Relaxing by the OB Pasture

The summer goes on and the fleece keeps a'growin'!  I love watching them.    They think they are really something.  The other day they all got in the sprinklers and gave themselves a bath.  LOL

Meet John and Kelly Laurenzi, the newest members of the Windy Hill Alpaca Owners Club.  They purchased AWH Who's My Daddy Now? and are planning to raise beautiful suris.  They will join us at shows--as soon as we're allowed to go-- and will be learning the ropes  so they can have their own ranch someday--maybe in Tennessee, John's home state.  Say Hi when you see them around the ranch. Kelly plans to be here a lot.  They are Farm House Comforts Alpacas.

Neon Lights was smiling for me yesterday. He said he wanted to be in the blog, so here he is. 😊
Neon Lights has several crias coming this summer.   His first one, Ivory, is my favorite girl so far.  She has amazing luster and is twisting multiple locks together at 5 weeks.  Can't wait to see how she grows up!

Kallie likes to sit with me by the OB pasture while I work on the computer.  She sleeps and then catches flies.  She's actually very proficient at it.  Here is one of her attempts. 

This is Tracy's week to have babies.  Deborah had a dark brown boy named Drax out of Deborah.  His daddy is medium silver gray Crawford.  What a surprise to get this color out of beige and gray!

Today we had another surprise.  Sandy Beaches had her baby girl, Pebbles on the Beach.  But look at THIS color!!  Daddy is Kiss of the King, a beige male.
Alpaca colors really are a box of chocolates!

Getting around at the ranch  takes a little doing sometimes.  No matter how many vehicles there are, they will almost always be missing when I need to get over to the barn.  Funny how that happens....
So this little electric assist bike is my new best friend!  I haven't ridden a bike for about 25 years, but this one is worth getting to know.  It's a power-assist bike that will help me over the uphill stretches.  It can go really fast, but I like to meander.  I think my elevated heart rate when I get off of it is probably more due to terror than exertion, but we're getting used to each other.  Eventually I anticipate actually enjoying it... and getting some exercise.  My helmet is coming from Amazon. Honest!

Saturday, August 15, The Windy Hill Alpaca Owner's Club is sponsoring a FIBER PLAY DAY, and YOU ARE INVITED!  

It'll be very casual.  There won't be any set agenda.  Just bring your favorite fiber toys and we'll all play together for the day.
9 am to 3 pm.  Bring your own lunch   It's $10 for admission, our boarders are free.

Those of us who have a particular skill or fiber art will be setting up stations to demonstrate, teach mini lessons, and sell kits.  If there is something in particular you would like to learn, you may be able to give it a try that day, or sign up for future lessons!
Doesn't that sound like fun?
Grab a friend (and your mask if that makes you more comfortable) and come on out!  You'll also have a chance to see all the new babies in person.  After reading this blog, you may even feel like you know some of them already. 😊

4 ounces of Baby Huacaya Roving ready to spin

Tumbling Along Like A Load of Fiber

(I just loved this image someone posted on the 4th of July and had to share!)

Let's start out this week by recognizing an amazing crew of volunteers and helpers 

here at Windy Hill.  

Lindsey, who not only helps on the ranch but had these great shirts made;

Gilberto, our great friend and helper, who brings us avocados and so many smiles;

And MacKenzie who is home, due to Covid, from college 

and has become one of our right arms around here.

Thanks, you guys, for making Windy Hill a better place with your laughs, smiles, and good will.  

We love you!

I was looking for something different to make this week.  I mean, dill pickles are yummy and everything, but I needed a bit more of a challenge.  I searched the great online cookbook and found a recipe that sounded good.   Sweet Pickle Relish!  I love it in my tuna mix and egg salad, and decided having a few jars around would be a good idea.  

Let me tell you-- it's a lot more work than making pickles!  I cut and chopped and Ninja'd cucumbers, red bell peppers and red onions.  Then they had to stand in an ice water bath for 2 hours, so out to the ranch I went to do some chores.  When I got back 3 hours later, the ice was all melted, but I decided to march forward anyway.

Next I made the pickling solution--brine-- and cooked it.  I drained and squeezed the pickle mixture dry, added it to the sugary brine  (WHY does "brine" always make me think of "My Darlin' Clementine"??) and cooked it for 10 more minutes.  Thank goodness for my wide-mouth jam funnel because it was tricky to get into the jar!  Then I closed the jars with rings and seals and put them in the hot water bath for 15 minutes.  Whew!

