email us: anj@paradisefarmalpacas.com Our updated sales and services list can be seen here: Paradise Farm Alpacas on Alpaca Nation |
News updates:
August 2008
A quieter summer than last; we have brought Dino (see the brown guy at left), Mykonos, and Pilot to the farmer's market to
get them acclimated to people and being shown. People love to see the alpacas. Tom spins and I talk, and sometimes Tom
talks and I run off for an iced coffee. These three small boys are a joy to bring to the market as they have retained some
cuteness and tend to be friendly with the kids. We've had some interest in them as well. I think more and more people are
looking to small livestock like sheep and alpaca as smart investments in an unpredictable economy.
We were planning on bringing our boys to one of the fall shows but have decided to wait until the North American in the
Spring. Transportation and off-farm costs coupled with Fall being a busy season for Zoë's school and our jobs make
traveling to shows a luxury. Plus, by waiting until North American, we can bring the Fall 07 boys plus the 08 cria together.
The 08 cria, both offspring from our co-owned HHF Simply Mauvelous, are outstanding as far as fleece - we are keeping
our fingers crossed that they don't attract all kinds of hay and burdocks (yikes!) before we can get them to a show. I love
seeing improvements on the mother. While Freia is a softer version of mom (and nicer color), Kosmo just steals the show
with this raggedy-Andy crimp style and mirror-like reflective quality to his pale pinkish fawn fiber. And his mom is great,
so to see improvement over her fiber was just bonus.
We have been fairly lucky weather-wise and are seeing greener pastures this year. It truly feels like Paradise each time I
step outside. Our hay guy promises nothing, however, because, well, he's a farmer and he knows that sometimes we just
might not get that next cut. So our plans for the year are to stock up on the good stuff and keep our animals well fed. Our
commitment to our own little version of sustainable living dictates living simply and as close to the earth as possible. The
animals are our constant teachers.
May 2008
Another Spring has sprung in Paradise. Last week we had snow, followed by torrential rains which supplied our well for
the year and saturated the paddocks to (hopefully) encourage Spring growth of juicy orchard grass for our alpacas.
One thing I happily noted was the rain diversion system Tom built for the run-off from the barn roof is working really well.
The water is now directed down the fence line and out away from the barn, where before, our overhangs and immediate area
were like swamp. Our alpacas remain dry despite the March storms.
We attended several interesting seminars this winter. Dr. Norm Evans came to Rhode Island (how would we miss that?) and
we spent a Sunday absorbing the latest information in camelid veterinary care. We felt encouraged, particularly because he
had done the same seminar the day before for the New England alpaca veterinarians - our veterinarian and two of his
students being in attendance. Dr. Evans also spoke on the subject of the future of the breeding and fiber industries,
particularly in what sorts of testing can be done in breeding males in order to ensure passing-on of fiber characteristics. A
lot of the tools are new and we keep an interested ear on the results of the farms who are running such tests.
The second seminar we attended was a very well-run program by Alpacatrendz, a collaborative of farms in New Hampshire,
Vermont and upstate New York who are interested in bringing together both new farms and established farms for discussion
and learning. This particular seminar was on parasites, and it was fun looking through the microscope and identifying the
various good and bad specimens. Dr. Susan L. Johnson DVM presented a review of material that helped us think about
breeding and birthing in a new way.
We were also fortunate this Spring to be involved in RICAPE’s Small Farm Business planning seminar. This invaluable
program was brought to Rhode Island with a US agricultural grant. Dr. Cole Gustafson, from North Dakota State
University, and Dr. Laurence M. Crane, from National Crop Insurance Services, worked with seven small Rhode Island
farmers (including a shellfish farmer, a nursery grower, a tree farmer, a CSA organizer, a sheep farmer, and TWO alpaca
farmers) to educate on small business planning and risk assessment. This is something we are constantly striving to keep up
with - how does one balance a farm business with the rest of life? The conference gave us a lot to think about, talk about,
and learn about. Being a Rhode Island alpaca farmer means keeping growth controlled. Our goal, as it always has been, is to
raise the highest quality healthy alpacas that we possibly can. Planning for healthy growth while still maintaining full-time
careers off the farm is our challenge. It helps that alpacas are such a joy to raise and to be around.
We are really looking forward to seeing all of our friends and fellow breeders at the North American Alpaca Show April 6-
10th at the Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts. This is always a fun time of year and we always enjoy seeing the
competition and learning more about what we are all working towards in the industry. Admission is free, and it is open to
the public. If you go, stop by and say hello!
November 30th, 2007
Man, how time flies.
We've had alternating cold with warm, autumn-like days throughout October and November, and, like most of the East
Coast, not as much rain as in other years. This has given us the opportunity to look at our barnyard lake situation and talk
with the State of Rhode Island about helping us get a grant to fix the problem before we have to build an ark. It has also
given us the opportunity to host several very nice open farm days for our neighbors and the community. Both were huge
successes. The first, National Alpaca Farm Day, was part of a nationwide cooperative that was highly publicized. Alpacas
were even featured during that week on Good Morning America and The View. The more folks can be educated on this
livestock, the better, because the more good questions that are asked, the more we as farmers get to learn. Keep those
questions coming.
Winter is also a time for introspective review and looking back on the year to find what went right, and what went awry.
Certainly, the biggest disappointment this year, besides one of our girls not being bred (when all spit tests pointed to the
affirmative) was our reluctance to show due to a highly communicable virus that seemed to be spreading throughout the
alpaca community, particularly alpacas attending shows or being transported with infected alpacas. The virus, like a bad
cold, spread throughout herds nationwide and rarely caused more than cases of congestion and higher than normal temps. In
some cases, a strain of the virus proved fatal. Because we are wimps and live as frugally as possible (therefore don't like to
call the vet unless it's a dire emergency), we decided to stay home instead of showing. We do not regret our decision, as we
have so far remained virus-free (saving us sleepless nights which I am sure many of our fellow farmers have suffered.) We
are, however, increasingly convinced that we need to get our girls Luna and Sophia back in the show-ring before they are
bred for the first time. Hopefully, by March, this virus will have run its course and we will be able to transport our animals
without wearing surgical masks and booties. ;)
We also like to sit down and take a good look at where we are. After three years in the business, are we meeting our goals as
breeders? We like to think that through careful breeding decisions that we have improved (in just one generation) on our
foundation herd. However, it is difficult to remain objective when you look at their adorable faces. We have met some
goals, and not met others. We would like to become more educated on fiber, and keep better records about our animals' fiber
statistics. We would like to enter our fleeces into more mail-in shows. We would like to process more of our fiber. We are
doing a lot of events with the public and getting our names out there, and people are coming to the farm to find out more
about our animals. That is a really positive response to these animals and to the work we have done. What could we be
doing to better attract potential farmers? How best to market our co-owned stud? How to share with the world our love of
these animals and communicate the facility with which we have experienced the alpaca breeding business? Are we raising
our alpacas in a healthy and sustainable manner? Can we be doing it better (while still holding on to full-time jobs off-farm,
raising a teenager, and having a life?) These are the questions that come up when we contemplate the 8-ball. The answers
are obvious when we look out in our paddocks. The three new baby boys pronk and play while their mothers cush near the
hay box. Last year's girls learn pack attitude and flirt innocently across the fenceline with our herdsires, driving them nuts.
They are, knock on wood, healthy, with good fiber, fairly good hay this year, and proof that we can actually raise something
other than goldfish. We have a long way to go, but we are confident in what we have done so far. It can be discouraging
when one witnesses the quality (and quantity) of animals at very large breeders who are doing so much to further the
industry, and raising the notch for everyone else. They are our mentors, and while I can't help having a huge case of envy
every time I part a championship animal's fiber, I am reminded of the poet and clergyman George Herbert's semi-famous
quote, "There would be no great men if there were no little ones." I know that each and every farm in this business needs
the other, large or small, to succeed. It gives me hope when I see crimp on a newborn cria whose mother had little to none.
It is possible to make great fiber regardless of making it in the show-ring. This is what we are all about, and this is indeed
where our focus needs to be in the next few years. With that, I put away the eight ball and wish you and yours a very
happy (and soft and fluffy) holiday season.
August 12th, 2007
It has been a long while since our last update!
Summer has brought a fresh breeze here to Paradise, carrying along with it just enough rain to make the grass green, and
sunshine to make the days sweet. The alpacas enjoyed shearing over Memorial Day at Shadow Pines Alpaca Farm. Bob
and Vivian hosted two gentlemen from out west to come and shear four farms worth of alpaca. They were quick and they
were efficient, and did a beautiful job. It was a lot of fun, and it's nice to work together.
We also made several trips this summer. We enjoyed a visit with Quarry Ridge Alpaca Farm in Salem, NY to check out
potential females for our farm. We ended up with two. QR Fiona Bolina is a three year old white girl with an extremely
friendly manner, and Enchanted Gigi has that lovely mahogany color and super lock structure we like to see in our alpacas.
