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| The mom, Gypsy Rose, had just given birth when we arrived only minutes later.As shown, she’d yet to pass the afterbirth. She didn’t seem to mind we were there. |
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| Only moments after birth the cria lay in the tall grass coming to life with the aid of its mother. |
We’ve captured such scenes throughout the world with my amateurish, albeit enthusiastic, photography skills leaving us reeling with joy over having fallen witness to such pristine visions of nature.
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| A curly-haired dark brown cria lying in the tall grass shortly after coming into the world. |
But, nothing, dear readers, is capable of moving us more in our travels, stirring the deepest recesses of our hearts and minds, than the miracle of Life, in the finite proposition our higher power has made with humanity and wildlife to continue to propagate and perpetuate the species.
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| The cria opens its eyes. |
Last night, after dinner and dishes, as we hunkered down for a quiet evening, we heard a rambunctious knock at the door. Tom dashed to the door to find Trish excitedly explaining to “hurry and come outside.” An alpaca was about to give birth.
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| As the minutes passed, the baby struggled to stand. Trish and Neil explained it’s best if they stand within 20 minutes after birth to get their “muscular neurons working.” |
In my knee-length nightshirt, I ran upstairs to grab the bottle of insect repellent, a paper towel to apply the messy liquid, flying back down the steps to slip on my shoes. Tom was ready to go. Within 90 seconds we were racing out the door to the paddock closest to the access road.
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| With a little help from Neil, the baby stands tentatively. |
Running on the gravel driveway as quickly as we could, we saw Trish and Neil attending to the mom. From the time Trish came to our door and we arrived at the scene of the birth, in a matter of two or three minutes the cria was born, lying in the tall grass where the mom had chosen to deliver.
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| “Hello, world!” Sitting is preferred at this point but I’ll keep trying.” |
Missing the exact moment of the “plop” to the ground of the dark brown, curly-haired, disproportionately long-legged cria wasn’t disappointing when we’d arrived so quickly after the big moment as shown in today’s photos.
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| Mom continues to fuss over the tiny long-legged cria. |
I know I said I wouldn’t focus all of our posts on the alpacas, nor will we over the long haul but for now, after here only eight days, the novelty hasn’t worn off. Then again, I doubt it will, when we never grew tired of a visiting zebra, giraffe, or warthog in South Africa or, a little red bird we aptly named “Birdie” in Kauai.
As we watched the process of the mom tending to her baby, after having lost her first baby last year, a stillborn, we had no doubt her loving devotion would make this precious cria thrive.
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| This morning, only minutes ago, mom and baby. |
As we watched the seeming helpless spindly creature lying on the ground struggling to “come to life” we couldn’t imagine that in a week or two it will be running up and down the paddock with the other youngsters in the cooler evening as the sun goes down, a common occurrence we giggle over each night.
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| Standing to feed is a good motivator for the cria, as seen this morning. |
So today, we “speak” less and “show” more with our photos which truly speak for themselves. We’re off soon to shop on a cooler, cloudy day always anxious to return “home” to see the latest “adventure of the day.”
Have a glorious day filled with Life’s wonders…
Photo from one year ago today, January 27, 2016:
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| New Kauai friend Richard had invited us to his and his wife Elaine’s lovely home. A retired attorney, Richard sat behind his impressive magistrate’s desk which he’d set up in his garage, giving us a feel as to how a visit to his office in St. Louis might have been. Meeting him was instrumental in our experiencing a busy social life in Kauai and in making this lifelong friend. For more details and photos of their home, please click here. |