Tuesday was the biggest day of the year for the alpacas. They all got their haircuts! Once a year they get a buzz cut that lets them be cool enough for the hot summer days. They are originally from the very high altitude of the Andes Mountains and without the buzz cut, they have problems dealing with the heat. Lucky me!
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| This is the shearer, Marty. |
That also means we get to harvest that wonderful fleece! Softer than cashmere and just as beautiful. It's made into all kinds of wearable products. Warmer than wool, moisture wicking and uber soft. I am excited to get it milled into yarn very soon.
How do you find out who your true friends are? They show up to help you shear your alpacas! Prairie Momma Trish and her daughter Elaina came to watch and of course jumped in to help me! Trish gave all the shots and Elaina helped label the bags of fleece so I don't get them mixed up.
Our crew also consisted of lovely, neighbor girl Shyanne, my oldest son and my mom snapping the photos.
The shearers were amazing. Ever year in May they come up from Guthrie, Oklahoma to shear the alpacas in Montana. Marty learned from his father how to shear and Eric is learning from Marty. It takes them eight minutes to perfectly shear an alpaca! They lay them down and put ankle straps on them to hold them still. Then zip, zip, zip and they're done!
I was running around like a mad woman! Trying to gather the fleece, bag it and trim the nails of each alpaca. Might as well get 'em while they're down!
When they're done they look like this!
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| This is Genesis after her very first haircut! |
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Until next time,
B
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