Spring Housecleaning

Since my foray into learning llamas, I have strongly suspected that you are not a fully-fledged Lamma Mamma until you have weathered 4 seasons. From what I have experienced thus far, that adage is still true. To it I would add that you don't get your LL degree until you have also lived through 4 seasons and have given birth, or the llamas have, that is. Carol Reigh transported our 3 girls (2 purchased and a "loaner llama" which we subsequently purchased, and glad we did!) the day before Thanksgiving. I thought that the end of autumn was perfect llama weather, and raising a herd would be, honestly, not so hard. Then winter came hard on fall's heels, and I thought if I can get through winter, then the rest is a piece of cake. Couldn't have been more wrong. On a scale of 1-10, this misjudgment was at least an 11.

Early spring, unseasonably warm in spots, sent me in a dither over the industrial fan, needing a thermostat for it (still haven't found what I am searching for), and spring housecleaning. I had my girls bedded in at least 3 feet (not an exaggeration; if anything, I am erring on the side of caution), including the paddock. Removing bedding was a two-person job of several hours but we got the job done. Nothing is ever as facile as it sounds, and spring housecleaning in the barn was no exception. But the results are a definite aha moment.

So far, I have learned that each day can come with a new challenge. Some days (today was one of them), my very sensitive girl needed hand feeding; have I spoiled them rotten (rhetorical). Other days, despite what I would deem inclement weather, the girls pursue the pasture in lieu of the sheltered paddock. On one of those days, they air spit each other as they reconfigure (or try to) the alpha-beta pecking order. Altogether, each day comes with a blessing and tons of love unqualified and unquantifiable, and I would not change one iota of life with the girls (well, except for the day they escaped, but that is another post).
Llamas
The Farm
Turbo Tagger