Grist Mill Farm Alpacas

We sheared all of our alpacas in May, sent the fleece away and patiently waited for the mill to convert everything to yarn.  Our patience has been rewarded as we recently received all of the yarn made from the fleece of our own alpacas.  And the yarn looks absolutely wonderful!  We have individual skeins from each of our animals, we have an alpaca/bamboo blend, an alpaca/merino wool blend and a “farm blend”  which is a combination of several of our alpacas.  This farm blend is a soft heather color. 

Quantities are limited, so if you would like some all natural yarn, in all natural colors, please call or come to visit so you can get the color and quantity you want before we run out.  Come see us!

Fall is always the busiest time of the year for us as we usually have new crias  to attend to and we are either hosting events on our farm or participating in shows or events.  We have updated our fall schedule in the EVENTS section, so take a look and come to visit us at our farm, or at some of the exciting events that we will be participating in.  Hope to see you soon!!

Dewars checks with Mom Apollonia to see if he can go out in the pasture

We came home of Friday, May 21 to find first time mother Apollonia proudly tending to her new baby, Dewars.  He is a male, and weighed-in at 16 lbs. 1 oz.  He is already quite active and VERY curious.  That has the potential to get him in trouble with his pasture-mates!

Dewars heads out into the pasture

We are starting to add dates for spring and summer.  We will be at Pearl’s Market on Saturday, June 19th, pretty much all day long.  Check out Pearl’s web site for all of the activities that will be going on that day.  We will have a couple of our alpacas there plus some merchandise to sell.  Come out and see us.

On June 26th we will once again be participating in Glenmoore Day in the park in Glenmoore.  We’ll have a couple of our alpacas and some merchandise.  The event is from 12 noon to 4:00, and includes other vendors, clowns, a slide for the kids, firetrucks and helicopters.  Come out for the fun and stop and see us and our alpacas!

Our pastures are once again turning green and our alpacas are very happy to have real grass to graze on once again.  It’s time for them to sleep under the stars and eat as much fresh green grass as will fit in their three stomachs!

Apollonia is also looking very pregnant.  She is due the middle of May, and we are excited for our first spring cria.  This will be her first, and we are always curious as to what kind of a mother she will be.  So far all of our females have been very attentive and doting mothers.  Here’s hoping that Apollonia pick up those traits from her pasture-mates!

The folks at Pearl’s Market invited us to expand our selection of products on display, and we were happy to oblige.  In addition to the yarn and small bears that we were previously offering we have added socks, scarves and blankets.  Most important, however, just in time for Easter and Spring we are offering Lions, Bunnies, Ponies and three sizes of Bears.  All of the animals are 100% alpaca, hypo allergenic and cute as cute can be!  Please stop into Pearl’s market and visit our furry friends. 

During the winter Pearl’s is only open Friday through Sunday, but will be opening seven days a week starting April 1.

 We will be one of 70 artisans and crafters with a booth at the 33rd annual Kimberton Waldorf Craft show.  Come out to see some wonderful crafts and art and get your Christmas shopping into high gear!  Friday night’s program is from 6 to 10 PM, is adults only, and admission is $10.  Saturday’s hours are from 10 AM to 5 PM, all are welcome, and admission is $5.  Please see the Kimberton Waldorf web site (www.kimberton.org) for directions.

Hope to see you there!

Please join us on Saturday, November 7 between the hours of 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM to get your holiday shopping off to a great start, or to buy yourself a little present, … or both!  We will be serving snacks and refreshments, so please stop by and take a look.

Cavalier on a dry, sunny day!

Friday, October 16th was rainy, windy and cold, an all around miserable day until we came home and found that Nocturnal had presented us with her new son, Cavalier.  His birth certainly brightened up our day as we rubbed him dry and got the hair dryer out to warm him up.  He weighed in at 19 plus pounds and continued Nocturnal’s pattern of throwing big babies.

Either a two-headed alpaca or Coco and Cavalier posing

Now Cavalier spends most of his time chasing, and bieng chased by, his new friend Coco.  It is such fun to wathc them race around the pasture,  sometimes graceful, and sometimes not so graceful, as they learn to use those long, spindly legs.

Proud Momma and Coco just a few minutes after she was born

As Patience watches Coco shows off her new fall coat

 Patience decided to make National Alpaca Farm Weekend really special by delivering a female cria at 3:00 on the afternoon of Sunday, September 27.  Coco, named because of her unique color and markings, weighed in at 14 pounds and 14 ounces.  She is healthy and strong and benefiting from the fact that Patience has turned out to be a very attentive mother.  Not that we were surprised, but this is Patience’s first cria and we had no history on her.

Several people who stopped in on Sunday afternoon were treated to seeing an alpaca delivery, and Coco’s first attempts at standing and nursing.  She amused and entertained all of us for the rest of the afternoon.

As you can probably see from the pictures, she is multi-colored.  She is predominately white, but her back and neck are brown, and she has a dot of brown color on the crown of her head.

If you would like to come and see her just call us to arrange a time.