosure. My mother was a little nervous. She was afraid Leon would come out of his enclosure. So I moved his pen so there was a tree blocking his vision of the girls. He is really just a teen-ager in a very nice light brown coat. He and my mother relaxed.
My brother-in-law's memorial service was held here recently. He grew up here in Wellington, Kansas. His life took him all over the country. He was what most would call an "Old Soul". He accepted people, lifestyles, attitudes for what they were. He met life long friends after a five minute conversation. One of the funnest evenings I spent in my life was night fishing on Fort Myers pier with him. The hubster's mother had surgery on her back in 2005. I went to Florida to help out with her care. When she went to sleep early one night during the two weeks we were there, Roger dragged me out to "night fishing." We had poles, bait, beer, smokes and a "lets have fun fishing" attitude! We sat in a bar and listened to a live band until the sun went down. Then went out on the pier and put our lines in the water. He gave me coaching as to how to fish in deep water and I didn't catch a thing. But... he and everyone else on the pier caught shark, stingray and sea bass. I had only ever caught catfish, so I was in fishing heaven! About 2:00am we were presented with a meteor shower like I had never seen before! Shooting stars with red, yellow, green trails every few minutes. It was an amazing night I would have never seen if it weren't for him.
I really love my in-laws. I know all people can't say that but I can. They live in Florida. Kansas weather isn't always cooperative to their visits, and I hate that. They used to live here, but have been in Florida for 20 yrs. and feel the cold in their bones even when we're still sweating! My own father changed our family when my parents divorced many, many years ago. Another father figure was present for a number of years but became a false presence. But my father-in-law is rock solid at 89 years old. He cares for my mother-in-law which is challenging. They come to my house and and I think I helped them to be comfortable though I didn't have the things they really needed in my pantry, bathroom, kitchen. They accepted that we occasionally leave more lights on than we should, use the dishwasher when it's not quite full, wash small loads of laundry, and throw our aluminum cans into the regular trash. I love visiting them in Florida. I get Florida. If my ranch was miraculously transported to Florida I wouldn't appreciate the weather, but in Kansas I get it! It is always shorts and flip-flops in Florida. The Garden Shop at Wal-Mart is open year-round!
Once a year we open Sweet Grass Ranch to visitors. People can feed the alpacas, see where they live, and the care that goes into thriving alpacas. Our national organization picks a date for this event, but they don't ask us if this convenient. My husband usually works the weekend of the national event, so we have ours the next weekend. This is the second year we have opened the farm to visitors. I brought our alpaca stud Leon, into a small pen for everyone to see up close. He looked at me with a definite glare in his eye and said, "I will never forgive you for this!" I first had him within his vision of the girls paddock. He was pacing the small pen and trying to jump over his enclosure. My mother was a little nervous. She was afraid Leon would come out of his enclosure. So I moved his pen so there was a tree blocking his vision of the girls. He is really just a teen-ager in a very nice light brown coat. He and my mother relaxed.
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