Author Archives: kestlealpacas

Tough skin, thick fibre, strong personalities. These are the older girls. Comercial value is not great, but for a small breeder like us, their job is fundamental. Our nannies are specially good at keeping predators and other nuisances away. They are particularly protective and territorial. In winter it is a group of only three. TheyContinue reading “The group of nannies”

The days are as short as cold. And -OMG- don’t I like these days coming back home and stick to the fireplace, looking at the girls just from the window, every time I pop into the frozen kitchen to boil the kettle. I love winter. But I find I’m most unproductive at this time ofContinue reading “Absolutely nothing to say”

We have this pile of offcuts and pieces of wood that may have had an use at some point in the past. We need to get rid of all that we never use and it’s just taking space. The wood is waste from works… but hold on! This piece looks useful, I could do somethingContinue reading “Reuse, recycle… reuse!”

Grace and the Boy We have looked for good quality studs for all of our matings in the past. Sometimes we have been a bit disappointed with the result. Sometimes not as impressed as we planned. Sometimes satisfied that it was worth the invested time and effort. Well, with these two I’m well pleased. TheyContinue reading “Aramis and His Naughty Crias. Part 2”

We need to start this story from the beginning, so let me take you a few years back. When we started our adventure with the alpacas, we acquired a couple of groups. A few came first as pets, all males to be later castrated. Then we brought a few more, the owner had their planningContinue reading “Aramis and His Naughty Crias. Part 1”

It’s been raining for quite a few days in a row. Into the barn: some rain coming all day. A bit of sunshine: out off the barn. Coat for the little one. Maybe he can do without today. Out of the barn. Some more rain, back in for the night… Actually, the animals do likeContinue reading “Soft rain of Autumn”

Have you had a look at my little store? I have captured the colours of nature and combined them with my alpacas’ fleeces to make lovely rovings for your crafts. Soon I will also have some yarns ready. Keep on checking my stock for the latest products arrivals.

“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision” I have thought thousand times about where to go with all this. We start small, no means, many enemies, too many commitments, no support, the interference of a pandemic, dependence on our other jobs and reduction of incomes… After some tidying, we go to the field. PearlContinue reading “Registered”

Between Part 1 and Part 2, I have sent the samples away for testing. The results normally confirm what you can see. However it gives you a measurement, and some statistics that are very useful when deciding where to go with your herd. I am looking forward to the results. Mostly for cria number threeContinue reading “Checking out the crias from 2021 -Part 2”