News Can you believe it? Half way through August already. Where has the summer gone? Don't know if it's age-related or if it's just that we all take on too many projects and get way too busy that causes time to pass by like a jet plane. We all try to smell the roses, but at times it is certainly difficult. Cria season particularly keeps us on our toes. We have had 10 babies thus far, with 3 more to go. This is certainly a joyous time-a time when last year's decisions prove themselves to be genius breeding decisions or turn out not quite as expected. No matter how much one studies books on genetics though, there are still surprises. After all, we are dealing with nature and nature rules! We are told dams can hold off giving birth in poor weather conditions, be it rainy or exceptionally hot, that most births are between the hours of 8am and 4pm, that they usually show definite symptoms before the baby comes and that the gestation period is between 11 and 11 1/2 months....though all of this is generally true, our moms this year haven't been reading the same books we have. For us, the most unusual conditions have prevailed. One of our dams went over 12 months, for instance. She had her baby when she was good and ready, and that was that!! Sadly, one of our male crias didn't make it. We tried everything and he tried so hard, too. Even though we lost him after 24 days, we feel we were so blessed we had him for the short time we did. After all, is life important because of its' duration or because of the mark you made during your life? Some probably would have advised that we euthanize him a day or two after birth, but we luckily listened to our hearts instead. We learned a great deal from this little guy. We and friends who are very involved with our herd refer to this time as "Our love affair with K.C." Our friend, Elaine, even presented us with a stunning scrapbook dedicated to him and our other gorgeous crias. We are very grateful. Now, we are concentrating on getting to know our little bundles of joy out there in the pasture, learning each personality, laughing at their shenanigans and watching them unabashedly enjoy life. We are very pleased indeed with this years' cria crop. The quality of each of these little guys and gals is readily apparent. Their fleece is also extraordinary. Excuse our bragging, but they are really awesome. Kindly accept this invitation to come join us for our September 27 & 28 OPEN HOUSE. Our babies will certainly be on display. Come see them for yourself, as well as the rest of our herd. We will be selling many homemade specialty alpaca items and our Great Canadian Alpaca Sweet Dreams alpaca bedding. Yummy refreshments, barn tours, spinning exhibitions and wagon rides will be featured. By all means, come have some fun and help us celebrate all things alpaca. We've reserved a spot just for you! See you in September! Upcoming Events ALPACA ONTARIO EDUCATION WEEKEND August 30-31, 2008 O.V.C. Guelph University Dr. A. Tibary info@www.alpacaontario.ca MARSHFIELD FESTIVAL August 29/30/31, 2008 Wainfleet, Ontario IPM September 16-20, 2008 Bruce County, Teeswater, ON www.ipm2008.ca PACAFIESTA & THE ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL FIBRE FIESTA Full Fleece Halter Show September 26/27/28, 2008 Halifax, Nova Scotia www.pacafiesta.com VISIT A FARM Open Barn Tours SPLIT ROCK FARMS ALPACAS Ridgeway, Ontario Sales of alpaca clothing...hayrides...tours Saturday & Sunday, September 27 & 28, 2008 10am to 4pm "ALL WELCOME" ROYAL AGRICULTURAL WINTER FAIR November 7-15, 2008 Exhibition Place, Toronto ALPACA CANADA FUTURITY AND SELECT SALE November 8-9, 2008 Orangeville, Ontario www.alpacainfo.ca ALPACA ONTARIO SPRING SHOW April 17/18/19, 2009 Orangeville, Ontario www.alpacaontario.ca

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