Both are bred - Fiona to TH Evereddy, and Gigi to QR Zorro, and are due late summer early fall. We are looking forward to
seeing new babies!
In July, our daughter Zoë went to Oneonta, NY to stay with Hasu Ranch Alpacas and learn different aspects of graphic arts
and marketing at their Breedworks studio. Zoë worked (as well as a fourteen year old artist can) on a few projects that
utilized Flash and other graphic arts programs. She enjoyed spending time with Susan and Hazen and their gorgeous twin
baby boys. Hopefully, this has given her the headstart she needs in her goal of being a manga artist. She reports that she
learned that she really, really likes suri alpacas and would very much like to see them at Paradise Farm. We'll have to wait
and see... maybe she is going to be a manga artist slash suri farmer extraordinaire!
We also visited Kim Davidson & Carolyn Campbell at Big Red Alpacas in New York. Their new farm is coming along
nicely, and we were so happy to get to see the new baby, Luck Be A Lady, a female born 07/07/07!
Also in July, we had a visit from Ben, Julie and Mark from YERT.com (Your Environmental Road Trip) who came to talk
to us (and film us) for their video blog. YERT's mission is to travel around the United States for one year to talk to people
about environmental sustainability. We had dinner and talked about things like small farm sustainability, climate change,
recycling, waste, and the green movement in America. It was a great evening and we look forward to reading about their
adventures as they travel across the U.S. They loved the alpacas, but they didn't like the spit. ;) Look for them as they
seek out America's ecological progress in their Ford Hybrid that they named Rachel Carson, after the pioneer of the
environmental movement in the U.S.
Rhode Island has a surprising amount of alpaca farms. That's why we all decided to put our heads together and share
marketing ideas for the upcoming National Alpaca Farm Day in September. We had a nice dinner with everyone at Valuna
Restaurant in Saunderstown Rhode Island. We talked about the particular challenges we small Rhode Island farms face, and
planned additional future meetings in order to continue to share ideas and support each other in our effort to raise healthy,
happy animals, and to share them with our state. At the meeting, we also learned of the incredible work done by our state's
farm bureau (with the clear thinking guidance from Anne Fiore of Glen Ridge Farm Alpacas) to pass the RI Alpaca Farm
bill. This bill will ensure that alpaca livestock sales will not be taxed. This is a huge feat which took a lot of organization
and hard work, and we wish to extend our appreciation to everyone who worked to make it pass.
We have been bringing a few of our alpacas and the spinning wheel to Casey Farm on occasional Saturday mornings for the
Coastal Grower's Farmer's market. It is always a joy, especially showing the kids how the wool is spun into yarn.
Although we don't bring products to Casey Farm, the interest in alpaca products and fiber is very high. And the animals
themselves always get plenty of attention.
We will be showing this fall at the 2nd annual Green Mountain Fall Spectacular. Look for us and say hello!
It is wonderful to be able to look outside and see our alpacas and know that they not only represent our investment, but
also a truly proper and fitting livestock for our farm. They're a lot of fun, and they are always surprising us. As summer
comes to a close, and the fall show season is upon us, I have to keep reminding myself to just go outside and play with the
alpacas.
April 28th, 2007
First off, we would very much like to congratulate Matt & Natasha Kite of I.V. Alpacas on their purchase of three lovely
alpacas from our farm. We are thrilled that the animals will be going to such a fantastic space. I.V. Alpacas is the
quintessential Rhode Island Farm – green pastures edged by woods and a mini-orchard. Matt & Natasha have big plans for
future open farm days, and for products made from alpaca fiber. We are pleased that they have joined the endeavor to keep
small, sustainable farming in Rhode Island a reality.
We are gearing up for another busy Month. We will be attending the NEAOBA New England Alpaca festival May 11th &
12th, and Tom will be spinning at the first-ever Rhode Island Wool & Fiber festival May 19th at Coggeshall Farm in Bristol,
R.I. Memorial Day weekend is reserved for shearing – an event much anticipated - especially by the alpacas. This year,
besides doing some of our animals here at the farm ourselves, we are bringing animals to be shorn by a professional, hosted
by Shadow Pines Alpaca Farm in Exeter. It will be nice to see how the pros do it; not that Tom does a bad job, but he never
quite gets the q-tip head thing right. ;)
Next Saturday, we are hosting a girls scout group, giving them a tour of the farm and letting them get a hands-on education
about farm life and how the fiber becomes a final product. Monday, May 21st, we are hosting a local knitters' group at the
farm. We are looking forward to speaking with experienced knitters about what sort of yarn styles and weights are
currently in demand, and what sort of product we should be focusing upon.
We have also been invited by the Coastal Growers Association to be a part of their farmer’s market at Casey Farm in
Saunderstown, RI. We can’t promise to be there every weekend, but we plan on attending at least once a month. Look for
us there June 2nd. We have some nice products we will be bringing with us, and a couple of our animals.
April 15, 2007
2007 has brought rain and more rain to our corner of the Northeast. As soon as the paddocks begin to dry out, it starts to
rain again. It seems as if summer will never arrive! But we did have a ray of sunshine here at Paradise Farm late in March.
The 2007 North American Alpaca Show happened on a sunny, dry weekend. We were immediately impressed upon arrival
with the quality of the animals walking through check-in. It seems that every year, the quality of the alpacas showing seems
to get better and better. That says a LOT for the overall improvement of the North American herd. Of course, that makes
the competition that much more challenging. So it was with great delight that all of the animals brought from Paradise Farm
to the show went home with ribbons! Both PFA Sophia and PFA Luna competed in tough classes with big-name farms
under renowned judge Jude Anderson. PFA Sophia took a third place in her class. Jude was particularly impressed with
PFA Sophia, stating that, although she was small for her size, it must be because she was putting all of her energy into
growing her fleece, as it is very soft with a wonderful handle. We couldn’t agree more! PFA Luna got a second look and
before we knew it, she was in line for a fifth place ribbon out of ten in her class. Our boy MA Camalot did very well in
performance – 1st place in a class of four – not bad for a seven year old intact male. He behaved beautifully and was calm
and a delight to work with all four days. Seeing all of our friends and colleagues in the industry was great fun as well, and
we enjoyed learning new information and sharing stories.
April and May will prove to be busy this year. Between the many farm visitors (thanks to articles in Backhome Magazine
and the Wood River Press) and the fairs and festivals we have been invited to attend and bring animals to, it seems like some
of the small Spring improvements and chores will have to wait until the warm sunny days of June. That’s alright. We’ll
enjoy the Spring, let the fiber grow, look forward to shearing and alpacas pronking in the paddocks. April showers bring
May forage!
February 24, 2007
It's been a quiet winter! We really haven't had bad weather, either. I think a total, so far, of three or four inches of snow
here in Southern New England. Other than our usual Christmas Open House crowd and a visit from a reporter from the
Westerly Sun, we haven't been up to much.
Although it was quiet, it didn't keep us from sending fleece samples in to two hand crafter's spin-offs, and experiencing the
joy of receiving ribbons without having to hitch up a trailer or pack the show trunk!
Carol Karsten of Hidden Hill Farm Alpacas reports that our half-interest herdsire, HHF Simply Mauvelous, received a sixth
for his fleece at the Empire Fleece Show. Not bad for a very competitive show! We are also looking forward to seeing his
cria this fall, as he is bred to our own Callixa.
The three girls are growing and filling out nicely, just in time for the North American Alpaca Show at the end of March in
Springfield, Massachusetts. We'll be there with the new crop, and with one of our favorite fellas for the obstacle course. I
look forward to seeing all of our friends there and getting in the ring again.
Don't hesitate to schedule a visit with us as the weather warms up! We're always excited to show off our animals and to
visit with friends.
November 9th, 2006
Fall is here, along with mud and wind (it's New England, after all) and it seems to wake up the alpacas out of their summer
sleeps. More than once I've caught Zaidy pronking around the paddock for no reason at all (except it feels good.)
Next weekend, the girls come home from Maine. We will be a full farm again! Both were bred to extraordinary proven
champs up at Chase Tavern. It's always a treat to look forward to summer cria. Something to keep me dreaming those long
winter nights.
And we are so happy with our Camalot/Nastcha breeding that resulted in our beautiful 2006 PFA Zaidy that we have
repeated that breeding and look forward to a Fall 2007 cria. Let's hope another girl!
Last weekend we went to the first annual Green Mountain Alpaca Spectacular and really enjoyed going and watching all day
without worrying about animals. It was almost like a vacation. We stayed at Willey's Farm B&B which was a quick walk
across the fairgrounds. Willey's Farm owners Dave and Lynn Willey even took time out of their busy schedules to spend a
couple of hours at the show Saturday (thanks to Dave for getting me to think about the cria coat issue.) This new show got
off to a great start, with over five hundred alpacas in attendance. Next year, we'll be there with our show-ring troupe fersher.
