The Hollyhock Blog

Shortly after I posted the previous blog, I decided it was lunch time.   So I popped some leftovers in the microwave.  As I was carrying a bowl from the microwave to the table, I decided to check the window to see if I could see Spotsie.  Several of the alpacas as well as Spotsie seemed interested in the ground in front of the hay bunk.  That was odd enough that I grabbed the binoculars to get a better view.  At first, I couldn’t see anything on the ground.  Then something dark wiggled.  It was just a glimpse, but I was pretty sure it was an ear. 

After a mad dash to change into my barn clothes and boots, I was out there.  First glance thru the fence looked good.  The cria was definitely alive, very newly born.  But it was barely 50 degrees with a pretty good wind.  I scooped up the baby and took her inside, out of the wind.  I started to dry her off with towels and the blow dryer, but she kept trying (and succeeding) to stand up.  (oh- yes – Another GIRL!) 

Way before she was dry, she was walking around the little pen.   Spotsie, however, was not happy being locked inside.  So I opened the door and she went outside.  I tried to dry the cria as best I could, but she was determined to head outside.

So I dressed her in the onsie and let her go. 

She is still only a couple hours old – here with Mom – and a coat over the onsie.  Notice the little bit of white on one foot - Spotsie has the little bits of black on all her feet. 

I watched as she got her first and second meal.  After she was satisfied in the tummy, she took a nap – or more accurately – she passed out!  I was rubbing her neck and face to try to get her dried off a bit more and she fell asleep with her head in my hand.  After a short rest…

she woke up and looked around – very alert!  If you look closely, you can see her eyes are open, but they are very dark and blend in with her black fiber. 

No-name #2!   We try to name our crias after a family member who has passed away.  But we try to put a twist in the name – such as Martini – who is named for my uncle Martin.  Pelasia is Polish for Pearl, who was Darryl’s aunt.  Here are some family names up for consideration and alterations:  Claude, Dolly, Stella, Helen, Sophia, Myrna, Violet.   Any suggestions for an appropriate variation?

Last Friday, Judy from Rum River Alpacas and I spent about 12 hours in her van together.  We took our alpaca Rosita and Daisy, a young female of Judy’s, to Alpacas of the Ark - an alpaca farm in Iowa.   Our young girls are going to meet their new beaus!   They’ll be there at least a couple months.   Traveling and stress is not good during the first months of pregnancy, so the girls will stay in Iowa until traveling is okay for them again. 

And, yes, we did travel in a van.  Room for 2 humans and up to 6 alpacas.  It would be very crowded with 6 – but it would be possible for a short trip.   Rosita and Daisy made the trip in comfort.   And, as passenger, I knit!  On Thursday, I dyed some yarn for scarves.

I used Kool-aid and mixed a cocktail of flavors!   The green is mostly lemon-lime, with a dash of grape.  The pink is Strawberry Starfruit – I don’t even know if they still make that flavor.  It was given to me!  The red is mostly strawberry.   For the purple, I cleaned up some strays – tropical punch (both Wylers and Kool-aid) and blue raspberry lemonade. 

For a little variation, I sprinkled some of the dry mix onto the floating yarn and let it sit before stirring.   On the green and pink, I used the green and pink Kool-aid, but on the red and purple, I used berry blue Kool-aid and you can see the blue splotches. 

The yarn is 100% alpaca from Peru that I buy in cones for dyeing.   The pink, green and red are 6 oz skeins for scarves.  The purple skein is about 9 oz – the end of the cone – and will go on the sale shelf!  I finished knitting the green and pink scarves on the trip.  Once I get the fringe tied on, they’ll be ready for sale! 

Cria update:   Baby-no-name is doing great – growing, running, jumping and causing her mother great grief when she sprints away just to come racing back past her mother and heads off in the opposite direction!    Spotsie Dotsie is slowing getting closing to having her baby!  This week?????   maybe….   probably……  but I make no guarantees! 

Doesn’t she look all grown up?

She was only a couple days old.  She’s already running and jumping and so cute.  But she has no name yet. 

Here big sister, Annie (half sister’s by the same dad!) is cria-sitting.  They sat together for the longest time, both content to let Embrace graze.  It was pretty chilly and windy – even sprinkled a bit, so I put the coat on for the afternoon. 

We planted the most of our garden over the weekend.  Darryl had planted some earlier.  We have peas and beans coming up from his first planting.  It has been so windy, the transplants (peppers, tomatoes, cabbage) have stayed inside.  

