Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm

from Hudson, MA to Unity, ME

The best thing about staying at Harvest Hosts is meeting people who are pursuing their passions. Last night it was passion for American history, specifically about our military and the wars they fought. Tonight it was alpacas!

Day 3, May 22

We woke up to steady rain pounding already-sodden ground. We made coffee and departed the American Heritage Museum before 9:00. The first few miles were just gorgeous, on a narrow winding road through heavy woods dripping with water.

Yep, when Big Blue is driving through steady rain, in 45 degrees temperatures in May, and passing stone fence after stone fence, we must be in New England.

Stevie’s Cafe

Breakfast became a bit of an adventure. When we asked our phone for breakfast places, Siri suggested Stevie’s Cafe, near Hudson, MA. The cafe was at an intersection which seemed simple enough, but required navigating through back-to-back cloverleafs in tight quarters and pouring rain. Then, once we turned into the address, we found ourselves in an industrial park. The cafe was tucked waaaay in the back.

We ran through the rain to the restaurant. Found formica-topped tables. Fluorescent lighting. And not a soul in sight. The place was large so I explored and saw a lot of industrial cooking equipment. Finally found a young man behind a counter. I said that this appeared to be a catering kitchen and he agreed that it was.

“So I can’t order breakfast?” I asked.

“Sure you can.” He pointed to a small menu. But when I asked if there was coffee, he said he’d have to figure out how to make it.

I must have looked surprised because he explained that he was filling in for the owner, who had a medical appointment. “It will take three hours,” he told me.

“Will you be the one to cook our omelettes?” He nodded. I told him “Coffee’s not hard” and watched him disappear into the kitchen.

We went into the dining area to wait. I suggested to Doug that we pray for our cook, if we hoped to get our breakfast.

Two fellas came in. They were wearing jeans and plaid shirts and looked wet. They looked around in puzzlement, just as we had. One was wearing a “Jackson Hole” ball cap. He told me, “We’re from Florida, visiting my son in Littleton, and looking for breakfast.”

I laughed and told him I was from out of town too, that I had no idea where Littleton was, but I did know where they could order breakfast. He told me I was IN Littleton. And then they ordered breakfast.

I said to Doug that the kid who was cooking must be hoping that Siri wouldn’t send any more customers his way.

While we all waited for our orders, Mr. Jackson Hole told me about his grandsons, aged 5 and 8. “They’re busy!” he summarized. I got the sense the guys had gone out for breakfast to get a little quiet time. Then he told me about some of his travels.

The food arrived and turned out to be just fine, omelettes and toast served on foam plates. The home fries appeared after we’d finished eating, so we packed them up to go. I’d forgotten that they came with our meals.

As we were on the way out, the chatty fellow commented that we didn’t have Virginia accents. So we must live near DC. He had guessed right, of course. His son lives in Littleton now but used to live in DC and work for the government. He was glad to be done with that.

I said it was hard times for lots of people in DC right now, with government workers losing their jobs.

What Things Cost

Back on the road at 10:30. Fortunately, the rain ended about half an hour later. Close to noon we stopped for gas at a Mobil station in York Harbor, ME. $3.09 a gallon.

[Do you want to know gas prices? Really? I think it’s boring but people always ask me about this. Leave a comment with your opinion!]

Around 2:00 we stopped in Waterville to shop for groceries at a Shaws. Spent about $70, mainly on fresh fruit and veggies and eggs and a few canned items. I always feel more connected to a place after I buy groceries there.

Random Observations

Have you ever passed through small towns and noticed the “Hometown Heroes” banners flying from lamp posts? So many military men come from small towns, disproportionately so.

And another thing — All day I noticed that the trees we passed were not just green but yellow green. The spring is newer here than back home. And since we were in New England I kept thinking of the Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” It’s a short poem that I memorized in college. It begins: “Nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold.” The last line is the title. And isn’t it true?

Unity, ME

Tonight’s Harvest Host was an alpaca farm on the outskirts of Unity, ME. As we drove through the town we spotted, in quick succession: a raceway, an Amish buggy sign, and a two story motel proclaiming “Marijuanaville Opening this Friday.”

A bit further there was a Center for the Arts, a Historical Society complete with outdoor sculpture, and a “book barn.”

Outside the town, the countryside spread out. The road leading to the alpaca farm was also home to a couple of organic farms.

Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm

When we arrived around 3:30, the owner, Robin, met us in the parking lot and showed us where to park. Then an employee, Janice, gave us a very thorough tour of the alpacas. The farm began some 21 years ago with a male alpaca named Space Cowboy. Since then the herd has grown to 35 animals.

We could walk among the alpacas, but not touch them. They were curious about us, turning their heads to follow our movements, and bringing their faces close to ours and sniffing.

They don’t weigh more than 200 pounds, and only eat about 3 pounds of feed per day. Apparently they spend their days chewing their cud and growing fiber. Very docile animals. Very sociable. Alpacas have long been domesticated in Peru.

They are naturally rather clean, using a communal litter box. In open space they refrain from soiling any vegetation, perhaps because it’s rather sparse in Peru.

Janice answered all my questions. What are your health concerns for the animals? How and when do you breed them? (The answers were fascinating.) Who shears them and how much fiber do you harvest? Can an alpaca bear a burden? How do their legs work so they can fold under them in that queer way? Where do you get the alpaca fiber processed? What’s your business model and how’s it working out? How did the pandemic affect you? What are your plans for the future?

It may sound like I quizzed her, but we had a fascinating conversation for some 90 minutes.

The alpaca are shorn just once a year, and that event is scheduled for this coming Sunday, May 25. (The shearing is done by professionals from Australia.) That meant we saw the alpaca coats at their peak. Before we left Janice invited us to touch one older boy who seemed to enjoy having his back rubbed. He leaned into our hands. Our fingers went deep deep deep into his coat.

After the tour we visited the Gift Shop. (The agreement with a Harvest Host is that the overnight stay is free, but we will support them by spending $30 at their establishment.) With all the cold rain we’re experiencing, I had mentioned to Doug earlier that I needed another pair of warm socks. Here we were, with racks of alpaca fiber socks to choose from. I also purchased a small puffin the size of an ornament, made of felted fiber.

BTW, the alpaca farm normally gets a fair amount of traffic from Canada, as folks head down to the Maine coast. That source has completely dried up. So if you’re planning a trip to Maine, you might want to stop by and learn about alpacas. Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm is open to the public 10-5 daily Tuesday to Sunday. Click here for their Facebook page.

The Day Closes

Before dark we took advantage of some lovely trails that wound through the deep woods around the farm. Then we were happy to turn on our oven for supper — the temperature was in the mid-40s.

We heated our last frozen item, a package of chile rellenos from Trader Joes. They went well with the leftover home fries. Plus fruit for dessert. We are living high.

220 miles. 4 hours of driving. 35 alpacas.