March 13, 2008
Friday alpaca blogging
…listen
…about the musicHappily-ever-aftering in camelid.
At some point in this bloglet’s existence, I suppose I’m going to run out of animals to post, but that time has not yet come. Actually, I had really wanted to show you the two adorable young raccoons who have become regular visitors to my studio doorstep each evening this week. But my nighttime photography skills are not good, and to make things even more challenging, I’d have to shoot through the closed glass door since I’m guessing that raccoons running loose in my office could cause just a bit of chaos. Might inspire an interesting piece, though.
The blogosphere has long enjoyed a Friday tradition in which otherwise serious contributors post cute photos of their cats. Despite having never been terribly serious to begin with, I’ve participated in this ritual on many occasions, as my kelp-flogged readers know. Yes, second only to porn and viagra ads, I’m pretty sure that the net is clogged with an over-abundance of kitty pics. But today, instead I offer up for your amusement other incredibly adorable creatures: alpacas.
I would bet that anyone who doesn’t know this island would be surprised to learn that it’s home to several alpaca farms. The animals do very well in the moderate climate, and so do their caretakers, breeding and shearing them to grace the rest of us with clothing even more luxurious than cashmere. If you like the ultra-soft warmth of alpaca fur, you’re in for a treat. At least I’ve heard. I’ve never been able to hold onto these large animals for very long, much less sling one around my shoulders, but I’m told that people just love wearing alpaca.
Glenn Buttkus said,
March 14, 2008 @ 5:15 am
Gosh, hopefully Smudge and Moses are not tiffed that you have usurped their feline wonderfulness with your alpaca dreams. These critters that you have snapped a pic of have been recently sheared. Their coats are usually very long. Here is some data:
The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3500 to 5000 meters above sea-level, throughout the year.[citation needed] Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike them are not used as beasts of burden but are valued only for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as sheep’s wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 22 as classified in the United States.[citation needed] Alpacas and llamas differ in that alpacas have straight ears and llamas have banana-shaped ears. Aside from these differences, llamas are on average 1-2 feet taller and proportionally bigger than alpacas.
In the textile industry, “alpaca” primarily refers to the hair of Peruvian alpacas, but more broadly it refers to a style of fabric originally made from alpaca hair but now often made from similar fibers, such as mohair, Icelandic sheep wool, or even high-quality English wool.[citation needed] In trade, distinctions are made between alpacas and the several styles of mohair and luster.
Alpacas have been domesticated for thousands of years. In fact, the Moche people of Northern Peru often used Alpaca images in their art.[1] There are no wild alpacas. The closest living species are the wild Vicuña, also native to South America. Along with Camels and Llamas, the Alpaca are classified as Camelids. Larger than the wild Vicuña, the Alpaca is smaller than the other Camelid species.
Of the various Camelid species, the Alpaca and Vicuña are the most valuable fiber-bearing animals: the alpaca because of the quality and quantity of its fiber, and the vicuña because of the softness, fineness and quality of its coat. Alpacas are too small to be used as pack animals. Instead, they were bred exclusively for their fiber and meat.
Alpaca meat was once considered a delicacy by Andean inhabitants. A recent resurgence in Alpaca meat was curtailed by a recent change to Peruvian law granting the Alpaca protected status. Today, it is illegal to slaughter or trade in Alpaca meat. Because of the high price commanded by Alpaca on the growing North American Alpaca market, illegal Alpaca smuggling has become a growing problem.[2]
Alpacas and llamas can (and do) successfully cross-breed. The resulting offspring are called huarizo, which are valued for their unique fleece and often have gentle temperaments and are suitable for pets.
I guess they are musical creatures as well:
Individuals vary, but Alpacas generally make a humming sound. Hums are often comfort noises, letting the other alpacas know they are present and content. However, humming can take on many inflections and meanings, from a high-pitched, almost desperate, squealing, “MMMM!” or frantic question, “mmMMM!” when a mother is separated from her offspring (called a “cria,”) to a questioning “Mmm?” when they are curious.
Alpacas also make other sounds as well as humming. In danger, they make a high-pitched, shrieking whine. Some breeds are known to make a “wark” noise when excited, and they stand proud with their tails sticking out and their ears in a very alert position. Strange dogs — and even cats — can trigger this reaction. To signal friendly and/or submissive behavior, alpacas “cluck,” or “click” a sound possibly generated by suction on the soft palate, or possibly somehow in the nasal cavity. This is often accompanied by a flipping up of the tail over the back.
When males fight they also scream, a warbling bird-like cry, presumably intended to terrify the opponent. Fighting is to determine dominance, and therefore the right to mate the females in the herd, and it is triggered by testosterone. This is why males are often kept in separate paddocks — when two dominant males get together violent fights often occur. When males must be pastured together, it is wise to trim down the large fang-like teeth used in fights, called “fighting teeth”. Although alpacas may try to bite each other they only have a bottom row of teeth, so damage is usually minimal. When fighting they will often tangle others necks and attempt to push each other around, but they settle down after a week and agree to a winner and dominant male.
When alpacas breed, males make a similar noise called an “orgle”. This is thought to possibly stimulate ovulation in the female. This can sound like a warbling or gargling noise in the back or the throat, possibly generated by movement of the tongue.
Here is some of the local SJI data for those farms you refer to:
Emerald Farm Alpacas
Barry and Debbie Bartmasser
PO Box 384
279 Emmerling Place
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
(360)378-4366
bartmas4@rockisland.com
http://www.alpacanation.com/emeraldfarm.asp
Luna Rosa Ranch
Robin Day and Edmund May
P. O. Box 3134
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
(360)378-3443
alpacas@lunarosasuris.com
http://www.lunarosasuris.com
It is interesting that an animal that was bred originally to withstand cold temps above 3500 feet could thrive at sea level there in you island kingdom. Who knew? As to those racoon beggers that you are domesticating, never forget that they are wild creatures, and they could ruin your day if you get too close to them. They are notorious cat killers as well. Nature did not give them their burglar masks for nought.
No poetry in this blogging, just fun.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus said,
March 14, 2008 @ 6:39 am
And now for your musical clip: “Unabashedly” @ 1.53. I love what Alan Chapman wrote about the full 13 minute piece it was extracted from, “It is music that defies gravity.”
I found it to be BRAVEHEART meets THE EXORCIST. Piano strongly sets the pace with the strength of repetative beat, followed by Flute who flourishes a Celtic moment, then veers into a jazzy jag, a mellow riff, before Violin decorates with wildflowers and shards ofsunlight, and Cello wraps them all in its deep vibrato embrace.
You have always been a traveling lady, and this music “travels”. Then for me it kind of morphs into seabirds, four of them, friends of a feather, flying together for a short time, taking a sunkissed fly from island to island, low then high, with deep descents and soaring floats, passing over you there on the water in your boat, beneath your own sail, or sometimes low in the waves in your kayak, just a ballcap or fluttering hand protruding and waving, a sailor’s salute, a sharing of the joy of those moments.
Your comments on the CD liner note say it all:
On Any Given Day
On any given
day,
in any given
order,
my emotions span
a very wide range.
No,
I am not depressed, manic,
nor schizophrenic;
at least not
officially.
But I am deeply
aware;
sensitive to
the extremes
of joy and pain
on this little planet
of ours.
In the midst
of such a spectrum,
we need beauty
and truth
for out sanity.
I try to create
an open conduit
for those qualities
through music;
hoping
that the sounds
will elicit
a similar response
from you—
as that which
spurred me to string
these notes together.
Uneasy melancholy,
anger and despair,
quirky acceptance
and calm,
and yes,
complete elation.
This is just a glimpse
of the world
around us,
on any given day,
in any given order.
In art
we can put
these emotions forth
in a very specific order, if
we so choose,
and in a very direct
manner.
We can communicate
as passionately
and blatantly
as we wish.
And I do.
Unabashedly.
Alex Shapiro 2006
By the way, I don’t know if you and Charles spend much time up there watching movies, but I just watched THE LAST MIMZY last night. It is a wonderful New Age yarn, part whimsy and part Lewis Carroll, filmed mostly in Seattle and on Whidbey Island. It is science fiction, a fable, and the music is phenomonal; especially the “alein” sounds that the sound engineer came up with,using 1500 overlapping sounds,designing some new vibrations. The DVD has some featurettes on it, and the piece about the “sounds” was fascinating, kind of tuning us in to the concept that this world, this universe is vibrating, and certain ears can pick up the pitch; like you can, plugged into the Music of the Spheres.
Glenn
Alex Shapiro said,
March 15, 2008 @ 12:49 am
Glenn, you are a font of endless information!
And here’s one more to add to the list– the place that’s home to the cuties you see here:
Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm
152 Blazing Tree Road
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
http://www.krystalacres.com/
They have about 50 animals, and a beautiful store open to the public. The grounds are gorgeous, too.