Golden Touch Alpaca Farm

When  you have a free moment (21 minute run time) be sure to check out this interesting take on the current state of our Food and our Environment. You can find more information on Mark Bittman here or head to TED Talks to watch more interesting videos.

The Weather has been great in New England this week and I figured it would be a great time to sneak away for a field trip with my new Grand Daughter. Our Farm Vet and Good Friend Peter Brewer owns Southwick Zoo of Menden, MA and a few weeks ago he called to fill me in on their new bundle of joy, Molly - a 3 week old giraffe.

Peter is absolutely ecstatic over her - and I can't blame him. Yesterday I saw her for the first time and she most certainly carries herself well. She has recently been featured on Good Morning America and the Boston Globe because of an infection that endangered her life.

Here is a blip from that article:

"After fighting off an infection, 3-week-old Molly the giraffe is back home at Southwick's Zoo.

Molly's veterinarian, Peter Brewer, said she probably had an umbilical infection she could not fight off. Molly's mother could not produce milk, he said, and zookeepers instead fed her cow's colostrum, a nutrient-rich milk produced right before and after birth. Brewer said it's usually effective.

"But when she went off the cow's colostrum, she had low white blood cells and got the infection," he said. "We brought her to Tufts University Veterinary School in North Grafton to get her better before it became severe."

Brewer said since Molly came home about a week ago, after a one-week stay at Tufts, her health has improved.

"I took blood from her the other day and her white cells are back up," he said. "She is eating well and we hope she is out of the woods."

After several weeks There is a playfulness and charisma behind those big beautiful eyes - she is in wonderful shape!"

Here are a few pictures we managed to snap while we were back there!