K and I attended a unique storytime at the E-town library today: Alpaca storytime! We were outside in the small courtyard next to the library. The librarian read us a story about an alpaca who travels from Michigan to Peru to visit her grandparents, and then we were introduced to the guests of honor: 2 alpacas from Eastland Alpacas in Mount Joy. www.EastlandAlpacas.com

We learned several interesting alpaca facts. They are related to camels and llamas. The only have 2 toes on each foot and need to have their toenails trimmed regularly when living in the pasture. All domestic alpacas are microchipped. They are not for riding, because they cannot carry more than 30% of their body weight. Alpacas only have lower teeth, which need to be filed back occaisionally. They are kept for their fleece, which is used to make yarn for sweaters, socks, and other garments. They are quite gentle and shy creatures, and prefer to live in herds. They come in 20+ natural colors too!

The highlight of the storytime was of course getting to pet the alpacas at the end. I was impressed that K wanted to do this, since she tends to shy away from most dogs, and alpacas are larger than dogs. But she went right up to them and pet them repeatedly. We loved how soft they felt!

You can visit Eastland Alpacas, but please call the farm and make an appointment. They have an open house in November as well: you can feed the alpacas, lead them with their harnesses, and spend lots of quality time with them. Check out more information at their website! And don't forget to check out all of the great programs sponsored by your local library!