Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Alpacapaloosa

...I know I'm going a little crazy with the alpaca photos, but I can't help it. I played around at Bill Vonderhaar's Alpaca Bella Suri Farm (located in Morrow, Ohio) for over 2.5 hours, and every alpaca there was photogenic!


Look at this wooly little face! Can you tell this is the other type of alpaca, a Huacaya Alpaca (check out the first alpaca post for a description of the two types of alpacas).



Teddybear face...


...one baby (cria) Suri Alpaca nuzzling up to another.
(The babies were so affectionate...to each other and to me too!)


...sweeeeeeeeet!
(A friend emailed me that with all of the recent "sweet" baby alpaca photos my blog needs to carry a "May Induce Diabetes" warning......hey!)


...hmmmm...she might be right!


...did you know alpacas don't have upper teeth? They just have a lower set of choppers, so they can't really bite you. Plus, in the 2.5 hours I was around them, not one (in over 30 alpacas) spit at me, so either Bill's alpacas are exceptionally polite, or llamas are bigger "spitters" than alpacas...


...a beautiful and soft muzzle. The alpacas were quick to come in close for a muzzle nuzzle...


...with such a smoky, smoldering look in her eyes, I think this one is headed for Hollywood...


...I can't get enough of an alpaca's profile.


With all the beautiful colors showing in alpaca fleece, there's really no need to dye the fiber. I had a lot of people write me about how they love knitting with alpaca yarn. It's soft and lightweight...and very warm too. Alpaca fleece does not have lanolin in it like lamb's wool does, so it's not waterproof, but a lot of people are allergic to lanolin, so alpaca fiber is considered hypoallergenic.

...another post in the A Week of Alpacas series...

15 comments:

Garden Lily said...

Kelly - You're not kidding about photogenic - they are adorable, and your photos are great!

holdingmoments said...

Just superb set Kelly, especially that first one.
I bet it was hard to leave there.

Elaine said...

These are wonderful, Kelly! We visited an alpaca farm several years ago and they were so much fun. They are so photogenic and have so much character it's hard not to love them.

Laure Ferlita said...

I keep wondering what they're thinking....they have a look in their eyes and on their faces that makes me think they're in deep thought about something!

RuthieJ said...

excellent close-up photos Kelly! Thanks for sharing them with us.

Janice K said...

The pictures just keep getting better and better. It makes me want to feel and pet them. So sweet!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Kelly, these faces wreak sweet- I think I am getting a cavity!

TexWisGirl said...

i'm really enjoying this series. they're so sweet!!! but you know that!!!

Pam Johnson Brickell said...

I'm with Laure..... they are thinkers! I want to pet and nuzzle them, too! Great images, Kelly!

Timaree said...

They are so beautiful especially with those eyes.

Tammie Lee said...

they look so well cared for
so adorable
cute
yes photogenic
gosh I can see why you are smitten!

FAB said...

A delightful and informative series Kelly.

Kelly said...

...thanks, everyone. Their eyes are incredibly expressive and very serene too. They do seem like they are deep in thought with serene expressions! :-)

Kathy A. Johnson said...

I've really enjoyed this series of posts. I would LOVE to visit an alpaca farm like this one. They seem like such sweet animals.

Kerri Farley said...

Such sweet creatures!!