Thanksgiving - In March???

Well, not in the true sense of the Holiday, but we're sure our boy alpacas were giving many thanks for our latest hay delivery. 

Stacked, briefly, within their reach, our boys made full use of the short amount of time they had unlimited access to the sweet tasting hay.  The girls looked on with jealousy as they were unable to reach the bounty.

Lined up, as if they were at table, the boys were munching away and oblivious to their photos being taken. 

All was calm until two of our stud males decided they needed it all!  Needless to say, everyone else ignored them and kept on eating.  The punch up didn't last long as the sweet smell of freshly delivered hay soon got both boys back to eating their fill.

Shooing everyone out of the barn, to get ready for dinner time, was more of a challenge than usual.  Our alpacas certainly love their food - whether it's fresh grass, treats from our visitors, sweet hay or their daily dinner.

Guest Photographers

We've had the pleasure of receiving the gift of photographs from a number of photographers who have been kind enough to share their work.  We would like to take this opportunity to display some of their shots so you can enjoy them as much as we have.

These first three photos were taken by Beamie Young and I'm sure most of you recognize Fiona - our distinctive suri baby from last spring.  Her baby friend is Jujuy and, although Fiona looks much the same - just bigger - Jujuy is hardly recognizable from her baby photos.

Britney seems to be enjoying having her picture taken and is always inquisitive - especially if there may be the chance of food coming up. 

Lewis Grandstaff took a beautiful shot of Mattigan.  He's one of our most handsome boys and can usually be counted on to put his best face forward.  Lewis used his photography skills to really make Mattigan stand out and it seems our guardian dog, Otis, is keeping an eye on things.

Loretta seems to have a lot to say about Juan Zambado taking her picture, or maybe she's asking for some extra treats.  She seems to have a pretty determined look in her eye, so maybe she's keeping the young cria in line.

Juan also captured Prima Donna, the star of our fall advertising last year.  She is still showing the fine good looks she was born with and is a very friendly alpaca.

Nella Farley is the last, but certainly not least, of our featured photographers.  Nella captured Jujuy right after she was born, and her artistic abilities let us see how fine her fleece is as it's standing out around her ears.  It seems Jujuy captured a lot of photograpic attention last year. 

As we look forward to our new crop of babies, due starting the end of next month, we're excited to see the talents of our visitors.  With our Photography Contest just beginning, it's a great time to come out and see what's going on in the barn.

 

Spring is ALMOST here

Spring is in the air down at the farm and our alpacas are enjoying the few nice sunny days we've been experiencing lately.  Even the birds are seeming more plentiful, as they take shelter in the barn, from the wind and freezing temperatures that remind us that we're not yet done with winter.  I'm sure word gets around in the avian community that an alpaca farm is the best place to be when it's nest building time.  With a plentiful supply of soft, warm, alpaca fiber, our lucky baby birds stay warm and dry and, this year, we've been able to recreate the experience for you to take home.  Our nesting balls are made from grapevines and stuffed full of huacaya and suri fiber, ready for you to pamper your backyard friends.

We've also been busy carding and dying our fiber, ready for all your spring felting and spinning projects. Bright, vibrant colors are now available and we're carding and dying as fast as we can.

There are also a host of vibrantly colored yarns for knitters and crochet artists to enjoy. Superior softness and pleasing color combinations allow our artisans to create items of exclusive beauty. We've really enjoyed showing some of the amazing projects folks have created - usually on our facbook page - and hope to have many more to display as winter turns into spring. 

                                    

As we're about to get a reminder that winter is still here - check out our Alpaca Shoppe and Fiber Studio as we're changing with the seasons.  Brighter, lighter, colors and styles, make wearing and working with alpaca fiber a year round pleasure.

Our products can now be found at our Alpaca Nation website at http://www.sugarloafalpacashop.com

If you see something you like, come in and take a closer look or call us at 240-500-0007 and we'll be happy to take a telephone order.  We can ship anywhere in the world and we're excited to be taking this next step in customer convenience as move toward full ecommerce.  If there is a way we can help you that we haven't thought of yet - just let us know.