Thursday, October 26, 2017
Alpaca barn 2014
Another milestone here at Outstanding Dreams Farm was the construction of our alpaca barn in 2014.
This had been a dream of ours from the beginning and we were finally able to build our barn in September of 2014.
What a big improvement this was over our scattering of run in sheds! While the run ins were functional, walking between all the various buildings in all sorts of weather was quite a chore. We hired a local contractor and were amazed to see how quickly worked progressed. We went fro read more...
Supervisor Vickie
Pre construction
Construction
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Thursday, October 26, 2017
MFI Peruvian Maximization
This story could also be titled "Love at first sight."
We had only been in the business for about two years and were attending a seminar at a large breeding operation. We spotted this incredible looking alpaca walking in the distance and were immediately drawn to him. I told Vickie right there and then, "I don't know who he is, but I want to breed our girls to him."
We did some inquiring and found out that his name was MFI Peruvian Maximization and arranged for a breeding. We came to know read more...
1st time we saw Max
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Monday, October 23, 2017
Nationals 2014
One of the highlights of our memories from the last ten years was having our alpaca, Crown's Jewel win at Nationals in 2014. We had never attended Nationals before as for the most part, it was held many hours away, however that year they were being held in nearby Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Count us in!
We felt it was important to only bring our very best to this show as you really are competing against the best alpacas in the country here. Having said that, we only brought one entry, Crown's read more...
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Sunday, October 22, 2017
Our Farm Store Gift Shop started out with humble beginnings! In 2008 we basically had a couple of display tables and few items in our then unfinished garage. We needed to be convinced there was an adequate demand for alpaca products before giving up our garage space and making the investment to convert the space into a Farm Store.
During that first winter when people would visit the shop you could literally see your breath in there! I don't know if perhaps the cold helped motivate people to read more...
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Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Vickie Skirting a Fleece
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Rebel-Dad
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Sunday, October 8, 2017
First Show
Another memory I’d like to share is that of our first show. We entered the Virginia Classic Alpaca and Llama Show in 2008. We just brought two boys, Havana Smoke and Ice Man. Having attended a couple shows as spectators, we had a general idea of what to do but no real experience.
What a way to start! Smoke was the first to go into the ring and was, to put it mildly, quite a handful. He was a very nervous, high strung animal and combined with my inexperience and nervousness, this wa read more...
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Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Anticipation Annie at birth
How well I remember this day! Nervous doesn't begin to describe my feelings. I remember watching her mom, Outstanding Omen going into labor and wondering what to do. I had read all about this, but until you're actually in the moment, you have no idea how this feels. I literally had the alpaca neonatal book in one hand and my cell phone with the vet in the other!
The vet told me to just calm down, grab a chair, and Mother Nature will take care of everything.
Well, not so much. The head and f read more...
I can fly!
PAOBA 2009-Blue
Annie's Fancy Pants cria
Annie's Minnie Me cria
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Sunday, October 1, 2017
Outstanding Omen 2007
Our journey into the world of alpaca farming began in October of 2007 with little more than a dream.
After researching alpacas for a little over a year we decided that we wanted to enter into the business. We had read everything we could lay our hands on and visited several farms, falling in love with the idea of raising these lovely, gentle animals. The idea of raising livestock that produced a high quality end product without having to be slaughtered in order to harvest it appealed to us and read more...
McCoy 2017
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Thursday, September 21, 2017
September 16th and 17th marked our 9th Annual Alpaca Festival and Open House at Outstanding Dreams Farm. We were pleased to welcome hundreds of guests to our farm and even had a local television station come out to cover the festival! The festival featured alpacas, our farm store, food and craft vendors, fiber arts demonstrations,children's activities and much more.
Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the support we received from our community,as well as our family and friends that volu read more...
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