It’s a beautiful day to have a baby – and so I told Embrace when I first walked into the barn this morning.   Seems she agreed!  It didn’t take me long to see she was in labor – this was about 7:30 as I was doing chores.  After I finished chores, I gathered up my birthing things – towels, hair dryer, iodine.  I gave her a little space, but kept checking on.  I weeded a flower bed and waited.  Sent a few ‘she’s in labor’ emails and waited. 

At about 10 AM, I was on the cell phone with Kathe and saw a considerable commotion in the paddock, so went to investigate and saw the cria’s head was being born.  I got Embrace in a little stall inside the barn with carpeting on the floor – which I had swept off earlier.  I got the membrane off the baby’s nose so she could breathe.   A few minutes later, the front feet popped out.   As Embrace stood and pushed a couple times, I held the head and waited with a towel and very soon the baby was out and shaking her head to clear out the airways so she could breath.   I checked the clock – 10:24!   Way to go Embrace.

 With the hair dryer and towels, I started getting her dry – by this time I had verified that she was a she!  

This was about 20 minutes old.   Still wet, covered with a half-wet towel.  She was content for a little while to let me dry her off, she was shivering a bit – even a nice 60 degrees is cold after 11+ months of 100 degrees! 

And before long she was anxious to eat. 

She was a little wobbly-headed, so it was hard to get a good photo, but after a little visit Mom’s dairy bar and a little more time under the blow dryer, she was ready to get dressed.

I call this my alpaca onesie!  It is the bottom of a sweatpants leg.  Slit almost to the ankle.  The ankle elastic slips over the baby’s head and a little bit of vet wrap holds it on.  Just a little extra warmth while waiting to get entirely dry - which can take a couple hours.  She’s about an hour old now. 

After a little wobbly walk around the barn, I let the other girls in to meet the new addition.

Chestina was very interested.  Most of the girls took a look, maybe a sniff, and went back outside. 

Pelasia made a polite greeting a wandered back to the hay tub.   Embrace and the baby are currently doing a little private bonding while still inside, separated from the others.   I plan to check on them soon and probably let them go outside in the sunshine! 

No matter how many babies are born here – this the sixteenth, I’ve witnessed less than half – each one is still an incredible experience.  It is especially cool when I’m there.  The babies hear my voice, as well as the mom alpaca’s humming, before they are born, but the first couple hours it is nice to be there and bond a little with the baby.  

I thought you would want to be the first to know!  

I think Spring must finally be here.   Over the last few days, I’ve seen birds of nearly every color!  It is such a treat.  Tuesday in the rain, I saw 4 indigo buntings.  We usually see some every year, but I think they must just stop here for a few days.  Yesterday I saw my first oriole of the season, and then saw a flash that I thought might have been a humming bird.  So I quickly made up a batch of sugar water.  Within a few hours, I had a male hummer sitting on the feeder that hangs on the outside of a window in my home office.  I’ve not seen the orioles at their feeder yet, but I see and hear them.  The rose breasted grosbeaks are also back – the males are so pretty.  The goldfinches are now bright yellow.   The blue birds built their nest some time ago.   The red male cardinals and pinkish female cardinals are here too.  And there are woodpeckers, house finches, sparrows, phoebes and swallows that are always here!  And the geese and ducks can be heard as they fly over and have territory squabbles.  A heron flies over sometimes.  That is why I really like spring.

 This was Friday at the Shepherd’s Harvest Fleece Show – before judging started. 

Lots of empty boxes, waiting to be filled with the judged fleeces.   Friday afternoon, the judging started, and by evening the fleeces were all judged and neatly arranged in the display boxes.

On Sat & Sun, there were many visitors to Shepherd’s Harvest who checked out the winning fleeces and made purchases of wonderful alpaca fiber and products from the Alpaca Retail Booth.  But my heart was in the Fashion Show that was on Saturday afternoon at Shepherd’s Harvest.   We had 4-H girls from Washington County model the natural fiber garments.  They showed off many hats, scarves, purses, shawls, and even a pair of baby booties.  The garments were on loan from Alpacas of Minnesota members, vendors at Shepherd’s Harvest and entries in the Make-It-With-Wool contest. 

This is a shawl made by Karen who was a vendor.  Beautifully detailed weaving!

And a black and white knit shawl on loan for the show from Glacial Ridge Alpacas - who had several fleeces entered in the fleece show.

Check out the details of this knitted shawl made at Little Gidding Farm Suris. 

And this woven shawl was made by yours truly!  I spun the yarn from the fiber of Spotsie (the white) and Toro (the black), then wove the shawl on a triangle loom. 

The fashion show was a ton of fun!   The girls who modeled were fantastic to work with – enthusiastic, flexible, eager – I hope they will model again next year.  

 On the cria front – no births yet.   Soon tho – real soon.   (now watch both Embrace and Spotsie prove me wrong!)