Our Story

We moved to Cartersville, GA, in 2019. Our story began with loss, the death of our youngest son Corey who took his own life in 2016. Priorities and perspectives changed, and we decided a complete change was needed. I put my PhD in political science on hold and Stuart changed companies to reduce his travel time...and we packed up two large dogs, two regular sized cats, and headed to the country. 

Having been raised in farm country in rural NJ and among various farm animals, I had experience with "typical" livestock, but alpacas would be a new adventure for both of us. We had wonderful mentors in the folks at Good Karma Ranch in NC, and purchased our first alpacas from them. The incentive of getting to know and love these funny, unique creatures was strong.   

The chickens came first (Jersey Giants, of course!) then the alpacas, our wonderful livestock guardian dog, Nashee (a Maremma sheepdog), and finally our barn cats (Patty and Lily). We plan on adding a couple of goats next year and maybe a llama! And of course, baby alpacas (crias) are in our future.