Here's the link to the recipe if you want to try it.  

It's good, and will be better I think after it stands for a bit.

https://www.missinthekitchen.com/sweet-pickle-relish/

Alpacas are very fond of dust baths.  

They will find the ONLY dirt patch in a pasture and roll in it enthusiastically, as if there were a contest to see who can get the dustiest!

This is a problem when you have full fleece suris whose luster you want to display at some future show.  So I looked for the grassiest pastures we have and claimed them for the show kids.  Now I water them religiously lest they find a gopher mound they can coax into being a dust pit.  

Keep your fingers crossed!

I sure hope, by the way, that we get to take them to a show somewhere in the next year. We just got word that our fall California show is Grass Valley has been cancelled.  I'm holding out some weak hope for the other fall shows we could get to, but am mostly resigned to spring now.

In between watering pastures, birthing babies, writing blogs, and sleeping, I am prepping some fleece to go to the mill.  I have some fleeces that will become yarn, some that will go to Liz Valkamp in Missouri to be sold, and a whole lot of mismatched 2nds and 3rds that I plan to turn into felt sheets and rug yarn.

This is our tumbler, built for us by our friends Tom and Kathy DeWitt.  How fun it is watching the fleece tumble as it spins, and seeing all the dirt, fleece dust, and debris fly out of it!  It makes it so much easier to get clean once it goes in the washer.

If anyone wants alpaca yarn, by the way, we've got it!  Suri and huacaya, natural colors and dyes.  Let me know if you want to come see some.  :-)

Some people buy alpacas the minute they see them, and others take awhile.  Christina has been a good friend of the ranch for 8 years, and finally is starting to talk about owning alpacas!  She brought her friend Francisco by on Saturday to see the new crias.  All the babies loved him!

Indi is one of the pregnant girls who is now officially "overdue".  I asked her when she was going to have her baby, and this silly smirk is all I got from her!

"Wouldn't you like to know!", she shot back at me.

Well, that's ok. At least she didn't spit.

Have a great week!  

Remember, if you want to explore owning alpacas, let us know.  I am still offering a 

FREE 1-HOUR CONSULTATION

on how to get started with alpacas.

Any takers?

We just worked with Open Herd to do a re-build on our website using their great new software!  

If you haven't seen the new site, please take a look and tell me what you think.  If you can suggest improvements or things I didn't think of, I'd be grateful to hear!

http://www.alpacalink.com

Cindy Harris ~ Alpacas at Windy Hill ~ (805) 907-5162 ~ cindy@alpacalink.com

In A Pickle?

My cucumbers are producing like gangbusters!  Everyday, it seems, I fill my sink with new ones.  I mean, how many cucumbers can a girl eat??

Soooooo…. I’ve started making pickles!  What fun it is to see the jars stack up.  Dill pickles, sweet pickles.  There’s something so satisfying about filling jars with goodies to eat later when the season is long since gone.

Here it is, 4th of July again.  I think of pickles and picnics and barbecues.  I remember my father and uncle gleefully setting off fireworks in the back yard when I was little, and being afraid of sparklers and big booms.  And it seems to me now that our world is in a bit of a pickle, with big booms and earthquakes and rumors and plagues. 

In times like these, I am so thankful to be on the ranch.  Somebody posted a meme to Facebook  that went something like this: "If a world-wide plague happens and you find that your life doesn't change, you must be in the right place."   I think they have a point!

The peaches have all decided to get ripe at the same time.  I discovered an easy way to peel them, though.  I used a slotted spoon and dunked them in boiling water for a minute or two. The skins just slid off like nobody's business and made nice neat slices.

This was the week to send in my fleeces for the AOA Fleece Show.  It was wonderful to spend time going through my 5 fleeces and skirting them for the show.  I have learned not to obsess on skirting.  Now I discard the coarser fiber around the "skirt" of the fleece that represents the lower edge of the blanket, then pick as much vegetable matter out of it as possible.  The last step is to roll the fleece back up in the same paper or plastic that it came in so the judge can see the logical layout of the alpaca's body when they runroll it.  It makes it easier for them to judge when they can see where the neck and the tail used to be.

This fleece is Kalino's 3rd fleece.  We've started breeding Kalina this year.  Based on his show and fleece records, he should sire some really nice crias for next summer.

