Several members of the Eagle Point Women’s Club (and one husband) braved the unknown recently by volunteering to assist with the shearing of 52 alpacas at Alpacas at Lone Ranch. The women quickly learned that alpacas don’t cherish the procedure and that it was wise to stay clear from the head of the animals as spitting might occur. And it did. Maxine Williams, past president of the club, learned about it firsthand. Luckily, she had some experience with llamas and handled the situation well.
The day started at 8 AM and ended at 5 PM, with half an hour for lunch. Members enjoyed the physical aspect of the event: bending , scooping, stretching, sweeping, vacuuming, walking back and forth taking 156 bags of fiber to the porch. 325 lbs of fiber were harvested. In charge of weighing the fleece bags was Shady Cove resident Sybil Maddox who has performed this job enthusiastically for four years.
None of the new crias (alpaca babies) were shorn, much to the relief of one little girl.
The volunteers remained cheerful to the bitter end and were unanimous in expressing their delight in having participated in this once a year event. All of them also belong to the knitting group organized by Renate. Most of the fleeces will be commercially spun into yarn and the knitters are looking forward to seeing their favorite fleeces return as the softest yarn imaginable.
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