Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Rainy Days...Heaven Knows, We Need Them!
Suri on a Rainy Night!
Despite the dreary weather, we continue to prepare our farm for the eventual onset of winter. We are busy getting wood for the woodstove, resurfacing barns, figuring out when and where that next hay delivery is going to go. Now, we can see the several days of rain in a number of different ways. For one thing, provided one of our local hay suppliers planned for it, these are good soaking rains that will help them cut a third cut of hay, and wouldn't that be a wonderful thing! Once you are a seeker and admirer of quality hay, third cut hay is almost the holy grail in our Granite State, where the micro-climates can dictate so many variations on weather as to make the most intrepid meterologist tear his or her hair out!
Alpacas approach wet weather somewhat differently than humans, who usually prefer to accomplish the work that must be done outside and retire to the inner sanctum for some wool-gathering. Okay, admit it -- rainy days are also exceptional napping weather. I notice the alpacas prefer a good soaking rain to one that just makes the outer layer of their fleece wet and might tend to insulate and make them warmer than they would like to be. So, on a day like today, they will likely spend more time in the pasture than they do on the most gorgeous sunny days. Now, of course, these are just my observations, and I am not an alpaca nor do I play one on a sit-com!
Our latest cria, Zenyatta, who lives up to her namesake as much as any alpaca could, proved that she could fare as well on a wet track as on a hard, fast track, today. She continues to lap our largest pasture and is not impressed in the slightest that she is surrounded not only by adult alpacas but also by some imposing suri llama females.
Now, rainy days do not make for great picture-taking weather for huacayas, but suris are quite another story. So, when the weather clears, I will be out taking pictures of the huacayas. Check back when the sun is shining again!