Not that we don't like showing. A couple of weeks prior, our new partnership herdsire HHF Simply Mauvelous took a
ribbon (6th in a challenging fawn class) at the Empire Alpaca Show in Syracuse, New York. That was a lot of fun. Thank
you to Carol from Hidden Hill Farm Alpacas for letting us give her a hand at the show. We always learn something new
when we go to the shows. The Empire is a great show because the rings are in the center, surrounded by the different farms,
so everything feels very inclusive. The kids took over ring four with different showmanship and costume classes and it was
neat to see them side by side with another show for the "big kids."
Be sure to catch up with us at our 2nd annual Thanksgiving Open Farm Days. We will have all of our animals on farm, as
well as an obstacle course set up from Amber Valley Ridge Alpacas, and of course our popular Farm Store (complete with
cookies and cider for kids big and little.) We find this event to be a great chance to say hello to our neighbors and connect
with old friends. Bring the relatives and get some fresh air... and plan on getting most of your holiday shopping done! See
you in a couple of weeks!
September 23rd, 2006,
Well, as they say in the alpaca biz, once you have the last birth of the season, you can relax. NOT!!!
There's the nightly concern that the new baby will decide to sleep under the edge of the overhang, where the rain will drip
down and soak through her jacket…
There’s the getting-the-farm-ready-for-fall-and-winter… re-seeding paddocks (but first you have to chase down the rogue
chickens and somehow contain them in the coop.)
There’s getting ready for our new co-owned boy, HHF Simply Mauvelous (proudly co-owned with Hidden Hill Farms of
New Hampshire) making sure he has enough space and shelter. Tom is busy renovating the boys’ area of the barn to make a
new suite for Mauve - the sound of hammering and sawing the constant background music in our personal Paradise.
There’s us, standing out in the paddock during feeding time, feeling the empty space our two girls, Juno and Annie, and their
daughters, Sophia and Luna, usually occupy (why was it easier last year to send them up to Chase Tavern Farm for
breeding?) Chase Tavern does a wonderful job and I am sure those girls are having a blast. But we sure do miss ‘em.
There’s the joy at seeing the new baby’s daddy, MA Camalot, gazing over the fence at his daughter while she scampers
around the paddock…
…but we can’t linger – there’s so much to DO! There’s hay to price and test and have delivered (or pick up), there’s holes
to fill in the paddock, weeds to be plucked, the Empire Alpaca Expo to prepare for, as well as the Green Mountain Alpaca
Fall Spectacular… and another open house to plan for – this one hosted by our friends Barb and Joe at Rocky Ridge Farm in
Ashaway, Rhode Island, October 14th and 15th (look for more details in your inbox soon…)
Somehow, we will get a chance to sit down and review the final printed version of the article on raising alpacas that we
wrote for Backhome Magazine (check your local newsstands in October/November – lots of great stuff on Hybrid cars,
Holiday recipes, and of course, alpacas.)
It looks to be another busy Fall... but it is worth it. ;)
September 18th, 2006
Welcome to the world, Miss Zaidy! Wow. Another girl. ;)
Came home from work tonight to find a baby in the paddock. With no help from me. Imagine that!
I will write more later... been kind of a crazy week and I have to go out and gaze at that baby some more.
August 12th, 2006,
My goodness, how time flies. We have been busy with outdoor activities, farm visits (our friends Big Red Alpacas are in
the process of moving their operations to their lovely new farm in Cambridge, New York,) fence mending, and farmer's
markets. Between all of that and the daily 9-5, it has been hard to remember to keep up the website.
On July 21st, late in the afternoon, our very pregnant dam Juno gave birth to a really lovely little cria we named Luna. Luna
took some time getting a move-on. It had been a hot few days there, and this birth happened late enough for things to start
cooling down. Unfortunately, Juno's milk didn't make an appearance until late evening, at which point Luna was looking a
little peaked. We were able to get some dairy colustrum into her and finally around ten p.m. Juno's milk arrived and
although Luna seemed lethargic, we made sure we got her standing and nursing every hour until daylight. Our first
experience with an emergency such as this and we learned a lot in the process. Luna has since grown into a healthy,
beautiful young girl. Again, another solid example of breeding up - this cria is an improvement in density over her mother
and it is due to her sire's good genetics. Thanks to Chase Tavern for helping us pick out the right breeding for our fine, well-
boned girl. We like the results so much we are bringing Juno and Annie back for re-breeding in September.
Next up we have a cria due in September out of our own MA Camalot and our older import dam, Nastcha. I am really
excited about this one because we did the breeding here in Paradise.
So, things are moving along. We have a new addition to our domestic pets in the form of a very intelligent (read: devious and
charming) half Jack Russel named Peanut. I have allowed Peanut to *help* me out in the barn and so far, she has been very
good and the alpacas are very curious about this little dog sitting in their paddock during dinner time.
We have a busy late-summer and fall schedule. The Washington County Fair is next weekend, followed by the Woodstock
Fair on Labor Day. Although we don't bring animals, we do enjoy the education we get, and meeting up with all of the
agriculture students from the nearby schools and colleges. We will be featured at the Best of 2006 Ashlawn Farm Farmer's
Market on September 2nd. We are honored to be participating as we really enjoy the folks we've met down in Lyme. Then
we have a trip to Maine, and a couple of local events in September. October is time for Coastal Classics, and we also hope
to be participating in the new Green Mountain Show in November. All this bounty in two short years. August 13th is our
anniversary in Paradise - Happy Birthday, Paradise Farm!
June 20th, 2006,
Raising alpacas is wicked fun, but having baby alpacas running around the paddock makes it all worthwhile... keep checking
back for news on our next cria due July 1st, 2006...
June 4th, 2006,
Yesterday's Woodstock-like rain/mudfest at the Apeiron Institute's Rhode Island Sustainability Fair was an experience that
will not soon be forgotten by Paradise Farmers and alpacas alike. Many thanks to Richard from Backhome Magazine and
volunteer Deb, for their assistance with collapsing our canopy and helping us carry our mud-soaked gear back out through
the torrential rain at the end of the fair day. A lot of folks braved the crazy weather to come out and watch Tom spin, check
out a couple of our alpacas, and find out more about what we are doing on the farm.
Next Saturday, we will be at Ashland Farm Coffee's Lyme Farmer's Market. for more meeting, greeting, spinning, and
alpaca show-offing, hopefully in sunnier weather! If you can spare an hour, come out and meet us!
May 31st, 2006,
Well, after an eternity, we finally have a cria here in Paradise. This morning, after rushing my daughter out of the house (we
were late) and into the car, I decided to take one... last... check.
GET OUT OF THE CAR!
GO GET THE CAMERA!!!
CALL THE VET! NO WAIT! CALL TOM!
IT'S - HAPPENING!
Very quickly, in the style of those perfect how-to videos you see when you first get started in this biz, Anne Klein dropped
a beautiful, healthy, hearty huacaya into Paradise. Pictures and details HERE. Happy Birthday, Sophia!
May 26th, 2006,
We are on cria watch, keeping our fingers crossed. It has been a very rainy end of spring, and so now the trees and grass are
lush and green. The first hay of the season in the area has been cut. The alpacas are starting to look droopy, and the rest of
this weekend will be spent shearing. This is always an exciting time on any alpaca farm, but can be mildly stressful on both
animals and humans alike. I will try to take some pictures of our shearing this year.
Next weekend, we are very excited to be a part of the Rhode Island Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo at the
Apeiron Institute in Coventry, Rhode Island. We will be bringing some of our alpacas and a variety of products (including
some beautiful hand-worked alpaca products by Teresa Gruenhagen of Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm, as well as some
imported Peruvian products, raw fiber and yarns.) Last year, we attended the festival as help to Backhome Magazine.
They will again be at the fair this year, and we are excited to be hosting them at the farm for the event. If you can make it
out, we would love to see you. Stop by and watch Tom spin for awhile, or have lunch and enjoy the music (they have an
incredible line-up of musicians this year, including a band that plays entirely off the grid!)
The following weekend, on Saturday, June 10th, we will be loading up some animals and products to participate in the
cream-of-the-crop of all Farmer's Markets, at Ashland Farm Coffee's Lyme Farmer's Market. The Lyme Farmer's market
specializes in organic produce, fair-trade coffee, and pasture raised beef products. This is the first time they have ever had
alpacas at the market, and we are looking forward to showing everyone at the market the fine quality of alpaca fleece and
fiber products, and the gentle nature of our animals.
In the meantime, now that Tom and I are both back to work full-time, weekends are reserved for farm improvements
(always ongoing), toenail trimming, and fence mending. Tom has completed the roughly 150 ft. road behind the North
Paddock, all done without a tractor, and the building of another over-hang for the front barn. He's a busy guy!
Whether you are out and about next weekend at the fair, or the following at the farmer's market, stop by and see us or give
us a call if you'd like to visit the farm.
