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Archive for January 23rd, 2007

Huh?!! How could anyone mistake a man for a child?

January 23rd, 2007 No comments

I’m reading about this guy who posed as a 12 year old and enrolled in the 7th grade in a school in AZ. It turns out the guy is actually a 29 year old sex offender and was working with other sex offenders to get him into the school.

This guy doesn’t look like a 12 year old! You cannot tell me that this guy passed as a 7th grader! At least someone at the school system had enough sense to look at the paperwork one of the others brought in. They say fortunately no child interacted with him and I certainly hope that is the case.

What has this World come to?

Categories: General Tags:

I want to own a herd of Alpacas at some point in my life

January 23rd, 2007 No comments

I know this sounds weird, but not too long ago I researched and even visited an Alpaca farm in MS. I saw an article in a local magazine of a woman who had enough of the telecommunications industry and ended up with an Alpaca farm and Bed & Breakfast in North MS. She and her family packed up there things and moved from Colorado to Mississippi.

It was called HoneyBee Alpacas. Currently only the Bed & Breakfast are in business today as the family moved to Jamaica with the husbands job.

My research lead me here www.zocaloalpaca.com. I read the below information and became infatuated with them.

“Since ancient times, the South American Andes Mountains have been the ancestral home to the prized alpaca. Their fleece was cherished by members of the Incan civilization (referred to as “The Fiber of the Gods”), and their graceful herds of alpaca roamed the lush foothills and mountainous pastures. In the 17th century, Spanish conquistadors killed a large part of both the Incan and alpaca populations, forcing the retreating survivors to seek refuge in the high mountain plains known as the Altiplano. The high altitude and harsh landscape ensured only the hardiest of these creatures survived, and these ancestors of today’s best bloodlines have provided a gene pool producing hardy, agile animals with dense, high quality fiber. In 1984, a small group of importers brought the first of a carefully selected herd of highest quality alpacas into the United States and Canada, and they immediately became a beloved part of the North American landscape.

Peru, Bolivia, and Chile are still home to the largest percentage of alpacas in the world, and alpaca breeders in the United States have learned much from their southern neighbors. Alpacas are a member of the camelid family, which also includes dromedary and Bactrian camels, llamas, vicunas, and guanacos. They are a modified ruminant and chew their cud similar to a cow, although they have three stomachs rather than the true ruminant, which has four. Alpacas selectively graze, eating pasture grasses and hay, a fact that makes feeding alpacas relatively inexpensive. A daily mineral supplement rounds out their diet.

There are two different alpacas types, the suri and the huacaya. The suri has fiber that grows quite long and forms silky, pencil-like locks. The huacaya has a shorter, dense, crimpy fleece, giving it a very woolly appearance.

Alpacas have soft padded feet, making them gentle on their pastures, and they have no top teeth in the front. The average height of an alpaca is 36″ at the withers, and they weigh from 100 to 175 pounds. Alpacas are small and gentle enough to travel short distances in the family minivan and are easily handled by most people.

Alpacas have a life span of 15 to 20 years, so you can enjoy your alpaca for a long time. Not only do they have a long reproductive life, they will provide fleece for a lifetime, making your investment long-lived.

An alpaca’s gestation period is 11 to 12 months, and they have single births (twins are extremely rare). A baby alpaca, called a cria, usually weighs between 15 and 20 pounds.

Alpaca fiber comes in 22 colors that are recognized by the textile industry, and there are many blends in addition to that. Alpacas are shorn for their wonderful fleece each year, which will produce 5 to 10 pounds of soft, warm fiber that is turned into the most luxurious garments in the world.”

I still think maybe one day when I can afford it, I’ll start a small farm with 10 or more acres.

Categories: General Tags:

I’m looking for a new dog – update

January 23rd, 2007 No comments

We’ll it looks like we will be getting Cha-Chi after all. He is in Dallas still and we were expecting him to be transported this past weekend but foul weather in Dallas kept that from happening. Should be another week or two.

We also had a family meeting and changed his name from Cha-Chi to Dodger. We got him a new bed and toy and picked up the certain type of dog food he’s used to. Really looking forward to getting him.

Categories: Pets Tags: