If you saw my post last week about our journey to Aspen, then you also caught a glimpse of the adorable Cedar Ridge Ranch alpacas that stole our hearts while we were at the ranch! Click [here] to read if you missed it. 🙂
It’s been such a treat to get to know these cuties! Beyond that, I’ve even had the privilege of knitting and crocheting with their wool!
I had a blast thinking of Skylar, Georgie, Patty, and all of their sweet faces while I worked! I mean just look at those mugs. Can you even handle the cuteness?!
Skylar Georgie Patty
I also mentioned in my previous post about how much we love the owners of Cedar Ridge Ranch – The Johnson’s. (You can follow along with the fun at the ranch here!) Pam takes a lot of pride in her precious alpacas and even hosts Alpaca Yoga during the summer! This coming spring/summer I highly recommend visiting the Johnson’s, glamping in one of their delightful Airbnb’s and hanging out with these adorable animals.
All About The cedar ridge ranch Alpacas
It’s no secret that I have quite the obsession with llama’s and alpacas, but alpacas have no doubt taken the lead in that obsession. 😉 I thought it might be fun to find out a few more facts about them! Pam graciously let me interview her. It was so fun getting to know even more about these cedar ridge ranch alpacas!
How did your love for alpacas come about?
Our love for alpacas started three years ago. We had bought a ranch 23 years ago when we came out to Colorado from Chicago. We had been big city corporate executives. I was vice president of advertising for Family Circle magazine and my husband Randy and his brother were inventors. We had some life changes happen and we said that life is too short. We picked up and came out to Colorado, bought our ranch and never looked back.
Three years ago we decided to get into agritourism. We wanted to share our farm life with others and wanted to have people come visit our ranch, understand animals and nature and connect. When we decided to do this transformation, I went onto the internet to look around the world and found out alpacas are the number one animal for agritourism. They are amazingly sweet and calm and they have a demeanor where they can read the energy you give off when you are with them and are quiet and ethereal. We hosted “Yoga With Alpacas” this summer and we found that there were so many different degrees of energy that guests would give off with different results. Alpacas really are a reflection of the energy that will be given to them. They are just so darn cute!
When did you purchase your first alpaca?
Three years ago – in the fall – I found a lady in Arizona that had raised her alpaca family and could no longer take care of them because of health issues. Her most important concern was that her babies would continue to have a good life with their new owners. My daughter Merrill and I hooked up our trailer and truck, and the two of us drove down from Colorado to Arizona to pick up our new alpacas.
We had never seen or touched an alpaca before. We spent the weekend with their wonderful owners learning all about their history, how to care for them, and the wonderful garments and accessories that could be made from them.
What’s your favorite part of owning alpacas?
Oh, there are so many fabulous parts of owning an alpaca. To see them poking up their little heads out in the fields; or experience them running to come up for treats; or to sit out in the pasture with them and feel their calm energy.
They don’t have teeth on the top of their mouth, so when you feed them carrots or apples, they have the cutest way of chewing from side to side. When you go out to feed “the girls”, there are two girls…”Liberty” (her real name is Liberty Bell because she was born on the fourth of July) and Annabella who we call “fatty Patty” who come bouncing up to say “hi”. They will often spit at each other to say “get away from my food”.
When we had Alpaca Yoga this summer, folks would come from miles to be able to play in nature with the girls. Often times when the girls get very comfortable they will hug each other which is called “cushing”. The kiddos that come to the ranch just giggle when it happens.
Alpacas love to give kisses and are perfect for selfies. Check us out on Instagram @cedarridgeranch.
How many alpacas do you have?
We have 12 alpacas. Nine girls and three boys. Hopefully, we will have a lot of babies – which are called “CRIAS” – next spring.
What advice would you give someone thinking about purchasing alpacas?
Alpacas are very easy to care for. They are one of the few animals that are considered livestock in the United States that you can feel comfortable walking in the pasture with. They are actually very easy keepers and eat grass and grain, carrots and apples. Very gentle on pastures, they only nibble on the tops of grass so they don’t destroy the pasture. Their poop is also the most incredible fertilizer. They poop all in one pile, so it’s very easy to clean up.
What steps are involved in processing their wool and how long does it take?
Alpaca fiber is very fun to process on your own. I have learned how to wash it, card it and dye it. It is 10 times warmer than wool and is the only fiber that doesn’t need chemicals to process. The fiber is also hypo-allergenic and does not contain lanolin.
I have needle felting workshops at the ranch and workshops where you felt soap. I also send fiber to another local alpaca farm where they have the equipment to wash and card the fiber on a larger scale…And make it into yarn.
We met Taralah and her family this spring when they came to the ranch to stay as they were finding a new life in Colorado. Taralah is an amazing fiber artist. [I promise I didn’t pay her to say that. 😉 Thank you so much Pam] She and her family have become very close to us.
Taralah has taken some of our fiber and has made a purse that is a work of art…and some simply magnificent hand-knitted and crocheted hats. We can now say that we raise our own alpaca organically on our ranch, and we can offer alpaca clothing from our good friend and beautiful artist, Taralah. [you are too kind Pam 🙂 ]
This is truly called ” farm to fashion”. It is so much fun to come play with the “pacas” and then wear a hat or scarf from them. We call our hat a “Libby” hat. I love wearing my “Libby” hat. It keeps me so cozy.
How much yarn can you make from one alpaca?
One alpaca produces around 10lbs of raw fiber.
Is there a difference between the wool on the boy and girl alpaca?
There is not a difference between a boy and girl alpaca fiber.
What are the differences between llamas and alpacas?
Llamas are going to be a lot bigger than their cousins. Their faces are also just as dissimilar. Alpacas have small faces with short ears, while llamas have more elongated faces with banana-sized ears. [hee hee, love that description] Another key difference is their hair. Alpacas produce a much finer fiber than llamas.
Llamas can be used as guard animals for livestock and sheep. They are also a beast of a burden and are used for trekking where as alpacas are only bred for their fiber. Llamas also spit a lot more than alpacas.
What is a fun fact that we might not know about alpacas?
Well, there are so many fun facts about alpacas. They live until they are around 20. They have one baby a year and they hum, so when you are around them you hear this wonderful hum. If they see a predator around they will start to chortle which is a very strange and distinct sound.
As you probably know alpacas have been in Peru for thousands of years. The art of felting alpaca fiber was the mainstay of the culture in Peru and used to make the yurts they lived in.
They’ve only been in the United Stated since 1984, and back before the financial crash, they were being sold for upwards of 100,000. While their prices have now regulated to meet demand for their fiber, there is a growing and vibrant group of alpaca farmers in the U.S.. A lot of alpaca farmers are families like ourselves that love their personalities and have fun showing them, breeding them and making goods that are locally and organically raised.
We love to have folks visit the farm and “play with the pacas”, Alpaca Yoga and fiber workshops. We have a farm store where we sell our alpaca products, and we are so excited to be working with Taralah, offering her pieces on her website, Etsy, and local markets.
So Much Love
I had so much fun reading these facts and learning more about these adorable creatures. I hope you did, too! A huge thank you to Pam Johnson for taking the time to educate us more on alpacas! Cedar Ridge Ranch is such a heart-warming and beautiful place. The Johnson’s truly have a passion for their farm and all that goes into it. Go give them a visit! You better bet we will be going to see those babies next spring!!! 🙂
Thanks for reading! Till next time, y’all! 🙂
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Cedar Ridge Ranch Alpacas / the cuties that stole our hearts
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