April 13th, 2006,
A busy month! The North American Alpaca Show was a great experience. Our animals behaved themselves, and that's all
we could ask for. We learned a lot! It was a big show, but we had a lot of familliar faces giving us encouragement and good
advice as we forayed into the ring for the first time...
We are celebrating Spring here on the farm with daffodils in bloom, six new baby chicks, and our first cria on it's way with
an end-of-May due date. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a healthy delivery.
In March, we were very fortunate to visit with some Vermont and New Hampshire alpaca farms, and to sit in on a spinners'
conference for a couple of evening hours... we want to thank Cathy from Ibiwisi Alpacas of Vermont, Pat from Whispering
Winds Alpaca Farm, and Terry from Snowshoe Farm Alpacas for letting us sit in on their Alpacatrendz Spinners
Conference, and to all the craftpersons we met and learned from there and at dinner. Alpacatrendz is a group of farms
committed to furthering the "understanding and appreciation of all things alpaca." They are also a group of up-and-coming
farms making big waves in the show ring with their beautiful alpacas!
We also wish to thank Ian and Jennifer Lutz of Cas-Cad-Nac Farm, and Linda and Bill Ley of Parris Hill Farm Alpacas, for
showing us their awesome farms.
We also toured Golding Studios and were blown away by their beautiful spinning wheels, looms, and other artfully crafted
handspinner accesories, and Green Mountain Spinnery, a small mill specializing in spinning unique fibers like alpaca and
goat.
It was a great trip!
Keep checking back here for progress updates on our Annie...
*UPDATE* Due to job/family/other committments, we will unfortunately be unable to attend the fleece event at the
Providence Childrens' Museum.
We are sad to also note the passing of Tom's Dad on April 5th, after a long battle with Alzheimers Disease. He can be
remembered with a "Forget-Me-Not" Flower pin available through the Alzheimer's Association, Connecticut Chapter.
March 14th, 2006,
Mud season is upon us... our favorite time of year in Southern Rhode Island when our paddocks resemble Great Swamp.
Scooping poop this afternoon, on an island of straw, I noticed a salamander-like thing wiggle its way through the puddle that
is the boys' paddock. There is not much playing going on with the pacas... they tend to be wary of the muck and prefer to
stay high and dry, nibbling on their hay while I slog about in my boots. All going well, the season will pass just as it did last
year, and we will have greener pastures come April.
Speaking of April, April Fools' weekend is also the North American Alpaca Show, where alpacas from all over New England
and beyond will be on display for three whole days. Alpacas will also compete for ribbons in the show ring. We will be
there with two of our favorite alpacas, and are looking forward to seeing all of our fellow farms.
Check back here for more updates on events happening in May and June!
February 14th, 2006,
Happy Valentine's Day! We have had a lovely winter here in Paradise. The alpacas are enjoying the recent snow, romping
about and rolling in the fluffy white stuff. Tom is learning to spin, having gotten a Kiwi for his birthday. His first skeins
were tested with a pair of #6 knitting needles and proved to be easy to work with and very strong.
Are you ready for the 2006 North American Alpaca Show? We are! Look for our banner up at Springfield this year. We
will be sharing pen space with Stone Bridge Alpacas. We look forward to seeing you there!
On Saturday, February 11th, the farm was given a quick sprucing up for a small wedding. My Mom and Dad, my daughter,
sister, and niece, and Tom's mom, sister and nephew celebrated a wonderful afternoon together while we said "I do" in front
of a roaring fire in the stone fireplace. At feeding time, I got out of my dress and into jeans and workboots and helped Tom
get the barn ready for the impending Nor'Easter. At eight o'clock, the snow began to fall. The alpacas congratulated us by
humming a special wedding march: "Here Comes Our Food". Ah well, the honeymoon will have to wait as the alpacas come
first!
November 28, 2005
Our first Open Farm Days, co-sponsored with Big Red Alpacas. was a great success. Thanks to all of our friends who came
out to see us on a couple of cold days. The alpacas loved it. We love talking to all of you about our animals and showing
off the gorgeous products that are made from alpaca fleece. We will be open again next weekend for any of you who might
have missed this weekend. See here for updated invitation.
November 12, 2005.
Fall has brought blustery weather and along with it, many visitors to our farm, including ABC 6 news anchor Wendy
Cicchetti. Wendy produced a special five-minute segment about our farm for her feature series "Wendy's Neighbors", which
aired Friday, November 4th. It was very exciting for the alpacas, who, due to a Nor'Easter, were having a bad hair day.
They all looked gorgeous on television.
We are looking forward to seeing new friends and old at the first annual Harvest to Holiday Open Farm Days, co-sponsored
with Big Red Alpacas, November 26th and 27th. Click here for more information.
September 26th, 2005.
A beautiful weekend at the fair. Swamp Yankee Days in Ashaway, Rhode Island featured music, chowdah, and down the
lane, surrounded by the smiling faces of appreciative fair-goers, alpacas from both our farm and Big Red Alpacas. We had a
great time and the boys and girls from both farms loved the attention. Saturday, Daniel and Pisaguah delighted the kids with
their teenager-alpaca antics, while Saturday, the shy, eyelash batting Callixa hosted a paddock party with Big Red's lovely
Butterfly and Marylou. Next door, Product Consultant and Marketing Guru Heather Soloman made available some
unbelievably soft and beautiful hand-crafted products imported from Peru, and reports that she sold out of teddy bears.
Rumor has it she will be ordering MORE for our open house in November (look in your mailboxes in a few weeks for your
invitation!)
We met a lot of interesting people at this fair, and we are excited at the level of interest our alpacas generated. Alpacas are
truly a wise livestock investment, as well as a very cool animal to be around and work with. I think our conversations
sparked interest in some people who may have previously believed alpacas were prohibitively expensive or hard to find. It
is nice to see that myth dispelled and folks begin to see how very feasable an alpaca farm really is.
In the interest of continuing education, we will be volunteering at the New England Coastal Classic Alpaca show October 15
& 16 just outside of Portland, Maine. I am looking forward to being able to see all of the animals who will be coming, and
meet (and re-meet) alpaca farms from all over the East Coast.
September 10th, 2005.
Two of our females return from their breedings at Chase Tavern in a few weeks. We shall be a full farm, again!
Our next events are Rhode Island Swamp Yankee Days, and then up to Maine in October for Coastal Classics. See you
then!
July 25th, 2005.
It has been a busy past couple of weeks. We attended the Marty McGee Bennet Cameldynamics workshop hosted by
Maple View Alpacas and Cas-Cad-Nac Farm in Vermont the weekend of July 15-17, and learned so much. The book is
wonderful but the seminar gave us hands-on learning. We were also thrilled to meet Marty, and to connect with all of the
other workshop attendees. It was truly an enlightening experience and the host farm, Maple View Alpacas, gave us a lot of
inspiration - their farm is beautiful!
This past weekend, we brought our (unfortunately no longer pregnant) dam Juno up to Chase Tavern Farm Alpacas in
Bowdoin, Maine, for her "re"breeding. She met for the first time another one of our females, Anne Klein, also there for a
breeding. I am looking forward to them both coming back home in a couple of months.
We also brought our daughter and our niece up to camp in Freedom, Maine, so it was a packed van. I was joking with
Cindy Lavin that I wasn't sure who I got more misty-eyed over - dropping the girls at camp or the girl alpaca for her
breeding. We chose Hidden Valley camp because it includes a llama program, so our daughter and niece will learn basic llama
care outside of our farm, and bring back essential skills needed to work independently with the llamas and alpacas.
On the way home, we were fortunate to visit with Lori and Shawn Malloy of Sunshine Alpacas of Maine. Lori and Shawn
own some very nice Suris, as well as llamas that look like unicorns, and several dogs, cats, birds, and tropical fish. Visiting
with them was truly a joy and it is always great to get different perspectives on raising and breeding alpacas. The Malloys
have a huge old barn that they have been renovating, and have done the floor in pavers. I love the look and we are inspired
to do a similar floor for our barn. Their website is: http://www.sunshinealpacas.com/ - take a look at their website and
contact them if you are interested in top quality suri alpacas.
We look forward to more adventures and workshops as the summer progresses, As the farm evolves, we learn more and
more every day, and enjoy discovering what wisdom our animals choose to share with us.
June 20th, 2005
We have been busy shearing the alpacas (see our Gallery Link, above), and hosted the local newspaper, the Wood River
Press (owned by the Westerly Sun) on Saturday. We look forward to seeing the short piece and photos some time this
week.
We will be travelling in July and August for more educational seminars and alpaca transport. We are looking forward to a
busy summer with our beautiful animals!
May 18 2005
Tom has worked diligently to finish the new overhang off of the barn. The framing is up, now it is a matter of roofing. The
alpacas will have quite the verandah.
It has been very wet weather but the paddock finally dried out this week. Mud season is hopefully over! The summer
season starts with travels to Maine and Vermont for seminars and farm visits. Such is the wonderful life of the alpaca
breeder.
