Lorena

Aura Lea and Lorena ... I had come across the names years ago in a novel about the Civil War. The singing of Lorena prompted so many soldiers to desert their units that both armies eventually forbid it. 

After the alpaca crias Aura Lea, Caira, and Juanita were born on Stormwind Farm, I decided to name the next female baby Lorena. It was entirely fitting then that Lorena was born in the midst of of a thunder storm, with thunder rumbling like the sounds of cannon balls.

I rose early that day and worked steadily on various chores outdoors. Four hours later — and with the heat rising—I had had enough and welcomed the cool air inside our home. After blogging and eating lunch, I would have normally read or rested for a while. Instead, I felt restless and could not shake the urge to check on the alpacas again.

I entered the barn. Maribel was in labor! Despite fans and barn doors wide open for cross ventilation, the air felt thick and stifling. This did not seem to bother Maribel. Never prone to hysterics, Maribel calmly pushed along with her contractions. By the time a dark head and two legs were dangling out, Maribel had walked out in the pasture. She did not react when deafening thunder sent her herd mates racing to the barn for shelter, lightning lit up the sky, and torrential rain drenched the three of us—Maribel, her partially born cria, and me—within seconds. 

I am very much opposed to alpaca farmers confining females about to give birth, "pulling" babies, and all the human meddling that takes place on many livestock farms. However, I was not about to risk Maribel and her cria getting hit by lightning! A quick but gentle tug... and the baby was on the ground. I scooped up the wet and slimy newborn and ran toward the barn. Crying in distress—where was I taking her baby?—Maribel ran after us. " Don't worry, you can take over from here," I assured the worried mama. 

Lorena is beautiful—with fiber the color of milk chocolate and the feel of angel hair.

Ingrid Wood is the author of The Alpacas of Stormwind Farm.