Well, here I promised to post on a regular basis and now 3 moths later I am just getting back to it!  I am sorry!  So many things have happened lately to take me away from writing.  Hopefully, I am back on track now!

In regard to alpacas, here's what you missed....

We have added two new girls to our herd!  Meet Tess & Damaris.

Tess is pregnant and due to deliver sometime in July.  She is dark brown in color and looks unlike any other girl in our herd.  In addition to being very cute, Tess has given birth  to some lovely, high quality crias.  She is bred to a handsome male named Black Ryder, so we expect a dark cria, but you never know!

Damaris is sweet as can be and has also produced several quality crias.  When visiting the farm where we purchased Damaris, I was able to see Amazing Grace - Damaris's  2011 cria.  Little 'Gracie' really is amazing with beautiful fine silver fiber, soft hand, and exceptional staple length.  Damaris will be bred again to Captain Kirk,  Gracie's sire, so I'm hoping we'll be  lucky enough to get a 'Gracie' of our own.   

Both girls have settled in beautifully in their new home.  I think they like it here, and we are thrilled to have them.  They bring genetic diversity to the herd as well as offering the potential to improve the fiber quality in our herd.  

Because alpacas are fiber animals, and we are actively processing and using as much fiber as possible, we we are striving to add animals that produce a good usable fiber throughout the course of their life, not just the first few years.

Our veterinarian paid a visit last week...  She performed ultrasounds on several of the girls.  Seven ultrasounds, 5 confirmed pregnancies!   I can hardly wait to see the babies this year!  In addition to Tess, Willow, Maddie, Lily, and Caelia are all expecting with due dates mid-June to mid-July.  It will be fun to see the little ones grow up together.   I'll be keeping a close eye on all these girls, as I'd hate to miss witnessing the birth. 

It looks like warmer weather is finally making an appearance.  The alpacas enjoyed soaking up the sun today, and I just couldn't resist including a couple of photos of that too.

As much as I enjoy being outdoors when the weather is so nice, it's time to focus on other business.   This week will be dedicated to Fiber Fusion Northwest and the Whidbey Island Fiber Quest.    As vendor chairperson and webmaster, I am actively involved with the planning of Fiber Fusion Northwest - and there is lots to do in that regard right now!   I am also participating in the Whidbey Island Fiber Quest taking place May 17-20.   Based on previous Fiber Quests, we expect many fiber enthusiasts to visit over the course of the weekend.  

These are both fun events for any one interested in fiber or fiber arts.  Take a look at the websites to learn more about them! 
Fiber Fusion Northwest - www.fiberfusion.net
Whidbey Island Fiber Quest - www.whidbeyfiberquest.com