August 2008
A quieter summer than last; we have brought Dino (see the brown guy at left), Mykonos, and Pilot to the farmer's market to
get them acclimated to people and being shown. People love to see the alpacas. Tom spins and I talk, and sometimes Tom
talks and I run off for an iced coffee. These three small boys are a joy to bring to the market as they have retained some
cuteness and tend to be friendly with the kids. We've had some interest in them as well. I think more and more people are
looking to small livestock like sheep and alpaca as smart investments in an unpredictable economy.
We were planning on bringing our boys to one of the fall shows but have decided to wait until the North American in the
Spring. Transportation and off-farm costs coupled with Fall being a busy season for Zoë's school and our jobs make
traveling to shows a luxury. Plus, by waiting until North American, we can bring the Fall 07 boys plus the 08 cria together.
The 08 cria, both offspring from our co-owned HHF Simply Mauvelous, are outstanding as far as fleece - we are keeping
our fingers crossed that they don't attract all kinds of hay and burdocks (yikes!) before we can get them to a show. I love
seeing improvements on the mother. While Freia is a softer version of mom (and nicer color), Kosmo just steals the show
with this raggedy-Andy crimp style and mirror-like reflective quality to his pale pinkish fawn fiber. And his mom is great,
so to see improvement over her fiber was just bonus.
We have been fairly lucky weather-wise and are seeing greener pastures this year. It truly feels like Paradise each time I
step outside. Our hay guy promises nothing, however, because, well, he's a farmer and he knows that sometimes we just
might not get that next cut. So our plans for the year are to stock up on the good stuff and keep our animals well fed. Our
commitment to our own little version of sustainable living dictates living simply and as close to the earth as possible. The
animals are our constant teachers.
May 2008
Another Spring has sprung in Paradise. Last week we had snow, followed by torrential rains which supplied our well for
the year and saturated the paddocks to (hopefully) encourage Spring growth of juicy orchard grass for our alpacas.
One thing I happily noted was the rain diversion system Tom built for the run-off from the barn roof is working really well.
The water is now directed down the fence line and out away from the barn, where before, our overhangs and immediate area
were like swamp. Our alpacas remain dry despite the March storms.
We attended several interesting seminars this winter. Dr. Norm Evans came to Rhode Island (how would we miss that?) and
we spent a Sunday absorbing the latest information in camelid veterinary care. We felt encouraged, particularly because he
had done the same seminar the day before for the New England alpaca veterinarians - our veterinarian and two of his
students being in attendance. Dr. Evans also spoke on the subject of the future of the breeding and fiber industries,
particularly in what sorts of testing can be done in breeding males in order to ensure passing-on of fiber characteristics. A
lot of the tools are new and we keep an interested ear on the results of the farms who are running such tests.
The second seminar we attended was a very well-run program by Alpacatrendz, a collaborative of farms in New Hampshire,
Vermont and upstate New York who are interested in bringing together both new farms and established farms for discussion
and learning. This particular seminar was on parasites, and it was fun looking through the microscope and identifying the
various good and bad specimens. Dr. Susan L. Johnson DVM presented a review of material that helped us think about
breeding and birthing in a new way.
We were also fortunate this Spring to be involved in RICAPE’s Small Farm Business planning seminar. This invaluable
program was brought to Rhode Island with a US agricultural grant. Dr. Cole Gustafson, from North Dakota State
University, and Dr. Laurence M. Crane, from National Crop Insurance Services, worked with seven small Rhode Island
farmers (including a shellfish farmer, a nursery grower, a tree farmer, a CSA organizer, a sheep farmer, and TWO alpaca
farmers) to educate on small business planning and risk assessment. This is something we are constantly striving to keep up
with - how does one balance a farm business with the rest of life? The conference gave us a lot to think about, talk about,
and learn about. Being a Rhode Island alpaca farmer means keeping growth controlled. Our goal, as it always has been, is to
raise the highest quality healthy alpacas that we possibly can. Planning for healthy growth while still maintaining full-time
careers off the farm is our challenge. It helps that alpacas are such a joy to raise and to be around.
We are really looking forward to seeing all of our friends and fellow breeders at the North American Alpaca Show April 6-
10th at the Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts. This is always a fun time of year and we always enjoy seeing the
competition and learning more about what we are all working towards in the industry. Admission is free, and it is open to
the public. If you go, stop by and say hello!
November 30th, 2007
Man, how time flies.
We've had alternating cold with warm, autumn-like days throughout October and November, and, like most of the East
Coast, not as much rain as in other years. This has given us the opportunity to look at our barnyard lake situation and talk
with the State of Rhode Island about helping us get a grant to fix the problem before we have to build an ark. It has also
given us the opportunity to host several very nice open farm days for our neighbors and the community. Both were huge
successes. The first, National Alpaca Farm Day, was part of a nationwide cooperative that was highly publicized. Alpacas
were even featured during that week on Good Morning America and The View. The more folks can be educated on this
livestock, the better, because the more good questions that are asked, the more we as farmers get to learn. Keep those
questions coming.
Winter is also a time for introspective review and looking back on the year to find what went right, and what went awry.
Certainly, the biggest disappointment this year, besides one of our girls not being bred (when all spit tests pointed to the
affirmative) was our reluctance to show due to a highly communicable virus that seemed to be spreading throughout the
alpaca community, particularly alpacas attending shows or being transported with infected alpacas. The virus, like a bad
cold, spread throughout herds nationwide and rarely caused more than cases of congestion and higher than normal temps. In
some cases, a strain of the virus proved fatal. Because we are wimps and live as frugally as possible (therefore don't like to
call the vet unless it's a dire emergency), we decided to stay home instead of showing. We do not regret our decision, as we
have so far remained virus-free (saving us sleepless nights which I am sure many of our fellow farmers have suffered.) We
are, however, increasingly convinced that we need to get our girls Luna and Sophia back in the show-ring before they are
bred for the first time. Hopefully, by March, this virus will have run its course and we will be able to transport our animals
without wearing surgical masks and booties. ;)
We also like to sit down and take a good look at where we are. After three years in the business, are we meeting our goals as
breeders? We like to think that through careful breeding decisions that we have improved (in just one generation) on our
foundation herd. However, it is difficult to remain objective when you look at their adorable faces. We have met some
goals, and not met others. We would like to become more educated on fiber, and keep better records about our animals' fiber
statistics. We would like to enter our fleeces into more mail-in shows. We would like to process more of our fiber. We are
doing a lot of events with the public and getting our names out there, and people are coming to the farm to find out more
about our animals. That is a really positive response to these animals and to the work we have done. What could we be
doing to better attract potential farmers? How best to market our co-owned stud? How to share with the world our love of
these animals and communicate the facility with which we have experienced the alpaca breeding business? Are we raising
our alpacas in a healthy and sustainable manner? Can we be doing it better (while still holding on to full-time jobs off-farm,
raising a teenager, and having a life?) These are the questions that come up when we contemplate the 8-ball. The answers
are obvious when we look out in our paddocks. The three new baby boys pronk and play while their mothers cush near the
hay box. Last year's girls learn pack attitude and flirt innocently across the fenceline with our herdsires, driving them nuts.
They are, knock on wood, healthy, with good fiber, fairly good hay this year, and proof that we can actually raise something
other than goldfish. We have a long way to go, but we are confident in what we have done so far. It can be discouraging
when one witnesses the quality (and quantity) of animals at very large breeders who are doing so much to further the
industry, and raising the notch for everyone else. They are our mentors, and while I can't help having a huge case of envy
every time I part a championship animal's fiber, I am reminded of the poet and clergyman George Herbert's semi-famous
quote, "There would be no great men if there were no little ones." I know that each and every farm in this business needs
the other, large or small, to succeed. It gives me hope when I see crimp on a newborn cria whose mother had little to none.
It is possible to make great fiber regardless of making it in the show-ring. This is what we are all about, and this is indeed
where our focus needs to be in the next few years. With that, I put away the eight ball and wish you and yours a very
happy (and soft and fluffy) holiday season.
August 12th, 2007
It has been a long while since our last update!
Summer has brought a fresh breeze here to Paradise, carrying along with it just enough rain to make the grass green, and
sunshine to make the days sweet. The alpacas enjoyed shearing over Memorial Day at Shadow Pines Alpaca Farm. Bob
and Vivian hosted two gentlemen from out west to come and shear four farms worth of alpaca. They were quick and they
were efficient, and did a beautiful job. It was a lot of fun, and it's nice to work together.
We also made several trips this summer. We enjoyed a visit with Quarry Ridge Alpaca Farm in Salem, NY to check out
potential females for our farm. We ended up with two. QR Fiona Bolina is a three year old white girl with an extremely
friendly manner, and Enchanted Gigi has that lovely mahogany color and super lock structure we like to see in our alpacas.
Both are bred - Fiona to TH Evereddy, and Gigi to QR Zorro, and are due late summer early fall. We are looking forward to
seeing new babies!
