Buckingham's Choice Retirement Community

Visitors and Residents of Buckingham's Choice Retirement Community came and spent the morning with us today and it was a treat for everyone concerned.

Ice Man had a lovely time meeting all the new people and very much enjoyed all the attention he received.

Mobility was difficult for some, so we brought the alpacas to the people, and it was a nice change of scenery for Ice Man and Mason - our stars of the morning.

Some of our bigger boys wanted to get in on the action, especially when the carrots came out.  There's nothing quite like the experience of feeding an alpaca lip to lip.  They are so incredibly gentle with super soft noses that it has to be experienced to be believed.

Smiles were plentiful and our alpacas certainly enjoyed all the extra treats they were given today.  Ice Man, one of our Juvenile Boys, and Mason, one of our Yearling Boys, have pens in the back of the barn so they seldom get treats from visitors.

Thank you Buckingham's Choice.  We look forward to you coming back to visit us again.  Maybe we will have a baby to show you at your next visit.

Birthday Girl

Sugarloaf Alpaca Co, LLC would like to wish Nina a very Happy Birthday and we are so pleased she chose to celebrate her special day with us on the Farm.

Our alpacas were very interested in all the activities going on around them, and we all had a fun time creating a special day on the farm for Nina and her friends.

After some "farmyard games" everyone worked up an appetite and gathered around the table for refreshments.
 

Once everyone was done eating, Mason and Gunston made an appearance and everyone had the opportunity to meet them and have their photos taken. 

Not everyone had been so close to an alpaca, before but alpacas are so gentle, it didn't take long for everyone to feel like they'd made a new best friend.

Even our youngest visitors had a  wonderful time

 

 

We especially enjoyed seeing Nina's Birthday Cake which included four alpacas and even sported our Sugarloaf Alpaca Co Logo. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to Nina and her friends for allowing us to share her birthday celebration with our blog friends.  We hope you enjoy the pictures and look forward to more fun activities on the farm.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Don't Look So Worried .....

..... My Name is Nala!

Thanks to one of my good friends, Nina, who comes to visit me regularly and feeds me treats.

It's a very regal sounding name and actually has a Tanzanian origin, meaning queen.
I can see already, it's going to be tough to live up to the high standards set by my namesake.

Nala is the name of the fictional lioness character in Disney's popular 1994 animated feature film The Lion King.

I know I can do it though because I'm growing into a beautiful young alpaca with crimp and density to spare. 

I get my beautiful fiber from my Sire, Charmer and my color from my Dam, Black Pearle. 

Although I've only been here since October - the 11th to be exact - it's easy to see who is the belle of the barn (at least in my opinion).

I'm also super friendly and love to have visitors come visit me.  I very much enjoy the treats, now I'm old enough to eat them, but will also eat hay off the others backs if I get hungry.

Of course, I have my creep feeder at my disposal should I need snacks inbetween visitors - but I much prefer the alfalfa.

Piggy in the Pen

Visitors to our farm, lately, have noticed a rather dominant personality in the nursery pen.  When treats are being handed out, Loretta is making her presence known in a rather forceful manner - leaving no one in any doubt as to who is the Queen of the Pen.

In her defense, Loretta is still nursing Cinna, is constantly hungry  and, the larger Cinna grows, the more she eats.  We are especially enjoying visitors to the farm at the moment because it means everyone gets to enjoy some treats.

To make sure our babies are getting enough nutrients, we now have a creep feeder in the nursery pen.  That is a special mini-pen with an entrance large enough for the little ones but too small for the adult and weanling alpacas to squeeze through.

It took our babies a few days to work out how to get to their food but they soon got it all figured out.  Ziggy, the largest of our babies, had the most difficulty getting in and out because he is taller than the width control bar.  He soon got the hang of it though and is now a pro and getting in and out.

With the colder days and nights we are expecting, it is important to make sure everyone is well fed.  The babies still have heated pads to lie on at night (if they want to) and, if it gets really cold, you can expect to see our younger ones with their coats on.

Although our Alpaca Shoppe and Fiber Studio are open until 5pm, we ask visitors to arrive before 4pm if they'd like to feed the babies some treats, so it doesn't interfere with their dinner.

We look forward to seeing you.