Willow, Again

Don't worry, folks, this is a good post. Hula Honey, part of our original animals purchased from Apple Orchard Alpacas back in 2008, finally had her first cria. She's a beautiful little dark fawn girl with some grey spots. My 5 year old wanted to name her after Willow, from last summer. So, I am pleased to introduce "Willow Nelson-Again".

"Mom, can we name her Willow, again?". Sure, baby.

This is Willow, a few hours after birth. The other picture is big sister Caroline, meeting the new Willow for the first time.

BIG NEWS FROM OFFBEAT ACRES!

First, we bought a new boy, Prestige of Lucky Luciano. We proudly co-own Prestige with Willow Bend Alpaca Farms of Forreston, IL. (If you're ever at an alpaca show and see Willow Bend, go over and introduce yourself to Patti. She is an absolute riot and just a great soul.)

Prestige is a beautiful, rose grey herdsire. He'll be 2 in June, and has already settled his first girl! We plan to breed him to our very own Sweet Caroline (the first cria born at Offbeat Acres, back in 2008).





But, here's the best news: we showed Prestige at the Great Midwest Alpaca Fest last weekend. WE NOW HAVE PURPLE!!! Before GMAF, our best placing in a show was a 2nd, with Roni. Yes, Prestige had collected plenty of blue ribbons before GMAF too, but no color championships. I had the privilege of showing Prestige at GMAF in a class of combined grey yearlings, and not only did we place first in the class, WE TOOK HOME THE RESERVE COLOR CHAMPION PURPLE!!

I've attached the "before" & "after" picture, of Prestige & his ribbons at GMAF!

Offbeat on TV!

Hey folks,

If you're in the Madison area, check out the Channel 3 morning show (WISC, the CBS affiliate). Roni, Felicja and I will be on TV this Friday morning to promote the Great Midwest Alpaca Fest!

Our segment airs about 6:40, if you want to have the DVRs ready!

Meet the egg ladies

We have chickens now. Four laying hens. They like with the boy alpacas, and are supposed to help keep the bugs down around the poop pile. Everything is going fine and it looks like they've even made a few friends.

Also, if you're looking for the latest news, become a fan of Offbeat Acres on Facebook!

A sure sign of spring

All of my barn shoes / boots are wet, muddy, or covered in dried poop soup. Not familiar with poop soup? Take some manure, add some frozen pee, and pile some snow nearby. Add some sun, and let the whole thing melt. Voila - poop soup. Anybody want some?

The glamorous life of alpacas

Ah, the glamorous alpaca life. This afternoon, I was sitting in my pasture, feeding treats to my girls. It was lovely. Little Felicja and Roni were smelling my hair, and Sabetha was being really sweet. Meridian was even taking treats. And then - the spitting began. I got it on my hair, face, hand, even eyes, and... it ...was the stinky, half chewed food kind of spit too. Gross.

February's To-do List

Ugh. I'm tired of winter, but am tired of being cooped up in the house. Here's what we have to do this month:

-Taxes. Done. Yuck, but not so yucky (there is one advantage to the farm....)
-Shots. On the 14th. Yes, that's right: Valentine's Day in the barn, with a bunch of syringes and a bottle of Dectomax. How romantic.
-Halter training. Our first show of the year is in mid March. We're doing okay.
-Plan for spring planting. We have to replenish the raspberries, at least. Not sure what else we're doing this year.
-Do the budget for the year. See item #1. Tax refund = farm budget.
-Work on promo materials for Lord Muireach. We've got his breedings discounted at $500 for the first ten. He's a beautiful boy, with an interesting heritage.

Ugh. That's enough of a list. Next month, we'll also have show prep! So much for our winter lull!