In July, our daughter Zoë went to Oneonta, NY to stay with Hasu Ranch Alpacas and learn different aspects of graphic arts
and marketing at their Breedworks studio. Zoë worked (as well as a fourteen year old artist can) on a few projects that
utilized Flash and other graphic arts programs. She enjoyed spending time with Susan and Hazen and their gorgeous twin
baby boys. Hopefully, this has given her the headstart she needs in her goal of being a manga artist. She reports that she
learned that she really, really likes suri alpacas and would very much like to see them at Paradise Farm. We'll have to wait
and see... maybe she is going to be a manga artist slash suri farmer extraordinaire!
We also visited Kim Davidson & Carolyn Campbell at Big Red Alpacas in New York. Their new farm is coming along
nicely, and we were so happy to get to see the new baby, Luck Be A Lady, a female born 07/07/07!
Also in July, we had a visit from Ben, Julie and Mark from YERT.com (Your Environmental Road Trip) who came to talk
to us (and film us) for their video blog. YERT's mission is to travel around the United States for one year to talk to people
about environmental sustainability. We had dinner and talked about things like small farm sustainability, climate change,
recycling, waste, and the green movement in America. It was a great evening and we look forward to reading about their
adventures as they travel across the U.S. They loved the alpacas, but they didn't like the spit. ;) Look for them as they
seek out America's ecological progress in their Ford Hybrid that they named Rachel Carson, after the pioneer of the
environmental movement in the U.S.
Rhode Island has a surprising amount of alpaca farms. That's why we all decided to put our heads together and share
marketing ideas for the upcoming National Alpaca Farm Day in September. We had a nice dinner with everyone at Valuna
Restaurant in Saunderstown Rhode Island. We talked about the particular challenges we small Rhode Island farms face, and
planned additional future meetings in order to continue to share ideas and support each other in our effort to raise healthy,
happy animals, and to share them with our state. At the meeting, we also learned of the incredible work done by our state's
farm bureau (with the clear thinking guidance from Anne Fiore of Glen Ridge Farm Alpacas) to pass the RI Alpaca Farm
bill. This bill will ensure that alpaca livestock sales will not be taxed. This is a huge feat which took a lot of organization
and hard work, and we wish to extend our appreciation to everyone who worked to make it pass.
We have been bringing a few of our alpacas and the spinning wheel to Casey Farm on occasional Saturday mornings for the
Coastal Grower's Farmer's market. It is always a joy, especially showing the kids how the wool is spun into yarn.
Although we don't bring products to Casey Farm, the interest in alpaca products and fiber is very high. And the animals
themselves always get plenty of attention.
We will be showing this fall at the 2nd annual Green Mountain Fall Spectacular. Look for us and say hello!
It is wonderful to be able to look outside and see our alpacas and know that they not only represent our investment, but
also a truly proper and fitting livestock for our farm. They're a lot of fun, and they are always surprising us. As summer
comes to a close, and the fall show season is upon us, I have to keep reminding myself to just go outside and play with the
alpacas.
April 28th, 2007
First off, we would very much like to congratulate Matt & Natasha Kite of I.V. Alpacas on their purchase of three lovely
alpacas from our farm. We are thrilled that the animals will be going to such a fantastic space. I.V. Alpacas is the
quintessential Rhode Island Farm – green pastures edged by woods and a mini-orchard. Matt & Natasha have big plans for
future open farm days, and for products made from alpaca fiber. We are pleased that they have joined the endeavor to keep
small, sustainable farming in Rhode Island a reality.
We are gearing up for another busy Month. We will be attending the NEAOBA New England Alpaca festival May 11th &
12th, and Tom will be spinning at the first-ever Rhode Island Wool & Fiber festival May 19th at Coggeshall Farm in Bristol,
R.I. Memorial Day weekend is reserved for shearing – an event much anticipated - especially by the alpacas. This year,
besides doing some of our animals here at the farm ourselves, we are bringing animals to be shorn by a professional, hosted
by Shadow Pines Alpaca Farm in Exeter. It will be nice to see how the pros do it; not that Tom does a bad job, but he never
quite gets the q-tip head thing right. ;)
Next Saturday, we are hosting a girls scout group, giving them a tour of the farm and letting them get a hands-on education
about farm life and how the fiber becomes a final product. Monday, May 21st, we are hosting a local knitters' group at the
farm. We are looking forward to speaking with experienced knitters about what sort of yarn styles and weights are
currently in demand, and what sort of product we should be focusing upon.
We have also been invited by the Coastal Growers Association to be a part of their farmer’s market at Casey Farm in
Saunderstown, RI. We can’t promise to be there every weekend, but we plan on attending at least once a month. Look for
us there June 2nd. We have some nice products we will be bringing with us, and a couple of our animals.
April 15, 2007
2007 has brought rain and more rain to our corner of the Northeast. As soon as the paddocks begin to dry out, it starts to
rain again. It seems as if summer will never arrive! But we did have a ray of sunshine here at Paradise Farm late in March.
The 2007 North American Alpaca Show happened on a sunny, dry weekend. We were immediately impressed upon arrival
with the quality of the animals walking through check-in. It seems that every year, the quality of the alpacas showing seems
to get better and better. That says a LOT for the overall improvement of the North American herd. Of course, that makes
the competition that much more challenging. So it was with great delight that all of the animals brought from Paradise Farm
to the show went home with ribbons! Both PFA Sophia and PFA Luna competed in tough classes with big-name farms
under renowned judge Jude Anderson. PFA Sophia took a third place in her class. Jude was particularly impressed with
PFA Sophia, stating that, although she was small for her size, it must be because she was putting all of her energy into
growing her fleece, as it is very soft with a wonderful handle. We couldn’t agree more! PFA Luna got a second look and
before we knew it, she was in line for a fifth place ribbon out of ten in her class. Our boy MA Camalot did very well in
performance – 1st place in a class of four – not bad for a seven year old intact male. He behaved beautifully and was calm
and a delight to work with all four days. Seeing all of our friends and colleagues in the industry was great fun as well, and
we enjoyed learning new information and sharing stories.
April and May will prove to be busy this year. Between the many farm visitors (thanks to articles in Backhome Magazine
and the Wood River Press) and the fairs and festivals we have been invited to attend and bring animals to, it seems like some
of the small Spring improvements and chores will have to wait until the warm sunny days of June. That’s alright. We’ll
enjoy the Spring, let the fiber grow, look forward to shearing and alpacas pronking in the paddocks. April showers bring
May forage!
February 24, 2007
It's been a quiet winter! We really haven't had bad weather, either. I think a total, so far, of three or four inches of snow
here in Southern New England. Other than our usual Christmas Open House crowd and a visit from a reporter from the
Westerly Sun, we haven't been up to much.
Although it was quiet, it didn't keep us from sending fleece samples in to two hand crafter's spin-offs, and experiencing the
joy of receiving ribbons without having to hitch up a trailer or pack the show trunk!
Carol Karsten of Hidden Hill Farm Alpacas reports that our half-interest herdsire, HHF Simply Mauvelous, received a sixth
for his fleece at the Empire Fleece Show. Not bad for a very competitive show! We are also looking forward to seeing his
cria this fall, as he is bred to our own Callixa.
The three girls are growing and filling out nicely, just in time for the North American Alpaca Show at the end of March in
Springfield, Massachusetts. We'll be there with the new crop, and with one of our favorite fellas for the obstacle course. I
look forward to seeing all of our friends there and getting in the ring again.
Don't hesitate to schedule a visit with us as the weather warms up! We're always excited to show off our animals and to
visit with friends.
November 9th, 2006
Fall is here, along with mud and wind (it's New England, after all) and it seems to wake up the alpacas out of their summer
sleeps. More than once I've caught Zaidy pronking around the paddock for no reason at all (except it feels good.)
Next weekend, the girls come home from Maine. We will be a full farm again! Both were bred to extraordinary proven
champs up at Chase Tavern. It's always a treat to look forward to summer cria. Something to keep me dreaming those long
winter nights.
And we are so happy with our Camalot/Nastcha breeding that resulted in our beautiful 2006 PFA Zaidy that we have
repeated that breeding and look forward to a Fall 2007 cria. Let's hope another girl!
Last weekend we went to the first annual Green Mountain Alpaca Spectacular and really enjoyed going and watching all day
without worrying about animals. It was almost like a vacation. We stayed at Willey's Farm B&B which was a quick walk
across the fairgrounds. Willey's Farm owners Dave and Lynn Willey even took time out of their busy schedules to spend a
couple of hours at the show Saturday (thanks to Dave for getting me to think about the cria coat issue.) This new show got
off to a great start, with over five hundred alpacas in attendance. Next year, we'll be there with our show-ring troupe fersher.
