Alpacas at Windy Hill

People ask us all the time: “What do you do with the alpacas in the rain?” “Not much”, I tell them. “The alpacas have their own ideas about what to do in the rain.” They hum, so sometimes I just hum along with them. It’s the friendly thing to do. Some of them stand under their shelters and eat. Some of them go out to graze because staying under cover is boring. Some of them sleep in the rain. Those are usually the ones who grew up in Oregon. Some of them stand in the damp under the shelter and pull their skirts up. Those are ALWAYS the Southern California girls. At night they all huddle together under the shelter to stay warm. I’ve yet to find an alpaca that is wet to the skin after a couple of days of rain. They have an amazing ability to stay warm and dry. I guess that’s why I like wearing alpaca on days like this! The dogs have their coping mechanisms, too. Lucy is not pleased with the rain. The rabbits hide, and gophers don’t come out. There’s no one to herd. I told her that she needs to stay outside until the rain really gets underway and play with Molly for awhile. She got soaked coming out of the barn several times in an hour to see if I had returned to the gate to rescue her, so now she’s sleeping on an afghan in the office. Solomon and Molly like to curl up on beds in the barn, but Athena—clever girl— likes to make her bed on high ground—the top of the hay cart. No flood is going to get HER! The chickens are all tucked in their warm little coop. The ground squirrels have taken the day off. The snails, on the other hand, are having a field day. I understand we have the French to thank for that ... So let the thunder roll, the lightning flash, and the rain come down. It may not relieve the drought in ALL of California, but it’s filling up the local aquifers for our well, and I am grateful. Think I’ll pour a cup of tea, pick up my warm, dry alpaca crochet project, and hum another tune.