New Products On Line

We have uploaded LOTS of new items to our online store. These are items that were previously only available to our farm visitors!!

Click here to check it out !

Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival

2 of my friends (Laura and Karen) and I spent yesterday at the Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. It is a fiber/yarn person's paradise!!!

Click here to see info on the annual event .

Tons of vendors had wool, alpaca, llama, cashmere and all types of blends for anyone's knitting passion. There was also tons of spinning fibers and raw fleece available for purchase. Spinning wheels, new items, demos and classes where all fun to see as well as informative.

My purchases included 1000 yds of light chocolate colored mohair for $39, a wonderful thick and thin 500 yd skein of wool for $22 in beautiful shades of fall that is now being knitted into a shrug. An awesome silk/merino blend of dyable luxury, a Lucet and other assorted goodies.

I will be sure to put up pics in the next couple of days of all my finds at Rhinebeck.

We will DEFINITELY be a vendor there next year - so be sure to mark your calendars and make the trip for this annual wonder of fiber !!!

National Alpaca Open Farm Days

NAFD was a huge success with lots of visitors!! Thanks to all the folks that came out!!

I have now recovered from the weekend and have restocked much of my yarn. Skirting fiber begins in earnest on Monday so that I can get more processed . I will be also doing a video to post on our website to show folks how easy it is to wash and card alpaca fleece for hand spinning or other crafts!!

If you are an alpaca breeder and are daunted by the task of fiber processing - please drop me a line, I will be happy to guide you in the right direction!

If you are not an alpaca person but love yarn, please visit my store . New items are added daily and I have a bunch of stuff to put up that I just got in !!!

Camelidynamics Basic Clinic August 2009 in VT

As a Camelidynamics Practitioner, I get the unique experience of helping Marty teach at clinics. This past weekend I was at a Basic 2 day clinic in VT at Marlee Alpacas. One of the students (who happens to be a friend of mine) was there at her first clinic and she posted a wonderful summation of the work that Marty has developed on FB. The post that follows is from her (Denise Richards). I believe she has captured the essence of what animals feel when we act what they perceive to be "unsafe". It is really good for people to see how animals don't misbehave, they just react to us in fear and once we see how to not make them afraid - they trust and we are able to do what we need to!!!

*****

I had an amazing experience at the Marty McGee Bennett clinic. The best part had to be just to be there, around people who love and respect these beautiful, peaceful animals as much as I do. The setting was stunningly beautiful. I am so thankful to the generous kind hosts who opened their home and worked so hard, so that others could have this experience.

I have a long history with training animals and Marty's work is not new to me. I got her book along with my first llama, and have been working with my own llamas for 4 years. Even so, this weekend was full of reminders for me. Mostly, I was reminded to change the speed of life, slow down, and to pay attention to the things that really matter. Next time I am working with my llamas though, whether it is to give shots, trim toes, go through the obstacle course, or simply enjoy a hike together, I hope I'll keep following thoughts in mind.

Reminders from camelids we love...

Breathe: Remember to breathe... when I feel you breathing, it helps me be less afraid.

Respect: Respecting me, means being respectful from MY perspective, not necessarily yours.

Care: Little things do matter so much. A simple adjustment of my halter, if one takes the time to listen, can mean so much to me, help me feel comfortable, to breathe and to eat and drink as I should.

Understand: Please try to understand me. Am I doing something out of fear? Can you back off a little and return to what I know is safe? I'm simply trying to understand what you want from me, and trying to keep myself safe.

Friends: Don't restrain me just to do routine things to me. If you use less restraint and keep my friends close, it will help us get through this much better.

Think: We all have bad days. If something is not working, think about how to change it for next time.

Trust: If you want me to trust you, be trustworthy. Don't frighten me or hurt me, then expect my trust.

Peace: I am a peaceful creature. Quiet yourself and we can enjoy that peaceful connection together.I had an amazing experience at the Marty McGee Bennett clinic.

The best part had to be just to be there, around people who love and respect these beautiful, peaceful animals as much as I do. The setting was stunningly beautiful. I am so thankful to the generous kind hosts who opened their home and worked so hard, so that others could have this experience.

****

So much to do!

I have been busily crafting away on my soaps and knitted/crocheted products to get ready for the holiday season!! There never seems to be enough time between online updates, listing products at my store and etsy and eBay, not to mention Twitter, and Facebook and not to mention taking care of the animals (feed, poop clean up, herd health) training with Camelidynamics. Whew - I am tired just typing it all!!!

On top of all this - I am now helping even more people train their animals, helping Marty with basic clinics, and showing !

I recently returned from another advanced clinic in Oregon with Marty and have just a few items to go in order to be a full fledged Practitioner. This should be all done by mid-September. I will now be able to host small groups to help them train llamas/alpacas with respect and kindness! I am very excited!

