YOUR MONTHLY NEWS AND UPDATES Well, where did the last 4 months go to? One minute we were enjoying the breezy spring weather and getting ready for shearing and this morning we had a heavy frost. We hope everyone had a great summer and are now enjoying the colourful cooler days of autumn. Somehow we missed sending a newsletter through the spring and summer months, probably because those are our busiest months of the year. We are thankful for everyone who kept us busy with alpaca tours all summer. Our visitors ranged from newborns to a 89 year old lady celebrating her birthday. We had visitors that live within walking distance to a lady and her son who came all the way from Buffalo, New York just to see our alpacas. Alpacas are adored and loved by all ages, everywhere. NAMING THE CRIAS Do you remember last year how we (meaning Carolyn couldn't decide) had such a hard time coming up with names for crias, that we asked for your suggestions? Some of the crias were not named until they were 9 months old, we are thankful for everyone who suggested names for them, there were so so many great suggestions. The names chosen for those crias were Bakwene, Citana, Dibikad, Kesalul, Takoda, O'dah Ziibing, all Indigenous names that have special meanings. If you are interested in the meanings of their names you can check them out at www.kickinbackalpacaranch.com/animals/alpacas Believe it or not all 8 of our crias this year were named before they were one month old. The names all just popped right up, Buffalo, Harold, Karbon Kopy, Mercury (pictured here), Itty Bitty, Sassy, Shanti and Pretty's Brook. Buffalo was the first cria of the season born May 30th. He was named in honour of our visitors who came all the way from Buffalo, New York just to meet our alpacas. Buffalo's name suits him as he is pretty big and is coloured similar to a buffalo. Pretty's Brook was the last cria of the season, born August 15th , she was also the largest cria weighing 22lbs. Our smallest cria this year was Itty Bitty, she weighed 13 lbs when she was born, so her name suited her, but she is growing very quickly at 50 days old she already weighs 36 lbs, we don't expect that she will stay Itty Bitty for long. Itty Bitty's mom is Princess Sara, if you follow us on Facebook, we've been sharing her story and it explains why Itty Bitty was so small. We were expecting or had 6 other crias but we sold the dams and the crias of course went with them. We keep in touch with new owners and all the crias are doing wonderful. You can check out Princess Sara's story on our Facebook page starting at September 7th. ADOPT AN ALPACA PROGRAM Have you had a chance to check out our new Adopt An Alpaca program? This is your chance to symbolically own an alpaca, it could be for yourself or a gift for an alpaca loving friend or family member. We had a great visit with the first couple who adopted Amani through the Junior Rancher Alpaca package, they learned how to properly put a halter on an alpaca, how to walk with them on a lead, then we took several alpacas for a walk. We will be posting some photos from that visit on our social media pages and blog soon. For more information about this program please visit our page www.adoptanalpaca.ca ARE YOU READY FOR THE COOLER WEATHER? The days are getting cooler and we have everything you need to keep warm from head to toe this winter. We have everyone's favourite alpaca socks, mitts, hats, scarves, headbands and insoles in stock. We have a very limited supply of alpaca duvets this year and will not be having anymore made until fall of 2023. All of our alpaca products in the gift shop are available in our on-line shop at Laslyn Alpaca. Carolyn will be heading back into the fibre studio soon to create more one of kind felted shawls, scarves, vests, hats and mitts. Custom orders are always welcome. To view all of our products please visit www.laslynalpaca.com OHTER NEWS The other thing that kept us busy the last couple of months is we switched booking platforms and completely redid our website for the Alpaca Tours. Please check out www.alpacatours.ca Let us know what you think. KEEPING YOU SAFE Masks are no longer mandatory but Carolyn will continue to wear one and you are welcome to as well. We do ask that you sanitize your hands as you enter the gift shop. We also sanitize between each group of guests and all our staff are fully vaccinated. Thank you for your ongoing support. Doug, Carolyn and all the alpacas at Kickin' Back Alpaca Ranch