On Wednesday Dr. Patty Temple came to see us.  Dr. Patty is my chiropractor, and she also works on animals.  She is very adept at diagnosing the spinal and muscle problems the alpacas have.  She has been out many times over the years for various alpacas.  This time she came to see Archimedes,a 2-year old suri who has a pickle in his hip that we couldn't completely resolve.  Since Dr. Patty treated him, Archimedes has been walking better and eating better.  He looks brighter every day.  She will be back to see him once more this weekend. Lucky guy!

Walking across the ranch today I noticed that Meadowlark was standing off by herself and appeared to be restless, maybe caught on the fence.  When I got there I discovered the reason why-- she had pushed her head through the fence to reach what appeared to be a bowl full of fresh grass.   What a pickle! Alas, it turned out just to be the same grass sticking through the whole in the bottom of the bowl.  What's that about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence?I helped her out of her pickle finding her way back through the fence...and removing the "bowl".

Wake Up Little Suzie went to her new home yesterday.  We will miss her and all of her escape-artist-antics.  I never knew where Suzie would be on any given morning.  She had her own route through all the fences at the end of the north pastures.  It's amazing that she never got herself into a pickle!She knew the sound of the pellet vehicle and would always be first in line--in any pasture!  I know she will enjoy her new home.  The daughter of the family who came to pick her up said she likes Suzie best--better than any of the other alpacas.  💓

We at Alpacas at Windy Hill wish you a fantastic 4th of July!  If you need a little R&R in the coming weeks, give us a call.  We can all hum along with the alpacas together.

In the meantime, here is a video I just had to pass along today.  Hopefully this beautiful song will bring a tear to your eye, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs0fxy8rHo8

The Ranch Is Hopping!

The Ranch Is Hopping!

A lot sure has gone on this week!  As you can see, One Enchanted Evening had her baby making Troy and Kim "GranPacas"!  Congratulations, you guys!  Their first baby is a GIRL by Max and they are euphoric.  Such a great outcome!  Her name is Amazing Grace.

We had 2 other crias this week as well.  Qasani had her Jeremiah cria--and it was the first time in a long time I was immediately excited about a boy!  He is a gorgeous champagne color with that glowing, deep luster we all hope for.  He was on his feet in 12 minutes flat!  His name is Quantum.

Lucy also had a lovely boy--he is medium brown.  "Medium Brown" according to the AOA Color Chart.  Really?  How about something more poetic like....Chocolate Brown or Mahogany?  Ah well...such are the rules.  But we can make up for it with a nice name.  Because he was born really early in the morning and needed warming up, I called him Sun Up.  He's a real cutie.

Summertime at Windy Hill is birthing season.  And since gestation is 345 days (almost a year!) that means that we breed in the summer also.  In our climate that means that we have births when it's not so cold, we don't need to put coats on the babies most of the time, and the crias are well-grown before winter.  Our summers are mild and the sea breezes make sure that we cool off considerably once the sun goes down.

We breed in the evening as soon as the temperature drops below 70º F.  Nobody seems to mind breeding, even after dark, and everyone gets to cool off as night falls.  This group was falling all over Suton, he's such a handsome guy. A week later they all spit tested well, too.

I keep my breeding records on a clipboard in the barn.  It's easy to carry out to the breeding pens.  Once the records are on the chart I can enter then into AlpacaEase, my herd software.  Someday I'll really get with the times and move AE over to my iPad so I can put records directly in the program.  Maybe next week.

I have some wonderful friends who are terrific spinners, and they have been spinning some of my roving for me.  Wow!  Hand spun is really special yarn.  It has such character compared to machine spun yarn.  I'm loving it!  I'm even considering selling some of it.  Let me know if you are interested.  Right now I have black and brown suri, and beige huacaya.  It's delicious.

We have several friends who come to help us do things around the ranch.  They are all special people, but Blue and Maui thought Linnea and Analina were particularly special last week.  I would have to agree.

The cherry tomatoes are starting to produce and they are delicious, but I think maybe we have a new variety growing-- "berry" tomatoes!  lol

And Farmer Don got a new toy-- an LED light bar on his Kubota.  Molly and Zeke say "Hi" and "Good night", and "We can't wait for the lights to go out!"

Have a great week, Everyone!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of females and crias, we have pregnant females and females-about-to-get-pregnant FOR SALE this summer.  

Not all of them are on the website yet, but I'll be happy to show them to you.   I am offering a FREE 1-HOUR BUSINESS CONSULTATION 

on how you can Start Your Own Ranch...

even if you don't have your own property yet.