Not that we don't like showing. A couple of weeks prior, our new partnership herdsire HHF Simply Mauvelous took a
ribbon (6th in a challenging fawn class) at the Empire Alpaca Show in Syracuse, New York. That was a lot of fun. Thank
you to Carol from Hidden Hill Farm Alpacas for letting us give her a hand at the show. We always learn something new
when we go to the shows. The Empire is a great show because the rings are in the center, surrounded by the different farms,
so everything feels very inclusive. The kids took over ring four with different showmanship and costume classes and it was
neat to see them side by side with another show for the "big kids."
Be sure to catch up with us at our 2nd annual Thanksgiving Open Farm Days. We will have all of our animals on farm, as
well as an obstacle course set up from Amber Valley Ridge Alpacas, and of course our popular Farm Store (complete with
cookies and cider for kids big and little.) We find this event to be a great chance to say hello to our neighbors and connect
with old friends. Bring the relatives and get some fresh air... and plan on getting most of your holiday shopping done! See
you in a couple of weeks!
September 23rd, 2006,
Well, as they say in the alpaca biz, once you have the last birth of the season, you can relax. NOT!!!
There's the nightly concern that the new baby will decide to sleep under the edge of the overhang, where the rain will drip
down and soak through her jacket…
There’s the getting-the-farm-ready-for-fall-and-winter… re-seeding paddocks (but first you have to chase down the rogue
chickens and somehow contain them in the coop.)
There’s getting ready for our new co-owned boy, HHF Simply Mauvelous (proudly co-owned with Hidden Hill Farms of
New Hampshire) making sure he has enough space and shelter. Tom is busy renovating the boys’ area of the barn to make a
new suite for Mauve - the sound of hammering and sawing the constant background music in our personal Paradise.
There’s us, standing out in the paddock during feeding time, feeling the empty space our two girls, Juno and Annie, and their
daughters, Sophia and Luna, usually occupy (why was it easier last year to send them up to Chase Tavern Farm for
breeding?) Chase Tavern does a wonderful job and I am sure those girls are having a blast. But we sure do miss ‘em.
There’s the joy at seeing the new baby’s daddy, MA Camalot, gazing over the fence at his daughter while she scampers
around the paddock…
…but we can’t linger – there’s so much to DO! There’s hay to price and test and have delivered (or pick up), there’s holes
to fill in the paddock, weeds to be plucked, the Empire Alpaca Expo to prepare for, as well as the Green Mountain Alpaca
Fall Spectacular… and another open house to plan for – this one hosted by our friends Barb and Joe at Rocky Ridge Farm in
Ashaway, Rhode Island, October 14th and 15th (look for more details in your inbox soon…)
Somehow, we will get a chance to sit down and review the final printed version of the article on raising alpacas that we
wrote for Backhome Magazine (check your local newsstands in October/November – lots of great stuff on Hybrid cars,
Holiday recipes, and of course, alpacas.)
It looks to be another busy Fall... but it is worth it. ;)
September 18th, 2006
Welcome to the world, Miss Zaidy! Wow. Another girl. ;)
Came home from work tonight to find a baby in the paddock. With no help from me. Imagine that!
I will write more later... been kind of a crazy week and I have to go out and gaze at that baby some more.
August 12th, 2006,
My goodness, how time flies. We have been busy with outdoor activities, farm visits (our friends Big Red Alpacas are in
the process of moving their operations to their lovely new farm in Cambridge, New York,) fence mending, and farmer's
markets. Between all of that and the daily 9-5, it has been hard to remember to keep up the website.
On July 21st, late in the afternoon, our very pregnant dam Juno gave birth to a really lovely little cria we named Luna. Luna
took some time getting a move-on. It had been a hot few days there, and this birth happened late enough for things to start
cooling down. Unfortunately, Juno's milk didn't make an appearance until late evening, at which point Luna was looking a
little peaked. We were able to get some dairy colustrum into her and finally around ten p.m. Juno's milk arrived and
although Luna seemed lethargic, we made sure we got her standing and nursing every hour until daylight. Our first
experience with an emergency such as this and we learned a lot in the process. Luna has since grown into a healthy,
beautiful young girl. Again, another solid example of breeding up - this cria is an improvement in density over her mother
and it is due to her sire's good genetics. Thanks to Chase Tavern for helping us pick out the right breeding for our fine, well-
boned girl. We like the results so much we are bringing Juno and Annie back for re-breeding in September.
Next up we have a cria due in September out of our own MA Camalot and our older import dam, Nastcha. I am really
excited about this one because we did the breeding here in Paradise.
So, things are moving along. We have a new addition to our domestic pets in the form of a very intelligent (read: devious and
charming) half Jack Russel named Peanut. I have allowed Peanut to *help* me out in the barn and so far, she has been very
good and the alpacas are very curious about this little dog sitting in their paddock during dinner time.
We have a busy late-summer and fall schedule. The Washington County Fair is next weekend, followed by the Woodstock
Fair on Labor Day. Although we don't bring animals, we do enjoy the education we get, and meeting up with all of the
agriculture students from the nearby schools and colleges. We will be featured at the Best of 2006 Ashlawn Farm Farmer's
Market on September 2nd. We are honored to be participating as we really enjoy the folks we've met down in Lyme. Then
we have a trip to Maine, and a couple of local events in September. October is time for Coastal Classics, and we also hope
to be participating in the new Green Mountain Show in November. All this bounty in two short years. August 13th is our
anniversary in Paradise - Happy Birthday, Paradise Farm!
June 20th, 2006,
Raising alpacas is wicked fun, but having baby alpacas running around the paddock makes it all worthwhile... keep checking
back for news on our next cria due July 1st, 2006...
June 4th, 2006,
Yesterday's Woodstock-like rain/mudfest at the Apeiron Institute's Rhode Island Sustainability Fair was an experience that
will not soon be forgotten by Paradise Farmers and alpacas alike. Many thanks to Richard from Backhome Magazine and
volunteer Deb, for their assistance with collapsing our canopy and helping us carry our mud-soaked gear back out through
the torrential rain at the end of the fair day. A lot of folks braved the crazy weather to come out and watch Tom spin, check
out a couple of our alpacas, and find out more about what we are doing on the farm.
Next Saturday, we will be at Ashland Farm Coffee's Lyme Farmer's Market. for more meeting, greeting, spinning, and
alpaca show-offing, hopefully in sunnier weather! If you can spare an hour, come out and meet us!
May 31st, 2006,
Well, after an eternity, we finally have a cria here in Paradise. This morning, after rushing my daughter out of the house (we
were late) and into the car, I decided to take one... last... check.
GET OUT OF THE CAR!
GO GET THE CAMERA!!!
CALL THE VET! NO WAIT! CALL TOM!
IT'S - HAPPENING!
Very quickly, in the style of those perfect how-to videos you see when you first get started in this biz, Anne Klein dropped
a beautiful, healthy, hearty huacaya into Paradise. Pictures and details HERE. Happy Birthday, Sophia!
May 26th, 2006,
We are on cria watch, keeping our fingers crossed. It has been a very rainy end of spring, and so now the trees and grass are
lush and green. The first hay of the season in the area has been cut. The alpacas are starting to look droopy, and the rest of
this weekend will be spent shearing. This is always an exciting time on any alpaca farm, but can be mildly stressful on both
animals and humans alike. I will try to take some pictures of our shearing this year.
Next weekend, we are very excited to be a part of the Rhode Island Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo at the
Apeiron Institute in Coventry, Rhode Island. We will be bringing some of our alpacas and a variety of products (including
some beautiful hand-worked alpaca products by Teresa Gruenhagen of Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm, as well as some
imported Peruvian products, raw fiber and yarns.) Last year, we attended the festival as help to Backhome Magazine.
They will again be at the fair this year, and we are excited to be hosting them at the farm for the event. If you can make it
out, we would love to see you. Stop by and watch Tom spin for awhile, or have lunch and enjoy the music (they have an
incredible line-up of musicians this year, including a band that plays entirely off the grid!)
The following weekend, on Saturday, June 10th, we will be loading up some animals and products to participate in the
cream-of-the-crop of all Farmer's Markets, at Ashland Farm Coffee's Lyme Farmer's Market. The Lyme Farmer's market
specializes in organic produce, fair-trade coffee, and pasture raised beef products. This is the first time they have ever had
alpacas at the market, and we are looking forward to showing everyone at the market the fine quality of alpaca fleece and
fiber products, and the gentle nature of our animals.
In the meantime, now that Tom and I are both back to work full-time, weekends are reserved for farm improvements
(always ongoing), toenail trimming, and fence mending. Tom has completed the roughly 150 ft. road behind the North
Paddock, all done without a tractor, and the building of another over-hang for the front barn. He's a busy guy!
Whether you are out and about next weekend at the fair, or the following at the farmer's market, stop by and see us or give
us a call if you'd like to visit the farm.
April 13th, 2006,
A busy month! The North American Alpaca Show was a great experience. Our animals behaved themselves, and that's all
we could ask for. We learned a lot! It was a big show, but we had a lot of familliar faces giving us encouragement and good
advice as we forayed into the ring for the first time...