I will be planning a group session at my farm after Open Farm days - so if you are interested - please let me know!!

Thats all for now - I have much crafting to do !

Going Green

Ok- I admit it, I was lazy today so I am posting a link to a very interesting story about another alpaca farmer. . . here is a snippet from the article :

"Nadeau plans to build a methane digester that will suck the gas out of his 6-foot-tall pile of alpaca feces. He would then pull hydrogen from the methane to power a stationary fuel cell power generator, feeding electricity into his house and the surplus power into the region's electricity supply."

There is gold in them there hills [of alpaca poop].

Click here to read the full story.

Camelidynamics Advanced Clinic June 2009

I got back from Bend, Oregon about 6 weeks ago after attending another exciting, fun filled learning experience at Marty McGee-Bennett's Ranch. I am going back to Bend on Saturday Aug 8th for another clinic so that I can become a Certified Practitioner of Camelidynamics. Currently I am a Certified Handler/Apprentice Practitioner.

The clinic in June helped me to learn a few key things . . .

1. if you don't practice you don't get better
   
2. each animal needs to be approached anew with no preconceived notions of how he/she will act or react
   

Point number 1 stresses the fact that you have to be working with your animals everyday and with different techniques, not necessarily for them, but for you. I often avoid the rope and wand technique because I like to use the mid-line catch. Typically 95% of my animals allow this, are comfortable with it and it is easy for both the humans and the alpacas/llamas. However, there are a few animals that would really benefit from the rope and wand, so after I left the June advanced clinic, I made it a mission to practice this technique on my farm, more for me to hone my skills as I advance in the practitioners program rather than for the alpacas, although they have also greatly benefited.

Point number 2 stresses that just like humans, camelids are all different, with different experiences and different personalities. While at the June advanced clinic, there was a llama that was labeled as difficult by her owner, and one of the practitioners in the clinic approached the llama with this in mind. She made some errors in judgment and was unable to effectively work with this llama. What that taught me was to approach each animal with a blank slate and bring with you all your "tools" to handle whatever situation arises. Sometimes animals take to a halter immediately and walk like they have been in the show ring a hundred years. Some animals take much more practice before you can even approach them with the halter. This is where you need to be experienced in ALL the Camelidynamics techniques so that you can switch approaches quickly.

Take each lesson as an experience and remember that even though you may have haltered, led and shown hundreds of animals, this may be their first time and they can be reacting out of a place of fear. If they are young, go slow as this is new to them and they may be fearful. If they are older and were not raised on your farm, they could have had bad prior experiences which makes them fearful.

Some tips to remember:

• Remain calm
  
• Do things safely (for both you and the animal)
• If something isn't working, change techniques
• Take a "blank slate" in the pen with you when you are working with a new animal, making no assumptions about how this animal is going to react. Make no assumptions about the animal even if the owner thinks he/she is difficult
  
• Don't make initial sessions long, especially with young animals 5 - 15 minutes is sufficient, if a first lesson with a weanling - keep it short
• Don't start training on animals younger than 5 months of age - they mentally aren't ready, it is a world of difference training a 5 month old versus a 7 month old
  
• End on a positive note - have the animal do something that will allow them to feel like they succeeded. For example - if they have been doing well standing still and allow you to approach them but don't quite have down walking . . . then end with standing still. This will allow your energy of "good boy" to radiate to them and they will know that training isn't so scary!
• Get help - if you are having trouble - get help. Feel free to look on my website about Camelidynamics and reach out to me if you need help, either myself or one of the other practitioners will be more than happy to work with you and your camelid !!

To read more about Camelidynamics and how a handler/practitioner may help you - click here.

To get Marty's book which I highly recommend - look to the top right of my blog and purchase it.

Alma Park CSA

Survey Results
Well - the survey results are in and for the folks who want a CSA - half want yarn and half want roving.

I am going to work on categorizing the fiber (only the grade 1,2 and 3s will be used). That is Royal Baby, Baby and Superfine. This is all Prime (blanket) fiber, no neck or leg is included. There will be color options and also options for mixing with silk, bamboo, merino or 100%. I will also offer custom hand dyeing on the lighter colors. It will take approx 4 - 6 weeks for processing, since I am offering choices etc. When you buy a share, you will get a bio and pic of the animal(s) you chose, a monthly newsletter from Alma Park (email) and be the first to hear about upcoming yarn etc specials. You will also receive a coupon for 10% off any in store stock for future purchases.

There will be full lots (2 pounds) and 1/2 lots (1 pound) available.

We offer free shipping to anywhere in the US and we will also ship internationally (shipping and custom charges extra).

Royal Baby	Less than 20 microns
Baby	20 - 22.9 microns
Superfine	23 - 26.9 microns
Adult	27 - 31.9 microns
Strong	great than 32 microns

To learn more about alpaca fiber - visit Fiber Faqs on my site.

