I Think I'm In Love

It was my first up-close-and-personal encounter with Peru's 
cutie-faced Alpaca (not to be confused with Llama);  
And it was love at first sight.

We learned the difference today ~ Llama have long necks 
(Llama = long) and Alpaca have short necks.

Alpaca are farm-raised here, although these are roaming wild; 

and their highly prized, very soft wool is woven into everything imaginable, from sweaters and coats to hats and gloves and table runners and wall hangings and ~ I think the list is endless.   

The shops all compete on the basis that theirs is the "softest", "finest", "baby", etc.   Just look at how thick his coat is!   

I think it must be hot and very heavy to carry around, 

although he seems pretty proud of it.

I think this one knows she's fine; 

She just has the look of a Diva to me.

The other reason primary reason for raising them is for their meat.......And we have been enjoying some very tasty Alpaca steak this past couple of weeks.......I don't really want to think that we might have been consuming some of their relatives......

'Cause really, I think they're just plain Alpaca Adorable.