Monday, January 14, 2013
Beautiful alpaca tops
Alpacas 101: A Little History by Kern Deschner
In the early 1800’s, entrepreneurs were exporting sheep wool from Peru to the British textile mills. The importers in Portsmouth became fascinated with the incredible material used to make the sacks for shipping the wool. They found the source to be alpacas high in the Andes. Since the South Americans used most of the alpaca fiber, the little that was allowed for Europe was highly treasured and started a high-end fabric industry sti read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
March 24th was a beautiful day at the ranch for our open house! Rhonda said to be sure and send her thanks to the many visitors and new friends that braved the hillside road and were rewarded with a perfect day with the alpacas. The alpacas were in a good mood and full fleece. Rhonda’s incredible trophy haul from all the championships at the Houston Livestock Show decorated the barn, and our son kept the pastures, and therefore everyone’s shoes, clean. There wasn’t even any “spit”!
My fathe read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
Rational Breeding Decisions:
First of all, thanks to all those who visited the ranch over the holiday break! The weather was great and the babies friendly. If you missed your chance, we still have lots of friendly alpacas that are camera hams. Just let us know ahead of time so we can be sure to have a guide available.
By the time this goes to print, we will have completed the alpaca seminar on February 2-3rd. Three world class alpaca judges agreed to come to our ranch to educate a group of read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
For three months, it’s been too hot for alpacas to want to have a baby (cria) or even to breed. When cooler weather arrives, they become much more interested in being active, including breeding!
Since cooler weather is the best time for birthing, and alpaca pregnancies conveniently last a year, we will soon be starting to have our fall crop of cria, a very cute time! Alpacas mom’s (dams) are re-bred within a month of delivery so we will also soon be starting the breeding season. We have to read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
I Felt That!
I felt that! As a physician, those are words I hope not to hear when treating a patient. However, those words take on a much more positive implication when they apply to working with alpaca fiber. I have written about alpaca yarn, fabric, and even rugs, but have not yet mentioned one of the easiest and most artistic ways to work with alpaca fiber: felting!
Felting is the process of intentionally tangling the fiber to form a solid mat. There is “wet felting” usually done by ha read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
Rhonda, Gregorio and Mario at Casa Chapi
Today, instead of talking about Tierra Prometida Alpaca Ranch, I want to tell you a little about the people who brought us the alpaca...the people who have been caring for them and arranging their lives around these amazing animals for centuries: the Quechua people.
The Quechua speaking people were the "Incan Empire". With the conquest by Pizarro and the decimation of the population by Small Pox, the Inca retreated into the mountains- the altiplano of the Andes. It was here where they were read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
Alpacas: Part 2 in the Series
Raising alpacas and using their fiber continues to be a growing industry in the United States although the growth has been slowed by the economy, pretty much like everything else. Unlike many other livestock industries that have completely collapsed, the alpaca industry continues its gradual growth because of the intrinsic value of alpacas as livestock and of their fleeces. One good side of these economic times is that alpacas have become much more affordable an read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
Around April 1, we sheared nearly 1/3 of a ton of alpaca fleece, and that is no April fool’s joke! Each of the fleeces were placed individually in plastic bags and put in a barn store room to be sorted later. Through May and June, we were off on the road to alpaca shows. Now, however, comes the time to chase the snakes and scorpions out of the store room, and settle down to figure out how each fleece will be used.
The easiest choice is picking the fleeces that will go to competition, setting read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
It’s Show Time, so It’s On The Road Again!
When I was a kid growing up in Corpus, everything was far away. It was a big deal to drive to Houston. El Paso might as well have been on the moon. Little did I know that my perception was reversed . . . the world is not a long way from Corpus as much as Corpus is a long way from the world! Now, Corpus fans, don’t get upset about that . . . I love CC and part of me will always think of it as home . . . but we didn’t get out much.
Since we started read more...
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Monday, January 14, 2013
Now Comes the Quiet Time
Summer has arrived at Tierra Prometida Alpaca Ranch. The shows are over, the trailer is parked, and the show materials stored. The alpaca cria (babies) are born, shearing is done, and it’s getting too hot for even the stud males to be interested in breeding. In the cool of the mornings, and twilight, the alpacas wander around the pastures while the cria stretch their legs with group races. During the days, the trees make great shade. We have had some rain so there read more...
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