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Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Pacatrain debut
It's hard to believe that we've just celebrated our 10th Alpaca Farm Festival and Open House here at Outstanding Dreams Farm!
As they say, "Time flies when you're having fun!" And what fun we are having!
We so enjoy hosting this festival and opening up our farm to the public. Each year we have droves of people come to enjoy a fun day at our farm learning about alpacas, shopping in our Alpaca Farm Store,enjoying good food, live music, children's activities, and a variety of craft vendors. It's such a pleasure for us as we introduce many people to alpacas for the first time and explain to them why they are raised. For many, it truly is "Love at first sight!"
We never imagined ten years ago that what started out as a little Open House would evolve into such a festival. At our first event, we had a couple of small display tables with alpaca products, information on alpacas, and a couple of alpacas in a pen. We baked some cookies, and had soft drinks available for what we thought would be a small number of visitors. Boy, were we surprised when the guests started rolling in the driveway! Our alpacas were way more popular than we imagined and we were inundated with guests eager to learn all about these funny looking creatures!
Each year our event has evolved, and now we welcome roughly 1500 -2000 visitors to our farm over the course of the weekend. The alpacas are still the main focus of our festival, but we now include food and craft vendors, children's activities, and live music at our festival. A new addition to this year's event was the one and only Pacatrain Barrel Ride which was a huge hit with the kids(and adults)!
Seeing and hearing the joy our visitors experience makes all the hard work we put into hosting this event worthwhile. It really is a labor of love and our way of giving back to the community that supports our business year round.
We're already looking forward to and making plans for next year's festival!
Flo saying Hi!
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Tuesday, September 25, 2018
We are very excited to again be offering a business seminar here at our farm for those interested in alpacas. Whether you are thinking of adding a few animals to your current property as companions, curious about the possibility of starting your own farm, or looking ahead to building a business for the future, Vickie and I would be delighted to speak with you. Talking with those who fall under the spell of these sweet, calm and lovable animals is one of the best parts of our job, as we remember well how eager we were to start our own farm and know first-hand just how wonderful the experience can be.
Ten years later we have amassed a wealth of information covering all facets of raising alpacas, and find that offering a helping hand, so to speak, is what we truly love to do. We believe our seminar is a great intro to this lifestyle as well as an enjoyable and educational way to learn in a small, comfortable group setting. Our goal is to share some of the joy we have found with our animals with you! To register, call or email us at the information below and we will get in touch as soon as possible. We would also like to note that as a courtesy to seminar attendees who become clients and select animals to buy from our farm, we offer an introductory credit of $150 on your first alpaca purchase.
Sincerely,
Phil and Vickie Liske
Outstanding Dreams Alpaca Farm
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Thursday, September 20, 2018
Located in Caroline County just about 2 hours from the city areas of Annapolis, Baltimore and Northe
We are part of "National Alpaca Farm Days", an event taking place all across the country which encourages people to visit a farm and explore the wonderful world of alpacas. Our 10th Annual Fall Festival is the same weekend of Saturday, September 29th and Sunday, September 30th so make your plans to join us for a great time!
Located in Caroline County just about 2 hours from the city areas of Annapolis, Baltimore and Northern Virginia, our festival offers shopping, music, fiber products and lots of alpacas. Hours are as follows: Saturday, September 29th: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sunday, September 30th: Noon - 4:00 PM. Guests can look forward to activities such as:
• Fiber & Spinning demonstrations
• Arts and Craft Vendors
• Live Music
• Locally-made Ice Cream
• Pony Rides
• Alpaca fiber products
• Moon Bounce
• Meet our Alpacas
• Children's Activities
Come out and be a part of National Alpaca Farm Days while enjoying a beautiful afternoon in the country. We look forward to seeing you!
Sincerely, Phil & Vickie Liske
Outstanding Dreams Farm
24480 Pinetown Road
Preston, MD 21655
Email: pvliske@OutstandingDreamsFarm.com
Phone: 410-673-2002
New baby alpaca "Go With The Flo"
National Alpaca Farm Days to Take Place in Preston, Maryland
Baby alpacas just born a few weeks ago
Cria Races!
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Friday, September 14, 2018
We are pleased to introduce the newest member of our herd, Outstanding Dreams Go With The Flo!
Named after Hurricane Florence, Flo was born early Thursday morning just as the storm was preparing to make landfall.
Flo is the kind of cria we all hope for as she was already up walking around and trying to nurse when I came out to the barn. Big, strong, healthy, and stunning she's sure to take the world by storm! She is the second of our McCoy's crias to be born, and the sixth of his offspring to hit the ground. We're ecstatic with what he's producing so far as his first six offspring have all been female, and quite nice ones at that! We're especially pleased that he's throwing dark colored offspring as this is the mainstay of our breeding program.
Cria season is in full swing here with three on the ground and four more expected. Be sure to keep an eye out for our next birth announcement!
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Wednesday, September 12, 2018
As you all know, we have been looking forward to celebrating our Fall Festival with you this month. Due to the potential for poor weather across the Delmarva Peninsula which was predicted earlier this week, we felt it was best to reschedule our event. Please, come and join us as we celebrate ten years of hosting this free, family-friendly event in Caroline County, Maryland during the last weekend of September!
Saturday, September 29th: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday, September 30th: Noon - 4:00 PM
Guests can enjoy activities such as:
• Fiber & Spinning demonstrations
• Arts and Craft Vendors
• Live Music
• Locally-made Ice Cream
• Pony Rides
• Alpaca fiber products
• Moon Bounce
• Meet our Alpacas
• Children's Activities
We look forward to seeing you here at the farm!
