October 2008
1 post
June 2008
3 posts
First Cria of the Season Born
With the Summer Heat Wave sweeping across New England, our first Cria of the season was born and it’s a girl to boot. Golden Touch’s Light My Fire (Tee Tee) gave birth to Summer Sizzle, a 22.6lb light fawn girl. It is Teddy’s first Cria on the ground, and we couldn’t be happier.
Alpaca Page Updated!
Hey Everyone, Just wanted to make a post about the new and improved Alpaca Section on our website. We have categorized our herd into Females, Herdsires, and Fiber Pets to make it easier for interested parties to find exactly what they are looking for. We also have added easy to access information on the Alpaca Lifestyle, as well as the Investment opportunities associated with raising Alpaca as...
It's baby time again!!!
Cria watch has begun on the farm. Baby time at the farm is always so exciting. It doesn’t matter how many births we experience every one is just as exciting as the first one. The four girls due this month are being closely watched, just waiting for the signs of impending labor. The last month of their pregnancy always goes slowly, as they say the last mile is the longest mile. So true! ...
May 2008
6 posts
New Video - Birdwatching in May
Now that May has come and gone(almost) the Feeders are really starting to pick up with all kinds of great activity. Birdwatching on the Farm from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo.
New Video - Hummingbirds of May
Hummingbirds in May from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo.
New Video - First Day on the New Grass
GTF’s Alpacas - First Day Out of Barnyard from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo. You can watch it in full HD Quality here - http://www.vimeo.com/1006506
Spectacular bird watching!
This Spring has been great for bird watching. We have enjoyed the wild turkeys on a daily basis in our pastures and in the yard. I’m glad they find our farm a fruitful place to stay. The Baltimore Orioles are here in droves, with the apple trees blossoming along with the maple trees they are just all over the place. Check out one of the latest videos and catch one visiting the hummingbird...
There's no place like home!
For the last two weeks Chris and I have been on the road at alpaca shows. The first was MAPACA in PA and the last one was Buckeye Alpaca Show in Columbus Ohio. We had an information booth for ( NEAFP) The New England Alpaca Fiber Pool and it was great meeting many of our customers in person and making many friends along the way. Columbus Ohio was a haul, 14 hrs to be exact and driving straight...
Bird Watching - Baltimore Oriole Siting
It is not just the Hummingbirds that are back around. Now that the Apple Tree’s are in blossom, the Orioles have decided to hang out for a while. Here is a short clip we shot yesterday. Head to Vimeo.com for the full HD version (if your computer can support it). Bird Watching - Baltimore Oriole from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo.
Hummers finally arrive!
We had our first sighting of the hummingbirds today and it is always like a holiday when they arrive. Last year they showed up on April 29 and I was curious how close to that date would they show and low and behold it’s April 30. I wonder if they would of showed up yesterday if the weather had not been so lousy.
April 2008
5 posts
New arrival
On Saturday April 12 we had a baby chinchilla born. Mom and baby are both doing well. I’m not sure if it is a male or female yet as I don’t want to interfere with the bonding process. He/she looks just like mom, light gray. I’ll post a picture in a couple of days.
All eyes to the sky!!!
The hummingbirds should be arriving any day now. They have already been spotted in MA so if you don’t have your feeders up already now is a good time to get them out. I’ve had my feeders up for a couple of weeks and can’t wait to spot my first hummer. I’ll be sure to let you know when they arrive.
New Farm Video - Faces of the Farm
Many Faces of Our Farm from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo. New Video uploaded today. Watch it on Vimeo for the full HD Quality Treatment.
Golden Touch Naturals Online!
After several months of working hard, our farm store, Golden Touch Naturals is up and running and we couldn’t be happier with the finished product. It is a place where we can share all of our wonderful Alpaca Products, as well as other like minded one of a kind goods. Our Alpaca clothing ranges from strong and sturdy Boot Socks to Knitters Yarns and everything in between. All of our Alpaca...
March 2008
4 posts
WatchSome of Our Alpacas http://vimeo.com/802432 - Full HD version
WatchSome short clips of what has been happening at our farm over the last few months. Check out www.goldentouchfarm.com for more information on our animals and our farm store.
Golden Touch Naturals Grand Opening
Golden Touch Naturals has been stocking it’s digital shelves in anticipation of our Grand Opening in the next couple of weeks. Expect some great deals out of the gates as we help build awareness and invite communities to experience all of our unique and high quality products. From Alpaca Socks to organic Skin Food, Golden Touch Naturals will be covering all the bases. For more information...
