December 2006
December was a busy month with Christmas shoppers stopping by the farm almost daily to purchase socks, gloves, alpaca throws, and yarn. Phone orders were up from last year as well. I run an inexpensive classified ad in our local paper which brings in my customers. I have a toll-free number they can call to set up a time to stop by, and I accept major credit cards for their convenience. My retail business grows every year and I expect sales to be even better in 2007 with the addition of my Online shopping area that will be implemented.

December also brought me my early Christmas present...a new Herdsire! I now own offspring #2 and #17 of Accoyo Goldsmith with the addition of Providence Laurent. I love everything about him and can't wait to start him in April/May. You can read more about him on the Herdsire page.

November 25, 2006
A customer of mine, SCR Alpacas in Illinois, introduced me to Chopped Hay when he dropped off his females for breeding and brought some along. A professional landscaper by trade, they used their commercial mulcher to chop their superb orchardgrass hay raised on their property. Okay, so now I was hooked, how do I chop MY hay? My friend Jim to the rescue (again!). Jim was familiar with a bale chopper and made some inquiries. Luckily a nearby farmer was selling his and I purchased it. These units are made for small square bales of hay, straw, & paper. This farmer was no longer using small bales and had no use for it. Hooray! Purchase price of a new one is approx. $3500. I purchased this 10-year old used model for $750. We can chop a bale in about 30 seconds or less. It's a perfect way for us to blend lower protein hay with higher protein hay to get the right mix we want. We also love it for chopping a bale of alfalfa for putting weight on those that may need it.

November 4, 2006
We set up our farm display at the Hollyberry Fair held each year in Caseville, Mich. Our mission: Sell more alpaca socks to the Christmas shoppers than we sold last year (44 pair). We were not disappointed, we sold 64 pair, along with other alpaca items supplied by the AFCNA of which I am a member. Our customers love these socks and come back for more!



September 23 & 24, 2006
Our Michigan International Alpaca Show (MIAF) was held this weekend in Birch Run, Mich. My pregnant girls love to deliver on show weekends. My friends will tell you that they never see me at a show! At least the last 3 anyway. This particular weekend, Molly delivered a beautiful white girl on Saturday of the show, and Katia delivered a beautiful light rose gray girl on Sunday. It has been easier for me to compete with Fleece entries lately, something I can do without physically being there and the wins are just as impressive. Here's a winning fleece from my Reserve Color Champion, Goldilocks, a Goldsmith offspring.

May 19, 2006
Shearing Day! The Alpaca Barber (Dave, Nancy & Katie Binkowski) anticipated it would take us parts of 2 days to shear 37 animals but we amazed ourselves and had the task done inside of 8 hrs. using 2 & 3 shearers. One group used the Totara Grove Shearing table I own, while Dave's group worked on a padded floor on the ground. I need lots of help on Shearing Day so I entice my workers with lots of food! At the end of the day when we're all exhausted, I'm pleased that we've become proficient enough at this that we know the stats on each animal...total weight sheared and broken down by prime, seconds, and thirds, with a sample set aside for micron checking. By using colored labels in our clear fleece bags, we can quickly sort out the 3 grades quickly at the end of the day. I work on the Prime fleece first, with the majority of it going to AFCNA, and the remainder of the prime fleece is earmarked for yarn or show fleeces.

May 13, 2006
My first cria of the season arrived unassisted about 5 a.m! I have a 4 camera monitoring system in my barn so I can watch activity from my kitchen. I had been watching this dam closely for a good month, and she finally delivered on Day 359 before I was out of bed! All was fine and the female baby was named Annika. People soon after would say 'Oh you named her after the famous golfer'...I'm not up on my golf, I had to confess I named her after a reporter on Court TV!



April 1, 2006
One day when my Vet was leaving I inquired if he knew of a young student that would enjoy helping me out here at the farm on occasion and learning about Alpacas. He immediately knew of someone and she has become very much a part of the operation here. Her name is Jacqueline and I call her my 14-year old Apprentice. Jacqueline shows horses in 4-H and is very fond of all types of animals. Here she is learning some real hands-on.