Baby Alpaca Surprise!

Wednesday afternoon we were on the way to pick up some friends when I noticed in the pasture a brand new baby alpaca!  I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but after blinking a couple of times I realized I was really seeing Cocoa's new baby.  The crazy thing is that we never knew she was expecting a baby because Fudge (the male) has been gone for over 11 months.  However, alpacas have a very long gestation period running 11-12 months.

Things never get dull around here!  In the pictures above, the baby is one day old.  I am amazed how strong she is on her very first day.  For the first couple nights, I pinned the mom and baby in a fenced area for the night.  That gave me the opportunity to hold the baby, she is so sweet.  It's cute to her Cocoa and the baby hum to each other.  The baby has been well taken care of by Cocoa and her aunts (Twix and Angel).

On the afternoon of the baby's first day, Cocoa didn't like me removing her from the other two alpacas.  She was able to escape out of the fence because of it being slightly ajar from me moving the goats.  Then Cocoa ran down the driveway and in front of the house.  I thought she was gone for good.  Luckily I was able to draw upon my unknown alpaca powers and grab and hold her against the fence (I had never handled her before this).  Then with help of a guide rope, I was able to walk her around the fence and get her back inside the gate against her will.  In the meantime, I had Porter call Ben, a 14 yr old friend down the road.  I was thinking that I would need Ben's horse skills to get her corralled again.  He quickly road to our house on his bike with a backpack full of ropes.  I was so impressed with his quick response to my cry for help.  However, I was able to get Cocoa back in the fence just as he pulled up.

Powerful Monologue - Must Watch

This is a powerful, silent monologue.  I hope you take 10 minutes to watch it, even if you aren't a Glenn Beck fan.  This got me thinking what would my last words be?  What did my words tell of me today?  

At the Shooting Range

We went to the shooting range with Tina & Steve, something that I had been nervous about all day.  I told them that I didn't really want to be there.  Although I like the "idea" of having guns in our home  for protection, I didn't think I would like handling them myself.  I thought I would feel more comfortable with a baby gun, something that is harmless and weak.

With all that said and explained to Steve and Tina, I was truly amazed that I left the shooting range feeling confident and empowered.  I know that I owe my positive experience to the great lesson that Steve (a current police officer) gave me.  Step by step he taught me the parts of a gun and how they work, he taught me safety skills and showed me all the safety features on the gun, he taught me how to properly grip a gun and to site in a target.  First he trained me on a 22 semi-automatic hand gun that we rented from the range.  Then after feeling confident with that gun, he said I was ready for Paul's 9mm.  The first video below shows me shooting it for the first time!  I had a huge smile after that!

They (Steve, Paul, and Tina) were all amazed at my first time - I hit that target dead in the center.  Steve joked that if I ever wanted a job as an officer that he would give me a good reference!  I guess I have an amazing aim (check out my target below - that was all me!)

I look forward to going shooting again.  I feel more confident that I could protect myself after learning how to properly handle the gun.  I know I have more to learn and I look forward to some more lessons from Steve.  And I think I want to get my concealed weapons permit.

Here is my first time shooting Paul's 9mm (I have been telling everybody it was the 40 - but I was just corrected by Paul).

Here are a few shots in a row, I am getting the hang of it - now!