Alpacas at Willow Wind Farm

We had a very educational visit to a local Alpaca farm just down the road from my brother’s house. Annie was our host and she knows her stuff. She breeds alpacas, llamas, merino sheep and goats and her passion is for the alpacas. We learnt heaps about alpaca fibre, how it is shorn, and how it has full medullation so is extremely warm. The fibre can then be blended with a variety of other fibres depending on the needs of the end product. I bought some yarns for knitting (different blended varieties) and socks, plus a little soap that she makes from goat's milk. The products from the farm may be purchased at willowwindgoods.com. They are carefully labelled with the blend-mix as well as the alpaca name that the product was derived from. Very soft and warm products.

The llamas and alpacas all have their own personalities shining through, and Annie knows the names and the temperaments of all her 150+ animals well. Here are some of my favourite shots of them.  

And we can't forget the rooster who rules the flock!