How It All Began ...

North bound for home at 40,000 feet I came across an AOBA ad. It read “Worlds greatest livestock Investment.” I tore it out to give to my wife, girlfriend at the time, when I got home. She pulled it up on the web and instantly fell in love with the critter that appeared before her and knew right then “It feels right.”

Soon after this speed of light life  changing event Miss Barrie Lynn Totten took my name, Bill Wood, in marriage and we haven’t had much time to look back since. We found an old nineteen acre farm for sale, sold our city dwellings, and staked our claim where now stands the home of Benchmark Alpacas. It’s a bit of a fixer upper but we both have great vision.

Our not so long-term goal is to homestead at the far end of our property. New house, new barn, more fences (ugh!) For now our old barn and temporary fences are serving us well. The new barn is underway and I must say, it’s a beauty. Our new address will be 3555 Poli Rd and you’re all invited.

“It feels right”? Until recently I didn’t quite know what Barrie Lynn meant when she spoke these words, but now at the end of the day when the asphalt turns to dirt, the road takes a jog to the left, then to the right, over three hills and dales and up the drive I take in the views. The Alpacas grazing on rolling pastures, the row of oaks that meander through our fields, and my wife riding high on her tractor coming home from her days’ work on the back forty. Yes, “It feels right.”

Living Our Dream,
Bill and Barrie Lynn Wood