s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

September has turned into the uber-busy month of doom. Tam has a bit of software that “goes live” later this week. I have lots of seasonal farm work that needs to be done now that spring has arrived. And on top of all of that we have a performance of the Two Sisters coming up in 10 days. Which means most evenings and weekends have been sucked away practicing dances, writing the script, working on stage/technical directions, and a myriad of other tasks.

But thankfully there is still time for the occasional diversion. On Saturday Tawa had its “town day”, where all sorts of civic groups and shops set up along the main street. There were plenty of fundraiser bake sales and sausage sizzles for local schools and social clubs. Beauty salons were doing free face painting on children. The local pipe&drum corps was out there in their kilts, making a musical avalanche of noise. The local fire brigade had fire engines for the kids to climb on. So what would go well at such an event? Well, a few alpaca of course!

We were amazed how well they did. The noise, the crowd, the insanity, and they kept going. The photo is with the “LJ Hooker Bear,” the promotional mascot of a local real estate company. The alpaca were mobbed by children (and adults) much of the time. At one point an intellectually disabled fellow came over and gave each of them a hug. Not for a second or two mind you, he came up, wrapped his arms around their necks, and gave a cheek-to-cheek 30-second hug. And the alpaca stood there and accepted it. Amazing.

We were asked if the alpaca could come and visit various school galas later this spring. We were also asked if they were available for the town Christmas parade. Whee!