Copy this into the email: 

"I want a FREE 1-HOUR BUSINESS CONSULTATION on How to Start My Own Ranch."

We can consult in person at the ranch or on the phone, 

whichever is better for you.

Let me hear from you soon!  

FREE 1-HOUR BUSINESS CONSULTATION

Cindy Harris ~ Alpacas at Windy Hill ~ Somis, CA ~ cindy@alpacalink.com

www.alpacalink.com ~ 805-907-5162

Crias by Day, Crias by Night

As the sun was sinking slowly in the west, the buttermilk sky was glowing.  Little did we know that Kristianna, first time mother and voted least likely to deliver first, was preparing to deliver her cria.  We had all gone home for the night, eaten dinner, and settled into evening activities when Tracy decided to take an twilight stroll.  She wandered over to watch the expectant moms eating and noticed that one of them was calmly eating out of the feedbag with a cria head and legs dangling out her backside!

All Hands On Deck!  We grabbed the novalsan solution to dip the umbilicus with when it emerged, got a coat for the cria and a towel to dry him off, Don bedded the warm room so mom and baby would have a place to stay warm all night while baby was wet, and cheered Kristianna on while she finished a beautiful, classic delivery (which I caught and moved to the grass before he hit the dirt). 

BTW-- no self-respecting alpaca delivers a cria on grass if they can help it.  Dirt is much preferred.  I've learned this over the years.  Never mind the 1/2 acre of grass we keep alive for them!

Here's Kristianna and AWH Hurry Sundown by Max under the heat lamp for the night.

And here is Sundown the next day!  What a face! And look at that fleece!

Nancy came by to see him the next day and visit with Italia.  She is so excited about Italia's Max baby coming later this summer.

Sundown is lucky we were there!   Mothers who deliver in the cold hours of an Andes night or morning don't replicate themselves because the baby can't survive the cold.  Natural selection over the centuries has created the natural pattern of birthing mostly between dawn and noon.

A couple of Sunday mornings ago, Hillary Duff and her family came out to visit Ivan, their alpaca.  Their almost-2 year old sweetie, Banks, was fascinated by the alpacas and the chick that Farmer Don showed her.

Ivan was a model alpaca.  He came over to see them the minute they arrived.  I think he actually recognized them!  He ate out of their hands and gave kisses.  What a sweet boy.

Alpacas love babies and children.  Last time Banks was here she was 4 months old. For those of you who don't remember, Ivan joined their family a couple of years ago when Matthew surprised Hillary with an alpaca for Valentine's Day.  Such a romantic gift.  They hope to have their own farm someday with more alpacas.  Maybe Ivan will even get to be a Dad someday. 💝

We have had 10 crias altogether since Sundown was born (all in the daytime, thank goodness!).  Here we are helping Lilac Rose with her first cria--a gorgeous rose gray female by The Admiral.  And then there was Evangeline's little girl by Fromage.

The cria I am most excited about at the moment is the one that Qasani is carrying.  She is a Torbio granddaughter who has exceptional luster.  I sent her to Sue King at Big Timber Alpacas last summer to breed to Jeremiah, and she is due any day.  This is one of those times I am hoping for a BOY!

Tina brought her grandkids out to visit Almond Joy the same day Hillary was here.  They got to pet some of the babies, and take Almond Joy for a walk.

Here is Kallie sitting with me while I watch the girls in OB.  Rat Terriers apparently have a talent for catching flies-- who knew??  She's really good at it, so I take her with me when I'm going to sit anywhere for awhile. 😊 She just turned a year old-- hard to believe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of females and crias, we have 

pregnant females and females-about-to-get-pregnant FOR SALE 

this summer.  

Not all of them are on the website yet, but I'll be happy to show them to you.

I am offering a FREE 1-HOUR BUSINESS CONSULTATION on how you can 

Start Your Own Ranch

even if you don't have your own property yet.

CLICK HERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION:

Just copy this into the email: 

"I want a FREE 1-HOUR BUSINESS CONSULTATION on How to Start My Own Ranch"

We can consult in person at the ranch or on the phone, whichever is better for you.

Let me hear from you soon!  

FREE 1-HOUR BUSINESS CONSULTATION

Cindy Harris ~ Alpacas at Windy Hill ~ Somis, CA ~ cindy@alpacalink.com

www.alpacalink.com ~ 805-907-5162