We are celebrating Spring here on the farm with daffodils in bloom, six new baby chicks, and our first cria on it's way with
an end-of-May due date. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a healthy delivery.
In March, we were very fortunate to visit with some Vermont and New Hampshire alpaca farms, and to sit in on a spinners'
conference for a couple of evening hours... we want to thank Cathy from Ibiwisi Alpacas of Vermont, Pat from Whispering
Winds Alpaca Farm, and Terry from Snowshoe Farm Alpacas for letting us sit in on their Alpacatrendz Spinners
Conference, and to all the craftpersons we met and learned from there and at dinner. Alpacatrendz is a group of farms
committed to furthering the "understanding and appreciation of all things alpaca." They are also a group of up-and-coming
farms making big waves in the show ring with their beautiful alpacas!
We also wish to thank Ian and Jennifer Lutz of Cas-Cad-Nac Farm, and Linda and Bill Ley of Parris Hill Farm Alpacas, for
showing us their awesome farms.
We also toured Golding Studios and were blown away by their beautiful spinning wheels, looms, and other artfully crafted
handspinner accesories, and Green Mountain Spinnery, a small mill specializing in spinning unique fibers like alpaca and
goat.
It was a great trip!
Keep checking back here for progress updates on our Annie...
*UPDATE* Due to job/family/other committments, we will unfortunately be unable to attend the fleece event at the
Providence Childrens' Museum.
We are sad to also note the passing of Tom's Dad on April 5th, after a long battle with Alzheimers Disease. He can be
remembered with a "Forget-Me-Not" Flower pin available through the Alzheimer's Association, Connecticut Chapter.
March 14th, 2006,
Mud season is upon us... our favorite time of year in Southern Rhode Island when our paddocks resemble Great Swamp.
Scooping poop this afternoon, on an island of straw, I noticed a salamander-like thing wiggle its way through the puddle that
is the boys' paddock. There is not much playing going on with the pacas... they tend to be wary of the muck and prefer to
stay high and dry, nibbling on their hay while I slog about in my boots. All going well, the season will pass just as it did last
year, and we will have greener pastures come April.
Speaking of April, April Fools' weekend is also the North American Alpaca Show, where alpacas from all over New England
and beyond will be on display for three whole days. Alpacas will also compete for ribbons in the show ring. We will be
there with two of our favorite alpacas, and are looking forward to seeing all of our fellow farms.
Check back here for more updates on events happening in May and June!
February 14th, 2006,
Happy Valentine's Day! We have had a lovely winter here in Paradise. The alpacas are enjoying the recent snow, romping
about and rolling in the fluffy white stuff. Tom is learning to spin, having gotten a Kiwi for his birthday. His first skeins
were tested with a pair of #6 knitting needles and proved to be easy to work with and very strong.
Are you ready for the 2006 North American Alpaca Show? We are! Look for our banner up at Springfield this year. We
will be sharing pen space with Stone Bridge Alpacas. We look forward to seeing you there!
On Saturday, February 11th, the farm was given a quick sprucing up for a small wedding. My Mom and Dad, my daughter,
sister, and niece, and Tom's mom, sister and nephew celebrated a wonderful afternoon together while we said "I do" in front
of a roaring fire in the stone fireplace. At feeding time, I got out of my dress and into jeans and workboots and helped Tom
get the barn ready for the impending Nor'Easter. At eight o'clock, the snow began to fall. The alpacas congratulated us by
humming a special wedding march: "Here Comes Our Food". Ah well, the honeymoon will have to wait as the alpacas come
first!
November 28, 2005
Our first Open Farm Days, co-sponsored with Big Red Alpacas. was a great success. Thanks to all of our friends who came
out to see us on a couple of cold days. The alpacas loved it. We love talking to all of you about our animals and showing
off the gorgeous products that are made from alpaca fleece. We will be open again next weekend for any of you who might
have missed this weekend. See here for updated invitation.
November 12, 2005.
Fall has brought blustery weather and along with it, many visitors to our farm, including ABC 6 news anchor Wendy
Cicchetti. Wendy produced a special five-minute segment about our farm for her feature series "Wendy's Neighbors", which
aired Friday, November 4th. It was very exciting for the alpacas, who, due to a Nor'Easter, were having a bad hair day.
They all looked gorgeous on television.
We are looking forward to seeing new friends and old at the first annual Harvest to Holiday Open Farm Days, co-sponsored
with Big Red Alpacas, November 26th and 27th. Click here for more information.
September 26th, 2005.
A beautiful weekend at the fair. Swamp Yankee Days in Ashaway, Rhode Island featured music, chowdah, and down the
lane, surrounded by the smiling faces of appreciative fair-goers, alpacas from both our farm and Big Red Alpacas. We had a
great time and the boys and girls from both farms loved the attention. Saturday, Daniel and Pisaguah delighted the kids with
their teenager-alpaca antics, while Saturday, the shy, eyelash batting Callixa hosted a paddock party with Big Red's lovely
Butterfly and Marylou. Next door, Product Consultant and Marketing Guru Heather Soloman made available some
unbelievably soft and beautiful hand-crafted products imported from Peru, and reports that she sold out of teddy bears.
Rumor has it she will be ordering MORE for our open house in November (look in your mailboxes in a few weeks for your
invitation!)
We met a lot of interesting people at this fair, and we are excited at the level of interest our alpacas generated. Alpacas are
truly a wise livestock investment, as well as a very cool animal to be around and work with. I think our conversations
sparked interest in some people who may have previously believed alpacas were prohibitively expensive or hard to find. It
is nice to see that myth dispelled and folks begin to see how very feasable an alpaca farm really is.
In the interest of continuing education, we will be volunteering at the New England Coastal Classic Alpaca show October 15
& 16 just outside of Portland, Maine. I am looking forward to being able to see all of the animals who will be coming, and
meet (and re-meet) alpaca farms from all over the East Coast.
September 10th, 2005.
Two of our females return from their breedings at Chase Tavern in a few weeks. We shall be a full farm, again!
Our next events are Rhode Island Swamp Yankee Days, and then up to Maine in October for Coastal Classics. See you
then!
July 25th, 2005.
It has been a busy past couple of weeks. We attended the Marty McGee Bennet Cameldynamics workshop hosted by
Maple View Alpacas and Cas-Cad-Nac Farm in Vermont the weekend of July 15-17, and learned so much. The book is
wonderful but the seminar gave us hands-on learning. We were also thrilled to meet Marty, and to connect with all of the
other workshop attendees. It was truly an enlightening experience and the host farm, Maple View Alpacas, gave us a lot of
inspiration - their farm is beautiful!
This past weekend, we brought our (unfortunately no longer pregnant) dam Juno up to Chase Tavern Farm Alpacas in
Bowdoin, Maine, for her "re"breeding. She met for the first time another one of our females, Anne Klein, also there for a
breeding. I am looking forward to them both coming back home in a couple of months.
We also brought our daughter and our niece up to camp in Freedom, Maine, so it was a packed van. I was joking with
Cindy Lavin that I wasn't sure who I got more misty-eyed over - dropping the girls at camp or the girl alpaca for her
breeding. We chose Hidden Valley camp because it includes a llama program, so our daughter and niece will learn basic llama
care outside of our farm, and bring back essential skills needed to work independently with the llamas and alpacas.
On the way home, we were fortunate to visit with Lori and Shawn Malloy of Sunshine Alpacas of Maine. Lori and Shawn
own some very nice Suris, as well as llamas that look like unicorns, and several dogs, cats, birds, and tropical fish. Visiting
with them was truly a joy and it is always great to get different perspectives on raising and breeding alpacas. The Malloys
have a huge old barn that they have been renovating, and have done the floor in pavers. I love the look and we are inspired
to do a similar floor for our barn. Their website is: http://www.sunshinealpacas.com/ - take a look at their website and
contact them if you are interested in top quality suri alpacas.
We look forward to more adventures and workshops as the summer progresses, As the farm evolves, we learn more and
more every day, and enjoy discovering what wisdom our animals choose to share with us.
June 20th, 2005
We have been busy shearing the alpacas (see our Gallery Link, above), and hosted the local newspaper, the Wood River
Press (owned by the Westerly Sun) on Saturday. We look forward to seeing the short piece and photos some time this
week.
We will be travelling in July and August for more educational seminars and alpaca transport. We are looking forward to a
busy summer with our beautiful animals!
May 18 2005
Tom has worked diligently to finish the new overhang off of the barn. The framing is up, now it is a matter of roofing. The
alpacas will have quite the verandah.
It has been very wet weather but the paddock finally dried out this week. Mud season is hopefully over! The summer
season starts with travels to Maine and Vermont for seminars and farm visits. Such is the wonderful life of the alpaca
breeder.
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| The day moved quickly at Shadow Pines Alpaca Farm during shearing. |
