I’ve just come back to the house from cleaning up six alpacas who are going to the A-OK Alpaca Blast Off in Shawnee, OK this weekend.  I am a dusty, dirty mess, but that means that I got a lot of dust and debris out of the animals and they are looking much better for competition.  We cleaned out their fiber, we checked teeth, trimmed toenails and weighed each animal.   I like to weigh them before a show and then check them when we get home because sometimes shows can be stressful and if they lose any weight I want to know about it.  Everyone cleaned up very nicely and I think they will be ready to travel on Friday morning.   Oh, I also picked up the traveling papers from the vet this afternoon.  The ranch sitter comes over tomorrow after work and will be filled in on any new routines we have for the alpacas that are staying home.  I am supplementing two of our crias, so that will be a new experience for him, but I have full confidence that he will be able to handle that.  Besides giving those little ones bottles is kind of fun – they are so sweet!

It’s going to be a long day on Friday.  We have about a 10 hour drive – so it’s up at five on the road by six! (That’s a phrase my Dad always uses – kind of an inside joke)!   Really, we are hoping to leave the ranch by 8:00am.