Alpaca, not Al-Qaeda

(Photo by BobbaLew.)

Yesterday and the day before (Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, 2009) were the annual open-house at Lazy Acres Alpaca Farm in West Bloomfield.
It’s on Baker Road, right around the corner from where we live.
I should admit I didn’t go.
In fact, the last time I went to this shindig was three years ago, 2006.
A few weeks ago I patronized Alpaca Country in Pittsford, to purchase alpaca mittens and socks for snowblowing our driveway.
I think they’re affiliated.
The kindly clerk gave me a flyer for the open-house.
“To do so I have to pen the dog,” I said.
“Well, leash her and I’m sure she won’t be any problem,” she said.
“I don’t think so!” I responded.
“We used to walk through the animals at Lollypop, and she was fine until she saw the goats.
Holy mackerel! Hang on for dear life!
This dog is very much a hunter. —“Let’s get ‘em, boss!”
Now she’s barking at cows, and every time we pass that alpaca farm, if the alpacas are out, she goes ballistic,” I said.
I’ll let good old Wikipedia define “alpaca:”
“Alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 meters (11,483 feet) to 5,000 meters (16,404 feet) above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for their fiber.
Alpacas and llamas differ in that alpacas have straight ears and llamas have banana-shaped ears. Aside from these differences, llamas are on average 30 to 60 centimeters (one to two feet) taller and proportionally bigger than alpacas.”

The alpaca farm is in a very rural area invisible from the road.
We had parked in a pasture, and then hiked to the farm.
Gigantic open pastures were filled with grazing alpacas.
There’s a grazing pasture next to Baker Road, but it’s deceptive.
It’s only one, and not as pretty as the others, which were verdant green lined with fall foliage.
We may have had a previous dog along on that visit — I can’t remember.
If so he wasn’t going bonkers.















• We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western N.Y., south of Rochester.
• “Pittsford” is an old suburb east of Rochester on the Erie Canal.
• “Lollypop” is the Rochester Humane Society. They keep farm-animals outside in pens.
• “Wikipedia” is the online encyclopedia. It’s voluntary, so subject to dispute — but fairly reliable.