Today's post brought to you by...

Today's post is brought to you by Aidan, our poet laureate. Following is a poem that he wrote at school:


Under Water School
By Aidan M.

Coral, coral, coral reef,
Underwater sugar sweet.
The sign says,
Welcome to
FISH LAND!
Here come baby fish
Fluttering to school,
Here come their parents,
Coming two,
Smiling with joy.
A whole new world,
My life has just begun,
In this miracle WORLD!

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.