More about a CSA
You may be familiar with a CSA for farm that grows produce, but if you are not, here is the basic idea. A CSA is a way to buy direct from the farmer. A farmer offers a certain number of “Shares” to the public. Typically, the “share” consists of a box of vegetables but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a “share” (aka “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive a box of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Much like the traditional CSA, a Fiber CSA is a way to receive harvest direct from the the farm as well. We will be offereing "yarn shares", "roving shares" and "mixed shares". We also will have full and partial shares. You can purchase more than one share of course! Each share will have a minimum of 2 pounds of processed fiber (either yarn or roving) and will be in different natural colors from the alpaca. We'll limit the number of shares so each person gets a fair share! You will also receive monthly farm email newsletter about the happenings on the farm and be the first to know about special offers from our online store.

Proceeds from the share(s) go back into the farm in the form of feed and care for our animals.

Of course we are a family friendly farm and no animals are harmed to get our "crop". It is much like getting a haircut !!


If you are interested - please contact me. My email/phone can be found at www.AlmaPark.com

You can also follow me on twitter or facebook

Thanks!

Wondering Where to Put Your Money? Go Back to Basics - ABC News

I found this video on line. It was on ABC back in October when the recession started to happen and the housing/mortgage market started to fall apart. Talks about alternative investments such as stamp and fine wine and ALPACAS!!

It is a good little PR item about alpacas. They are featured toward the end at time (-0:45).


Wondering Where to Put Your Money? Go Back to Basics - ABC News

Shared via AddThis

Market Research

To all you knitters/crocheters/spinners and felters out there - I would like to do some market research. If you could help me out - that would be great!!

I would like to start a CSA and would like to know if there would be interest to make this possible. What is a CSA you ask ?

You may be familiar with a CSA for farm that grow produce, but if you are not, here is the basic idea. A CSA is a way to buy direct from the farmer. A farmer offers a certain number of “Shares” to the public. Typically, the “share” consists of a box of vegetables but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a “share” (aka “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive a box of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Much like the traditional CSA, a Fiber CSA is a way to receive harvest direct from the the farm as well. We will be offereing "yarn shares", "roving shares" and "mixed shares". We also will have full and partial shares. You can purchase more than one share of course! Each share will have a minimum of 2 pounds of processed fiber (either yarn or roving) and will be in different natural colors from the alpaca. We'll limit the number of shares so each person gets a fair share! You will also receive monthly farm email newsletter about the happenings on the farm and be the first to know about special offers from our online store.

Proceeds from the share(s) go back into the farm in the form of feed and care for our animals.

Of course we are a family friendly farm and no animals are harmed to get our "crop". It is much like getting a haircut !!

If you are interested in learning more - please contact me --- rose [at] almapark.com. I will be putting additional details on our website www.AlmaPark.com within the coming days and link to purchase.

In the meantime - PLEASE answer my survey. . . . thanks!!!

Rose

Handmade Alpaca Soap

Looking for a great idea for your visitors on National Alpaca Farm Days? Then look at my handmade alpaca felted soap. I use only cria fiber, so it is super soft. We offer wholesale as well. Send me an email, comment on the blog or find me at twitter!


Here is the link to purchase from my store ---- soap

Follow me on twitter .

Saving Money Around the Farm in Tough Economic Times

We all hear the news on the TV. It has been tough all over and everyone is looking to save a few bucks. Even though it was recently announced that the "recession is over", these money saving strategies should help any livestock breeder not just Alpaca breeders.

1. Don't through hay on the ground, it gets stepped on and rained on - use a hay feeder like the one here in this post. My husband makes and sells these. The hay is protected from pouring driving rain and it is off the ground. It also saves me time as I fill it twice a day rather than always looking to see if they need hay.
   
2. Learn to "think outside of the box". Bartering is a great way to get services you need for little to no out of pocket expenses. Barter with other alpaca breeders, barter with other professionals etc.
   
3. Look at your expenses - do you pay an accountant? A web designer? A photographer? A marketing firm? If you do - look into potentially taking over one of these tasks yourself. Perhaps you can do your own bookkeeping or your own cria pics?
   
4. Look for ways to pool resources with other breeders. Although we cannot cut back on feed - it is possible to bargain at the local feed store to get a discount for buying larger quantities. Partner up to see what discounts you can get.
   
5. Do you pay to have your vet do IgGs, Fecals, blood draws for DNA cards, teeth trimming or routine shots? Learn to do them yourself and save a fortune especially when your herd continues to grow in numbers.
   

I will keep thinking of other ideas - if you have a suggestion or question - please post or email me !!!

Remember folks, the recession may be over - but these tips will add to the bottom line even in good times !!

As my dad would say - trim the fat and have more for a rainy day!