Springtime on The Farm

Each season in learning llamas comes with new challenges, quirks of behavior, and yes, benefits. After we survived winter with some -18 degree days (guess that would mimic the Andes), carrying 2 5 gallon water buckets up a hill on days it was too treacherous to drive, I thought, the worst season is behind us. In retrospect, winter wasn't so bad; water was the worst challenge--just getting it up the hill and learning not to worry that the heated water buckets would not create a fire. Thankfully, Mickey thought about connecting the barn to the generator, so we had no worry about water freezing. Quirky was how the girls would race in the chute, back and forth about 15 down-and-back laps, I'm guessing because they could. Or sitting in the middle of a snowstorm, with inches of snow on their back. Benefits: no worry about the summer heat, fans, dump damage and odors. Huge benefit: my weight loss for hours outdoors = 56 pounds.

When I envisioned spring, I thought of mud messes that luckily never happened in the chute and when I could ditch the heated buckets (kept them longer than necessary, just to be sure). Worried about impending summer heat, I installed a fan on our first 90 degree day, only to lose my herd with an open gate (got them back, but it was challenge). Guess they thought they had greener pastures. Silly girls. Quirky--the last few days--would have to be the girls taking turns kushing down in the litter box. Should I mention it's clean; I hose and scrub it twice a day, even if they didn't use it. But the surface is inch-thick black rubber, and you'd think it too warm for them, sunning themselves. Mostly our white one does that, but even our Hershey kisses gal kushes down there too.

Perhaps the most interesting development, which just happened yesterday (making it still springtime at the farm) is the alpha spot left open by the Queen's return to BHLF for breeding to Zephyr. The princess on the left has claimed the job, and the differences abound. She moved herself, consequently her buddy too, up to the pastures hours before the Queen would have allowed that venture. Guess my girls are growing up, proving that even (or especially) in the animal kingdom, no one is irreplacable in the animal kingdom.

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