February 2008
1 post
Perhaps our last Snow of the Season?
The Alpaca’s didn’t seem overly impressed with our most recent snow storm and I can’t blame them, it was fairly uneventful. Perhaps it is our last of the season, but then again, this is New England.
January 2008
2 posts
Partner's Village Visit a Success
On Saturday we spent a few hours at Partner’s Village Store in Westport, MA showcasing our Alpacas, their fiber, and the finished products made from it. It was an amazing event. People came out from all over Southeastern, MA to experience our wonderful animals. Dante and Teddy both were wonderful, keeping a great demeanor even with the crowds of people. To read up on the entire vent head to...
The Neglected Blog
How fast does time fly? Quick apology to all those who read this religiously, it seems a few months have come and gone without updates from the Farm. We just have been incredibly busy over the last several months and this blog slipped below the radar. Golden Touch Farms is in the process of opening up an online farm store, Golden Touch Naturals that will feature a variety of U.S. made Alpaca...
October 2007
7 posts
Turkeys are here to stay!
Well we see the turkeys just about every day. Some days they come right up into the side yard and we watch them from our dinning room window. They also spend a lot of time in the back pastures. There must be an abundance of food for them to keep them here for this long. Most people say turkeys don’t stay in one area very long, they are always on the move. We are enjoying them and boy are...
Cocoa Pebbles reunited with the herd!
Cocoa Pebbles finally got to return with the rest of the herd and boy was she happy. After a week and a half of confinement it was a great day for all of us to let her return with the herd. She had finished her antibiotics, all of the swelling had subsided, no temp and a good appetite was a prescription for freedom. Last night at dusk she started to pronk with the spring cria and young females. ...
The Hummingbirds Are Gone!
With the change in seasons our hummingbirds have moved on to bigger and better things for the winter. We look forward to them coming back next Spring. In the mean time, here is a small collection of some of the footage we captured this summer. Enjoy!
"Sweet Annie" update!
Annie and Mom are doing just great! Mom is very attentive over her expect in the nursing dept. She loves being with her and when I take her out to put her on the scale mom is not happy but she is not crazy about her nursing either. Interesting situation! I think part of the problem is she is a first time mom, secondly there was so much confusion the day she delivered and the day after with Cocoa...
Cocoa Pebbles update!
Cocoa Pebbles is feeling much better today. The swelling on her bottom is reduced almost 75%. She also has the sparkle back in her eyes and wants out of her pen and get back with the rest of the herd. I think in the next couple of days she will be able to do just that as long as she doesn’t spike a temp. She has been through so much in the last few days and I’m so happy she is...
Cocoa Pebbles goes into labor!!
Not long after returning from Springfield and settling in with the new cria I noticed that Cocoa Pebbles was not acting herself. She wasn’t crazy about eating her dinner and she was content to go off and lay by herself. She was due as well and she too would be another first time mother. I kept a close eye on her watching for any signs of labor. At 3:00 a.m. I went out to the barn to...
Introducing Bittersweet Annie
Bittersweet Annie’s arrival on Sept. 30, 07 The last few days have certainly been an emotional roller coaster. It all began with a very hectic schedule over the weekend, we had an information booth for the New England Alpaca Fiber Pool at the Big E and a wedding in Boston on Saturday night. We planned on driving up to Springfield early Saturday morning and run the booth until 2:00p.m. run...
September 2007
6 posts
Hummers on the Move!!
Well it is that time of year again when the hummingbirds start leaving on their long journey South. This year in peak season I was filling my hummingbird feeders three times a day, going through 15 lbs. of sugar a week. That is a record breaker for us, last year I was going through 10 lbs. a wk. I will continue to keep my feeders up until the end of October for any birds passing by that might...
Westport Art Group visits the farm!
Last Thursday the Westport Art Group visited the farm for a morning of painting. I was impressed to see a turn out of about 25 painters. Everyone was free to roam the farm and paint anything that caught their eye. At first I was worried that they wouldn’t find enough interesting things to paint but that quickly changed as everyone seemed to settle right in. At the end of the class the...
A Big Thank you!!
For all of you that sent me private emails on Samantha, THANK YOU. Your kind words have meant so much.
