Alpacas & Horses & Birdies, Oh My!

MIDCOAST MAINE— with its quiet hills, rocky coastline, and vast swaths of woodlands—is naturally home to an abundance of wild animals. Visitors can expect to see all sorts: soaring eagles, playful porpoises, doe-eyed deer, and so on. But the Belfast area is also home to a host of other less-expected animals, and ripe with opportunities to visit them.

Alpacas, for one, are definitely having a moment in Waldo County. It’s easy to see why people fall in love with them. They’re ridiculous looking. When they stare at you straight on it’s like coming face-to-face with some kind of cuddly alien. Many of them appear to be wearing toupees. But all teasing aside, people really love their fleece—it’s both warmer than wool and not as prickly. And it doesn’t contain lanolin, so it’s hypoallergenic.

If you’ve never met an alpaca, or felt their soft-as-silk fleece, you’re in luck, because in greater Belfast alone, there are no fewer than three separate alpaca farms welcoming visitors to meet their herds. Northern Solstice Farm was first, opening in Unity in 2004. Robin and Corry Pratt have been hosting visitors to their farm and retail shop—and spreading the gospel of alpaca—ever since. Today, their farm has 33 alpacas, and they sell socks, scarves, vests, and toys, all made from alpaca wool, at three retail locations—the one on the farm as well as two stand-alone Maine Alpaca Experience shops in Ellsworth and Northport. They even teach a five-hour class in Northport for those looking to start their own herds called “Alpaca 101.”

Northern Solstice’s enthusiasm for the beasts is clearly contagious: Ben Cowan fell in love with them after a visit to the Pratt’s farm. In 2014, with alpacas purchased from Robin and Corry, he and his partner Michele Hutchins opened their own small alpaca farm—Blue Alpaca Ranch and Store, on Poors Mill Road, right outside downtown Belfast. Customers are welcome to visit and meet Solstice Murphy, Space Cowboy’s Maize, and the rest of their herd.

Rebecca Tripp

Rebecca Tripp

Greg Montani

Rebecca Tripp

And at Good Karma Farm, also in Belfast, you can visit not just alpacas, but also Icelandic sheep. Good Karma does everything on-site: shearing animals, spinning fiber, and dyeing and selling the yarn in the shop. The farm is also home to the Carrabassett Soap Company, which the owners started some twenty years ago, prior to going into alpaca farming. Another popular offering is their Sox School, where lessons are given on how to use Circular Sock Machines, developed during the civil war, which “cranks” out socks. Every June, the farm hosts a four-day “Crankin” that draws sock-cranking enthusiasts from all over North America.

For four-legged beasts of a different variety, Sea Horse Stables is a recently opened equestrian facility with indoor and outdoor rings set on 30 acres of land just minutes from downtown Belfast and with a view of Penobscot Bay. The enormous, beautiful facility gives lessons, hosts 3 and 5 day camps for kids, and offers boarding and therapeutic riding all year round.

Waldo County is also home to one of the largest animal sanctuaries on the East Coast. Peace Ridge Sanctuary was founded in 2001 on a 15-acre piece of land in Penobscot, but in 2016, with the help of some deep-pocketed supporters, moved to a sprawling, wooded 800 acre property in Brooks dotted with pastures and ponds. Around 240 neglected, exploited, and abused animals live there at any one time, and since 2001 the organization has rescued some 1100 creatures. About half of them are dogs, but Peace Ridge also provides a home for chickens, cows, goats, pigs, sheep, bunnies and horses, among others. The sanctuary has monthly open houses for visitors, and also offers private tours (for donors) by appointment. Supporters are also encouraged to sponsor animals— prices range from $10/month for a chicken to $50 for a horse or cow. Dogs and bunnies are available for adoption, too.

PAWS, another animal adoption center, is headquartered in Camden and serves the whole Midcoast. In addition to finding homes for pets in need, the shelter offers a summer camp at its new facility, bringing children in to learn about caring for animals responsibly. Too old for summer camp? They also offer yoga with cats. Really, they do.

If you leave one of these organizations with a new furry friend, there’s no shortage of resources to help you keep them healthy. Little River Veterinary Hospital in Northport has been serving Waldo County’s beloved animal companions for more than thirty-five years, and the majority of its staff are either from the area or have lived here for decades.

Need someone to watch over Fido or Princess? In addition to the Canine Country Club in Northport—a 10,000 square foot facility that’s particularly convenient for visitors to Maine—there’s also Puddleduck Boarding Kennel, a “luxury boarding facility” on 40 acres outside of Belfast. It boasts flat-screen televisions and tons of room for playing, but its biggest draw is probably the fact that its proprietor, Frances Plessner, is a highly sought-after dog trainer who, in 2013, was asked to train then Secretary of State John Kerry’s puppy.

You can go for years in Maine without seeing the moose that decorate our t-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers. Fortunately, the Midcoast area offers a veritable menagerie of other fine beasts—including the ones curled up by your own woodstove—and the means to keep them happy and well.

Daniella Tessier

BIRDS (AND BIRDIES)

For those who prefer to see animals from behind a pair of binoculars, the Belfast region is home to some prime spots for birdwatching. Moose Point and Knight Pond are two off-the-beaten-path locations that are popular among those in the know. Truly dedicated birders can sign up for one of the tours offered by the Schoodic Institute further north. But prime sightings can be had even right in downtown Belfast. The footbridge across the Passagassawakeag allows birders to look both upriver and out towards Belfast Harbor, offering birders the chance to see bald eagles and osprey cruising over the river, and loons and other species can be spied from City Park.

For birdies of an altogether different sort, there are at least three golf courses in the area—all classic 9 hole, par 36. The Country View Golf Club, in Brooks, calls itself “Maine’s Most Scenic,” and indeed, the views are stunning. Northport Golf Club was established more than a century ago and is particularly friendly for walkers. And at the Searsport Pines Golf Course, a public course two miles off of Route 1, everyone—golfers and non-golfers alike—can grab a drink or a bite to eat at the on-site Grille, which looks out over the water fountain by the course’s 9th hole.

Carly Roberts

Carly Roberts

Details

BLUE ALPACA RANCH AND STORE mkt.com/the-blue-alpaca-ranch-and-store

CANINE COUNTRY CLUB caninecountryclub-me.com

CITY PARK cityofbelfast.org

COUNTRY VIEW GOLF CLUB brookscountryviewgolfclub.com

GOOD KARMA FARM goodkarmafarm.com

LITTLE RIVER VETERINARY HOSPITAL littlerivervet.com

MAINE ALPACA EXPERIENCE & NORTHERN SOLSTICE FARM fibersofunity.com

MOOSE POINT STATE PARK maine.gov/moosepoint

NORTHPORT GOLF CLUB northportgolfclubmaine.com

PAWS pawsadoption.org

PEACE RIDGE SANCTUARY peaceridgesanctuary.org

PUDDLEDUCK BOARDING KENNEL puddleduckboardingkennel.com

SCHOODIC INSTITUTE schoodicinstitute.org

SEAHORSE STABLES maineseahorsestables.com

SEARSPORT PINES GOLF COURSE searsportpines.com