Sincerely, Phil & Vickie Liske
Outstanding Dreams Farm
24480 Pinetown Road
Preston, MD 21655
Email: pvliske@OutstandingDreamsFarm.com
Phone: 410-673-2002
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Friday, September 7, 2018
With mom, Adel
As I came out to the barn early on Tuesday morning, I spotted something small laying on the ground just outside the barn door. We had a cria born the previous morning and at first glance I thought this was her. As my eyes focused, I saw the other cria walking around the pasture. It then dawned on me that we had a new arrival!
I quickly went over to check out the new cria and while it was small, everything looked okay. We had a nice little brown boy. I went to the house to get the cria bag, came back out, toweled him off and dipped the navel. After having had many cria born here, I felt this one was cause for concern as he wasn't very active and while it was a very warm morning, the cria was shivering. My wife, Vickie had come out by then and we checked his temperature , it was only 95.6 degrees. (normal is around 100)
We got the hairdryer out trying to warm him, covered with towels and continued trying to stimulate him. Luckily our vet was already scheduled to come out that morning to check on the cria born the previous day. I sent her a text letting her know that we had a problem and she recommended that we prepare plasma so that she could give a transfusion as soon as she arrived. She also suggested giving him a little colostrum and some Karo syrup while we awaited her arrival.
A couple of hours passed before she arrived and he was going downhill. He was basically a wet noodle. The plasma was administered and still he did not respond. We all knew his chances were not good, but we didn't give up and neither did he. I kept going out and giving him colostrum and Karo syrup a little at a time and very gradually he gained strength. Late in the afternoon, he was finally strong enough to take a few ounces of colostrum by bottle and actually stood up and walked a little on his own. A couple hours later, he walked around the pasture a little further. I went out to the barn early the next morning and the little guy got up walked over to Mom and started nursing! Unbelievable!
He has continued getting stronger and on day two is actually up and running with the other cria! I strongly believe in the power of prayer....plasma....and preparedness - and never giving up as long as there is a glimmer of hope! We've decided to name this boy "Outstanding Dreams Comeback Kid" - he's little, but mighty!
Thanks for following our blog!
Sincerely,
Phil Liske
Outstanding Dreams Comeback Kid
I can run!
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Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Labor Day arrival!
On Monday, September 3rd, our girl Mercy finally had her cria. All is well with our new big, strong and healthy female. Her father was Snowmass XXXtreme, one of the most well known herdsires in the country. He passed away at the age of seventeen shortly after this breeding and this will be the last of his cria.
Here are some photos of her first day here on the farm!
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Friday, August 24, 2018
Alpaca fiber yarn, hats and scarves
We have some amazing new merchandise in our retail shop that just arrived this week and we are so excited to tell you about it. Partnering recently with a manufacturer who has the ability to create beautiful fiber items from the fleece of our own animals is opening up new possibilities for "products from Preston"! We are so pleased to now offer scarves, hats and premium yarns created from the luxurious coats of the alpacas and provide a truly special connection to our farm.
Shown here is a variety of items from "Tiger Lily". We can't wait for our customers to come in and enjoy purchasing and wearing these distinctive accessories. Plan a visit to our farm to see for yourself what happens when the beauty of alpacas meets quality fashion!
Sincerely,
Phil & Vickie Liske
Outstanding Dreams Farm
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Monday, August 20, 2018
Fall Alpaca Business seminar takes place Saturday, October 6th at Outstanding Dreams Farm.
We are excited to be offering another seminar here at Outstanding Dreams Farm. Various aspects of starting your own herd, care and raising alpacas, and breeding and showing considerations will be discussed. We will have a meet and greet with our own animals so that you can ask any questions you may have, along with providing a wealth of informational material.
Since 2008, Phil and Vickie Liske have enjoyed running their own farm as well as guiding new clients and mentoring those who have become owners of these beautiful animals. This event is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to establish a farm, is curious about the business of the alpaca lifestyle or who is considering a new investment. Some of the topics we will be covering include:
• Alpaca care & husbandry
• Setting up your own farm
• Breeding considerations
• Retail store overview
• Fiber and it's many uses
• Business planning
• Alpaca Shows
Pre-registration is required and the seminar runs from 9:00AM until 2:00PM. Reservations for Saturday, October 6th may be made by calling (410)673-2002 or emailing us at pvliske@outstandingdreamsfarm.com. Cost is $35 per person or $50 per couple which includes lunch. We look forward to seeing you here!
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Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Due to Hurricane Florence, we have rescheduled this event to Saturday 9/29 and Sunday 9/30
Join us to celebrate the 10th Annual Fall Festival here in Preston, Maryland. Visitors and local residents are invited to come out to enjoy our farm on the beautiful eastern shore of Maryland, enjoy shopping and entertainment, and meet our alpacas and learn more about them. ** Due to Hurricane Florence, we have rescheduled this event to Saturday 9/29 and Sunday 9/30 **
Saturday, September 29th: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday, September 30th: Noon - 4:00 PM
Guests can look forward to activities such as:
• Fiber & Spinning demonstrations
• Arts and Craft Vendors
• Live Music
• Locally-made Ice Cream
• Pony Rides
• Alpaca fiber products
• Moon Bounce
• Meet our Alpacas
• Children's Activities
• And more!
Sincerely, Phil & Vickie Liske
Outstanding Dreams Farm
24480 Pinetown Road
Preston, MD 21655
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