Sugar Hollow Farm Alpacas LLC, Pennsylvania

The first of our two expected Spring Crias hit the ground on Sunday, May 17. In keeping with our classic rock theme we have named him Deacon Blues. He weighed in at a healthy 18.7 pounds. His mama, Sweet Caroline, is very attentive and is providing him with plenty of nutrition. He gained more than 2 pounds in three days! Now we are waiting for our true black female Rhiannon to give us cria number 2. Her due date just passed so it won't be long now! 

It was cloudy, but the rain held off for our shearing day on April 27. Jay Mariacher and his shearing crew harvested the fleece from our 18 camelids in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. If you do the math that's about 9 minutes per animal (although the llamas throw off the average a bit because they take longer). Kathy has  begun skirting the fleeces to prepare them for processing at Blue Mountain Farm and Fiber Mill just north of Harrisburg, PA. For your enjoyment here are some before and after pictures, plus our llama Gabriel being sheared standing up! (The alpacas are all sheared lying down).

​Have you heard the latest news?! The Yarn Shop at 98 W. Washington St. in Hagerstown is now offering Sugar Hollow Farm Alpacas' Yarn! We are so excited to have our yarn available at another location. The Yarn Shop is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays from 12:00 - 5:00; Thursdays from 12:00 - 7:00; and Saturdays from 10:00 - 4:00. You can find class schedules and other events on their Facebook page:  facebook.com/WilliamsportYarnCloset
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​Grab all your knitter/crocheter friends and head on over. Tell them Kathy & Jay sent you!

COVID-19 has meant that many of our Spring Activities have been cancelled. Both the Pennsylvania Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association Breeder Showcase, and the Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association's Jubilee and Gala were cancelled. The MAPACA Jubilee and Gala may be rescheduled for this fall at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA, but no decision has been announced as of yet.

As far as we know we are still invited to bring some of our fleecy friends to the Mennohaven retirement community in late May. We enjoy introducing our alpacas to the residents almost as much as they enjoy interacting with them! 

And of course, even the current pandemic cannot dim our excitement concerning this year's crop of crias! We are expecting 2 baby alpacas in late May or early June and 3 more in November. Later this Spring or early Summer when the Stay-At-Home orders are lifted plan to shake off that cabin fever with a farm visit. Bring the whole family and see why we say "YES, crias ARE even cuter than puppies and kittens!"

You've heard us say it over and over - "Just give us a call, if we're home, we're open!" We realize however that in the busy Holiday season it's not always convenient to call first before coming to the farm.  To remedy that we've decided to open our farm and store for regular hours on Saturday, Dec. 7 & 14 from 10:00 to 4:00 and Sunday, Dec. 8 & 15 from 1:00 to 4:00. Just swing by during those hours - no call necessary! We'll be here!

Our 2nd annual Holiday Open Farm has moved to Saturday, November 30, 2019.  Despite the stormy weather last year's Holiday open Farm was quite a success, so we've decided to make it an annual tradition and also move the date to celebrate Small Business Saturday. Full of Turkey? Tired of being cooped up in the house with Thanksgiving guests? Need to get outside, get some fresh air and wear out the kids?Come visit Sugar Hollow Farm! Bring the whole family to visit the alpacas, llamas, pigs, chickens and Molly (the world's friendliest farm dog!), have some Holiday treats, hot apple cider or hot chocolate, tour the farm, and put the finishing touches on your Holiday shopping with the perfect alpaca gift from our farm store. The farm will be open from 11 AM to 4 PM.  Can't make it that day?  Give us a call - if we're home we're open!

​Meet Matoskah's Born to Run.  He took his sweet time getting here, but it was worth the wait. White, bright, fine and beautiful he's living up to his name and scooting around the pasture. Mom Nusta is very attentive and providing plenty of nourishment - He gained a whole pound in less than 48 hours! That's a more than 5% increase in body weight. He'll be ready to have visitors after June 24 so call and plan a visit to the farm after that date.

The show season and shearing are behind us and now it's time to look forward to what's next on the farm.  We are expecting two alpaca babies (cria) in late May and early June.  Watch this space for their arrival!  There is nothing cuter than a cria (although puppies and kittens come close) so plan your visit to the farm accordingly.  All you need to do is call to set up a time (late morning through late afternoon is usually best for us) and frequently we can accommodate same day requests!

We will also be bringing alpacas to the Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library's Summer Reading Kickoff Carnival. This event takes place on Saturday, June 1 from 1:00 to 4:00. For more information check out the library's website here.