2023 - February

Where to start is the question. But here goes! Harvest Hosts has been much slower than last year at this time. Weather and the economy, we are hearing, has had a big impact on travelers. We are thankful for those who have braved both to come visit with us. Our 7 crias born in the latter part of 2022 are growning so much. Miss Karri, the only girl, keeps the boys on their toes. We ordered a new 12/x20' building to store products and skirt fiber after shearing. We have the store. However, extra product, racks, totes, etc are still housed in the garage or in the office closet. Fiber is all on racks in a stall in the barn where it stays until it goes to the mill or is used for other things. So this will get it into a warmer place to allow for faster, easier preparation for the mill or fiber call. It will be great to get all store and fiber into a central location. Glenn is in the process of insulating the storage unit with alpaca fiber, covered with visqueen, Then, it will be covered with sheet rock and painted. If you have been here before, you will realize that the tractor has a new home in back and the storage building replaces it next to the store. The store also has a new sign (Christmas present from Glenn Jr and CJ) We updated our truck window sign to reflect the Fallon address rather than Reno. About time - only 4 years after we moved!!!! We just finished our registrations for the 2023 Great Western Alpaca Show & Rocky Mountain Alpaca Showcase, 2 events in one weekend. This will be in Denver, CO on April 28 - 30th. We will be entering 5 alpacas in the halter and walking fleece shows, 3 in Get of Sire and 2 in Produce of Dam classes. The halter show is where the alpaca is lead into the ring with other alpacas his same sex, color and approximate age. Each one is judged on conformation (teeth/ears, genitals, etc.) , fiber (consistency, denseness, fineness, etc). They are then awarded ribbons 1st - 6th place for that class. The Walking Fleece show is just that. The alpaca is led in front of the judge. The alpaca is only judged on the fleece ( this is usually by color) and the best will be awarded ribbons for 1st - 6th place. The Get of Sire Production class requires 3 alpacas (can be either sex and age) from the same sire. For us, this will be Zebrano, Tabasco and Karri. These 3 are from our Alpaca Palace's Zinger and are all three a little different in color - 2 males, 1 female. Produce of Dam Production Class is 2 alpacas (either sex) from the same mom - so at least 11 months apart. So this will be Ceiba and Cotton - both from Snowmass Illuminescrense. Ceiba will be 6 months at the show. Cotton is almost 2. Wish us luck on this adventure. We are excited to be going to our first show together in about 4 years. We have some friends that will be joining us in Denver for the show. We are looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones at this event. Added bonus, I get to see my granddaughter, her husband and 2 great grandchildren. Can hardly wait.