Turkeys, Turkeys, and more Turkeys!!!!
For the last couple of weeks we have had a group of hen turkeys with their young hanging at the property. This morning I went to let the dog out and when I looked they were all in the yard. My tough cat “Mercedes” was stalking them. I quickly got the camera and took some pictures. There was a total of 35 and it was quite the site. They stayed in the yard for a few hours then...
Invasion of Wild Turkeys
Today we finally caught some photos of the wild turkeys on the prowl.
Broken Hearts!
On August 27, 07 we lost our “old gal” Samantha. Samantha was a 20 year old female alpaca that we have owned for the last 6 years. She was blind and because of her blindness we had developed a very special bond. She was the farm favorite to all that came to know her. Despite her blindness she was so trusting, always calm, and not afraid of new situations. It all began last Sunday,...
August 2007
11 posts
Golden Touch Farms Video projector
I put videos I create on Vimeo. You can see my profile.
Positive pregnancy tests!!!!
Using our new preg tone ultrasound machine we confirmed 4 of our alpaca girls that had recently been bred. The girls we tested had been bred about 40 days ago to our new herd sires. This is exciting news not only for the girls but for the males as well. They are just starting their breeding careers and it is important to know if they have viable sperm. So it’s official we are dropping the...
Vacation to Bar Harbor, Maine
We took a four day vacation to Bar Harbor, Maine and had a great time. It is one of our favorite places and we go every chance we can break away. Having a great love for the ocean and the woods it makes it an ideal vacation spot for us. One of the highlights was a sunset horse drawn carriage ride through Acadia National Park. We also went on a whale watching trip and not only did we see whales...
Nice Little Rain Storm
day into night from goldentouch and Vimeo.
Bar Harbor, ME
We just recently spent a few days in Bar Harbor, ME . We are in the process of uploading some pictures we took along the way. To view our gallery, head to http://www.goldentouchfarm.com/gallery/ More coming soon.
Back by Popular Demand - The Lil Monsters
Back by Popular Demand - The Lil Monsters from goldentouch and Vimeo.
Thank You Rain! Come Again
I love Rain and so do Flowers from goldentouch and Vimeo.
Cat vs. Fox
Last night proved to be an interesting evening. It was about 9:30p.m. , all the chores were done for the day and we just settled down to chill out when we heard this gut wrenching screaming from the side yard. It was a familiar sound but normally you hear it from a distance and even at that it gives you shivers. This screaming was so close to the house I had to go and investigate. The yard was...
Ultrasound technology comes to Golden Touch Farm!
We have been breeding back alpacas that had their spring cria with two new jr herd sires. When we started using the boys we knew it would be important for the girls to be confirmed pregnant to prove our new males and not to lose valuable time with the girls. Originally we were going to have the vet come out with a portable ultrasound machine and confirm one way or the other. After much...
Time flys when your having fun!
It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 2 weeks since I last posted to the site. It’s not that things have not been happening on the farm there just hasn’t been time to post. We have had family staying with us from out of state and our much treasured time together is so limited we want to absorb as much time as possible. One of the high lights of the vacation was a deep...
Out on the Ocean
Lions and Tigers and Whales OH MY from goldentouch and Vimeo.
July 2007
7 posts
Rainy days!!
The rain today is such a welcome sight (for most of us). For all farmers hoping to get a good second cut hay, the rain is a must. Second cut hay is like green gold for farmers, it is what we all want to fill our barns with for winter. First cutting is much more coarse and for picky alpacas with a soft palate there tends to be more waste. This rain today is great because it will really soak into...
Slow and Steady
Slow and Steady from goldentouch and Vimeo. Here is a video of a praying mantis enjoying our new deck.
Helping the alpacas beat the summer heat!
Alpacas tolerate the cold temperatures much better than the heat so when temps are soaring along with the humidity we take extra measures to keep them as cool as possible. One of the first things we do is to be sure all of our alpacas have been shorn, their fiber is extremely insulating and would cause an alpaca to over heat very quickly. If you have ever worn alpaca socks you would understand...
Shearing season ends with great excitment!
For the last 4 years Chris and I have sheared our own alpacas with Chris being the master shearer. I have been the assistant and handled all of the husbandry needs such as vaccines, nail trimming, worming injections, and teeth trimming. Our complimentary skills have made us a great team. I have always wanted to be able to shear with the confidence and skill that Chris has mastered but every...