Alpacas!

Yesterday we went to the New York State Fairgrounds to attend the Northeast Alpaca Expo. I am a great fan of alpaca yarns, so I was eager to see the animal in person.

It was much like any livestock show, with rows of pens containing animals, and two judging rings. We wandered up and down the rows, oohing and aahing and admiring the beautiful alpacas. Many of the breeders were friendly and eager to show us their animals. Andrea of MountainView Alpacas of Ellicottville brought out gorgeous Contessa for us to meet close up.

First Aidan got to hold Contessa's lead:


Then James had a turn:


And finally it was my turn:


While we were petting Contessa, she was making a humming noise, which we were told is a happy sound. She also emitted a throaty sound that almost sounded like a purr.

Many of the alpacas seemed to be as curious about us as we were about them:


Isn't this one photogenic?


She was also very friendly, and snuffled noses with each one of us. Another alpaca had the bad manners to sneeze on Aidan, but he laughed about it.

I admired yarns from Nightingale Fibers and picked up a flyer for an Artisan's Fair and Fiber Fest in July, hosted by Autumn Mist Alpaca Farm. We all fell just a little in love with alpacas, who not only yield beautiful yarn but are absolutely beautiful animals.

Spring at Beaver Lake

It had been a few weeks since we were out at Beaver Lake Nature Center, so we drove out yesterday morning. I was interested to see if there were any frogs in the frog pond and although I forgot to take a picture of the pond, here is a photo of a fine fellow warming himself:


Once we looked closer, we saw six or seven frogs in all. The flowers near the main building were in full bloom:


The tulips were particularly stunning:


We strolled part of the way down the Lake Loop Trail, but decided not to walk the full three miles. Aidan had his binoculars at the ready:


While we didn't see a lot of wildlife, we did see many beautiful flowers, including trillium:


In just the few short weeks of being away from Beaver Lake, everything has come out in bloom or leaf, and the landscape is a gorgeous green with splashes of color.