We would like to thank everyone who came out to our first Alpaca Farm Day and Open Barn. It was a great success; we had a steady stream of guests all afternoon. There were many local neighbours and friends, others not so local, we especially would like to thank the other alpaca farmers who came out -your moral support is much appreciated. Of course a big thank you to Peak Builders for your support and the great barbecuing and our friends and family who all helped make the day such a success. Total cria count for 2012 is 14! We had 8 females and 6 males all of them are doing very well. This year we named our females after flowers, so we have a beautiful bouquet- Morning Glory, Sweet Pea, Lilley, Shasta, Bes (black eyed Susan), Tansy, Gloxinia and Primrose. We are thrilled that three of them are silver greys! They are so much fun to watch as they chase each other around the pasture, the little males try to act tough but come night time they still cuddle right up to their mom. Yazhi continues to bring smiles to everyone she meets. Yazhi and I visited two Seniors Day Away Programs recently where she was content to be the centre of attention, if she feels she isn't being fussed over enough she'll get up and move to someone else. We had an extended family dinner recently, so of course we headed out to the barn to see the crias and our new males. One aunt due to knee problems wasn't able to go out to the barn so I brought Yazhi into the house for a visit with her and a few others; I left Yazhi while we went to the males' barn. When we came back in Yazhi was still cushed right where I left her enjoying all of the attention. One aunt is a real "cat" person and can't believe I let an alpaca in the house when I won't allow our very tame barn cat into the house. (Alpacas don't scratch the furniture, shed or jump up on the kitchen counters.) Finally, finally our four new herd sires are at Kickin' Back Alpaca Ranch!!!!! We drove to New Jersey ourselves to pick them up in early October. We are very excited about these males. Check out their photos “Reflection, MachuPichu, Prince Valiant and Lancelot all of them are silver greys. Although they arrived too late for breeding season this year" we are anxious for 2014 to see what they produce. We really enjoyed being part of the Flesherton & District Farmers Market, we have met so many neighbours. There will be one more market event on November 24th “A Christmas Market held inside at the Kinplex in Flesherton. We have received a new order of hats, gloves, shawls, sweaters and stuffed animals" including alpacas, great for Christmas gifts. We now have a store set up inside for the winter months. We always welcome farm visits. We now have an OPEN sign so if you happen to be in the area and we are OPEN please stop in. If you are coming any distance please call ahead to make sure we will be home. Remember to check out our facebook page, it is updated with photos more often than the Farm News.