Spring has arrived; at least we think it has. We had some early warm weather, put away the wood boxes for the wood stoves and then returned to cold nights and frost covered mornings. The concern for freezing is past and we await a stretch of dry weather in which to harvest our hay crop.
We all survived shearing and have a beautiful harvest of excellent fiber to sort, grade, spin and process into luxurious products. The animals all look a bit naked but so clean! Now, they will be cool for summer as they regrow a new gift of fleece for next year.
Spring also brings new cria and our first, Chinaka, has already arrived. See her information page for pictures. We are expecting five more this spring and summer. We held several of our dams who had birthed later last year in order to allow them to have spring cria. This year's cold winter reinforced their need for more time to grow fleece and body mass to keep warm, which the late season-born lack. We figure that nature knows best and alpacas naturally breed and birth in spring.
Watch for new pictures of our 2010 cria as they arrive.
|
