Black Diamond Alpacas
ALPACAS! Squee! I have this thing with alpacas. They are funny looking and wonderful, and ever since spotting some in New Zealand, I’ve been seeing them everywhere. (Or partly seeking them out everywhere.) When one of my clients told about Black Diamond Alpacas in Brentwood, about an hour east of Oakland, I knew I had to make a trip. I rounded up a group of friends, and we headed over on a Sunday morning. Mike and Donna were the most gracious hosts, and their alpacas were so friendly and adorable. It was everything I hoped and more. Enough talk. Here are the alpacas!
Oh my gosh. Their hairdos are the best.
The best part was right in the beginning when we walked up to the fence and all the alpacas eagerly greeted us! But I don’t have a photo of it, haha.
Sheer delight all around.
Mike and Donna were great at answering all our questions and introduced many of their alpacas by name and personality. They said raising alpacas was perfect, because they didn’t need to kill the animals in order to make money. Alpacas are primarily raised for their fur, which is so soft and wonderful to knit with!
They’re both eating the same hay.
These two got so relaxed that they sat down right next to us.
Our alpaca farm crew!
After the farm visit, we headed inside, where they sell the alpaca wool, which Donna hand dyes in batches.
So many colors! I bought two skeins to crochet my own little mini alpacas… You’ll see them at the end of this post.
After the alpaca farm, we stopped by Smith Family Farms nearby. I’ve gone peach picking here before. They didn’t have u-pick available when we went, but their farm stand was very well stocked with fruits and tomatoes galore.
Liz smelling fruit.
Yummy treats.
My haul. And after this, we headed to Walnut Creek for lunch and shaved ice. A perfect day!
Finally, here is the yarn I bought and the little alpacas I made! So much fun.
Thank you so much, Donna and Mike for having us over at your alpaca farm. I had entirely too much fun.
Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco but often traveling and working around the world. See more of her museum, opera, and symphony exploits under #awculturetime on instagram and view more of her professional work at annawu.com.
