The Twin Beeches alpaca farm in West River hosted an open house on Sunday, showcasing their small herd of alpacas as well as products made from the fleece.
Doug Nowell and his wife Teece started alpaca farming a few years back when they bought five of the animals from Ameripaca Farm in Galesville. They kept their day jobs, and focused on both a breeding and shearing program.
Alpacas are part of the camelid family, which includes bactrian and dromedary camels from Asia and Africa, as well as llamas, vicuñas and guanacos. There are no wild alpacas. They were originally domesticated in South America thousands of years ago in the countries currently known as Bolivia, Peru and Chile.
Alpacas were first brought to the United States in 1984, and since that time, the focus has been on enhancing the herd stock by breeding each generation for a better grade of fleece.
“We raise them for the females, with the goal of creating better fiber by improving them with each generation,” Doug said.
There are a variety of things to look for in alpaca fleece, including the brightness, the fineness, the feel — or “handle’’ — and the crimp structure. The Nowells also take their animals to shows to have them evaluated. The male alpaca they are currently using as a sire is a four-time champion.
Doug said that they spend about an hour and a half each day caring for the animals. That can be more on the weekends when they go to shows, which are sometimes as far away as Ohio and Kentucky.
The females give birth once a year, after an 11 1/2-month gestation. They are then bred again, giving birth to one live “cria” or baby a year.
There are over a dozen different colors of alpacas, with white being the most popular.
The animals are sheared in May and the fleece is sent to Kentucky for cleaning and processing. It can be made into either yarn or felt. The fiber is prized because it is easy to blend and is as soft as cashmere or merino wool.
At the open house, the Nowells had a variety of items on display and for sale, including purses, stuffed animals, wraps, capes, sweaters, throw rugs, socks and yarn. In many ways the fiber is superior to sheep’s wool in that it won’t pill or stretch, and it is hypoallergenic because the fleece doesn’t contain lanolin.
The Nowell family has had their southern Anne Arundel property for 25 years. They own 10 acres, and use just one acre for their herd of 19 females and two male alpacas.
Carrie Diamond brought her two daughters, Katie, 2, and Sarah, 5, to the open house. They had never been to an alpaca farm and came down from Carroll County as something to do for the day. After looking around at the farm, Teece took each girl inside the pen to pet the animals and get their pictures taken. After that, each girl got to take home a teddy bear made of alpaca fleece.
All afternoon, the Nowells continued to tell newcomers about the wonderful world of alpacas and alpaca farming. Oh, and yes, like camels, alpacas do spit.
The West/Rhode Riverkeeper recently organized a community stream cleanup behind the High’s convenience store and gas station on the corner of Muddy Creek Road and Owensville Road.
On Saturday about 25 volunteers, including Webelo Scouts from Cub Scout Pack 853, Den 4, volunteered for the two-hour event. The site was selected for cleanup because the hill behind the gas station is adjacent to a stream that feeds Lerch Creek, which in turn flows into the West River.
The Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works provided two Dumpsters and waved the collection fees at Sudley Landfill so that the items collected could be properly disposed of. Aside from the usual array of trash, the volunteers collected 75 tires, various car parts, appliances and paint cans. Both Dumpsters were filled.
For more information about the works of the West/Rhode Riverkeeper, visit www.westrhoderiverkeeper.org.
The South River High School’s Powerhawks Robotics Team will be the hosts for FIRST Robotics’ Lego League Regional Qualifier on Dec. 12 at the school in Edgewater.
In this competition, 20 elementary and middle school teams from the area will be tasked with using Lego Mindstorm building components to construct a robot that solves a predetermined problem.
The students will need to work together as a team using math, science, engineering and technology. The Powerhawks have been mentoring the local teams for eight weeks leading up to the competition, and will be on site to help the students gain skills and confidence.
The Powerhawks team needs assistance from the community and local businesses. They are seeking sponsors, at all levels, as well as volunteers for the event. Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, developed FIRST (for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics as a way to challenge students who excel in science, math and technology. For information on the South River event, call Jeanne Bellis at 410-263-0530.
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