Rockville Alpaca Farm and Fireweed Farm Alpacas will be hosting a Valentines Day Event on Feb. 9^th (Saturday).  Come on out and meet Jasper, Peanut Butter and Hawkman, three adorable young male alpacas.  There will be a store open for anyone looking for alpaca product – lots to choose from.  Also there will be some demonstrations going on for those interested in the different ways alpaca fiber is handled.  An educational afternoon with some shopping/refreshments included!  Come on out and join us for a great afternoon.  The event will be held at 4117 Crestwood Rd, Richmond from 11:00 to 4:00pm.

For more information, send me a FB message or call me – 804-543-3023.

Here is our new little girl – Shadow!  So sweet and cuddly!  She was on her feet in 15 minutes – looking for something to eat.  Shadow’s daddy is Black Knight from Al Dillon’s farm in Smithfield.  We named her Shadow because she stays so close to her momma that she looks like Almay’s shadow.  For those who are local, come on over and meet her.

The middle of August brought my daughter Joy, her husband Rick and son Ben from California to visit us. We had a really good time with them and wished they lived closer. This is Joy and Carol after searching the field for a lost alpaca collar. We had fun in the pool with Ben in charge of the monster squirt gun, then spent a day at Pocahontas State Park in the pool area. Ben tried out the tube slides this year and once he did, there was no turning back. He couldn’t get enough. He would come down the tube, get up and high-five the life guards! Too funny! After that we headed out to Massanutten Resorts to meet up with Joy’s Dad and family for a few days. Beautiful place – and don’t forget the Water Park! More water and slides. We had a good time and hope they come back soon.

Summer is quickly coming to a close with  nights much cooler (love it) and the days still warm but not as hot as July!  The alpacas are feeling comfortable spending more time outdoors than in their shelters under the fans.  We’ve had a nice summer in spite of the heat.  There have been many visitors to the farm to feed and get to know our alpacas.  We always love to have visitors and have enjoyed meeting neighbors and making new friends.  We have heard from so many neighbors that pass by the farm daily on how much they enjoy seeing the alpacas out in the fields – we are thrilled to be able to share these beautiful animals with others.

September has us expecting a cria from our Almay (Echo’s Mom).  She is a true black and was bred to an impressive true black male – ELK Black Knight from Smithfield, VA.  We are excited about the outcome of this match.  September will also find Rockville Alpaca Farm’s presence (not sure how much) at Field Days of the Past.   There will be some alpacas at the VA State Fair this year.  You may see some you know there – like maybe Royal Flush.

In October, we will be baby watching again as Juliett, another true black alpaca boarding at our farm will be giving birth as well.  Two crias this fall – always a highlight at the farm.

December is the VAOBA Alpaca Expo 2012 – if you like alpacas, you would really enjoy this event.  There will be many alpacas present from all over Virginia and other states as well.  They will be competing in various events throughout the weekend.  I will keep you updated as to exact days/times.  Its free and you get to see a lot of alpacas!

For all who were hoping to watch – its at 10:00 a.m.
Come on over for awhile and watch Teri Phipps shear my alpacas.
The alpacas will be so glad to get those heavy coats off.

Its always great to have visitors at Rockville Alpaca Farm. Was nice to meet some neighbors from around the corner! Royal Flush looks like one of the family. We had fun feeding grain and walking a couple of the guys around.

RAF is expecting a spring cria at the end of March. Annie Rose and Royal Flush are the happy couple and we can’t wait to see what they’ve cooked up. We will be shearing sometime in April or early May – keep watch on the website for the date and time if you are interested in watching.

Meadow is gaining weight slowly – we are not having to supplement her anymore. She seems healthy even though she is small.

Klarice and Tebow (born Oct 19th) have gone to a new home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We miss them but know they have gone to a really nice farm where they’ll be loved. No one told me how hard it would be to see these adorable pacas leave for new farms.

Since our last two crias born in October arrived, life at the farm has been very hectic just trying to keep these two going. The “Little Guy” from last post has been named Tebow. He had a rough start, but am happy to say that he’s doing just fine now. He’s gained weight and can be seen at times romping with the other crias. Meadow, the little girl born on the 17th of Oct. has had trouble getting enough to eat. Her mom hasn’t been producing enough milk for her. I have had to be out in the barn every two hours during the day to supplement her feeding. With many ups and downs since then, she is finally steadily gaining weight but still has some catching up to do. She’s very petite and is the cutest little cria. She’s gaining enough strength now that she’s been trying to spit at me when I put her blanket on when its cold. She’s a tough little girl and has gone through some hard times just trying to stay alive. She had a visitor – Dana who wanted to take her home. Isn’t this a cute picture? The adult alpaca in the picture is Meadow’s Grandmother – Klarice.

Our last two fall crias have arrived.  Meadow was born on Oct.17^th – her Mom is Athena.  She is a tiny little girl but getting stronger every day.  She has a ton of energy – its hard to catch her.  When she’s picked up it feels like she will break until she starts wiggling – then its hard to hold onto.

Little Guy (he hasn’t been named yet) was born Oct 19^th – his Mom is Klarice.  Little Guy is the cutest little thing.  He’s been working at getting stronger each day, too.  Both crias are so fun to watch.

Its interesting that Klarice is Athena’s Mom and the two of them had their crias so close together.

There is another new cria at Rockville Alpaca Farm. Her name is Echo – she was born on Oct. 5th to Almay. It took her awhile to arrive – her Mom was very tired after several hours of labor (who can blame her?). But the delivery went well and now Echo is here and running all over the field with her pal Jasper. Echo is brown with a very curly coat which we are extremely excited about.

There is a new cria at Rockville Alpaca Farm. His name is Jasper. He is black and weighed in at 14.5 lbs on Thursday, the 22nd. He is a very confident and curious cria. If you don’t make it a point to stop and see him, he will come to see you. His Mom is Arwen, an alpaca of Fireweed Farm that is boarding with us. She is such a great Mom and when she can’t find Jasper, she comes to me and cries so I can find him for her. It is such fun watching Jasper’s antics. He’s adorable!