My friend Dave Barboza tells me that we all have an Inner Rancher. Most of us grew up with tales of gun-slinging, bronc-breaking cowboys, and the mysterious young stranger who rode into town to win the hand of the wealthy rancher owner's tomboy daughter. We drink in movies with vast mountainvistas, stampeding cattle, range wars, and beautiful wild horses. Who but the Inner Rancher would have sat still through the slow-rolling footage of "The Horse Whisperer"? The Inner Rancher longs for romance, solitude, beauty, and an almost mystical relationship with animals… The species varies, but the yearning is the same.

Raising alpacas allows you to give expression to your Inner Rancher in a fun and economically-viable way. Anyone can keep a horse, but with alpacas you can save on taxes and make money! Alpacas are a fabulous species: sensitive, intuitive, interactive, and covered with the softest, most luxurious fleece in the world.

Raising alpacas is one of the fastest-growing professions for women because alpacas are small and easily managed. You can do it all! Alpacas are theperfect livestock: smarter than sheep, not as obstreperous as goats, high birthing success--and you don't need to slaughter them!

Does the image of a shepherd dreamily watching over his flock bring you a sense of peace? Does your blood pressure go down proportionate to the amount of time you spend outside? Do you have a sneaking suspicion that there is just not enough dirt in your life?

"Paradise", otherwise known as Somis, CA, is in beautiful Ventura County. Alpacas at Windy Hill is only 15 minutes from Albertson's in Moorpark or Camarillo, but we're surrounded by rolling hills, avocado and citrus orchards, horses, and 25 acres of the most beautiful alpacas you've ever seen. And you can share it with us! Several alpaca breeders already do by boarding their alpacas here while they are working on getting to their own ranch.