Llamas Information

Archive for the ‘Living With Llamas’ Category

“Suppose we led people on day hikes with our llamas, right here at Juniper Ridge?” Kelly said to me one winter day. “It would be fun, and we could make part of our living. We could go out Llama Lane, and we could also go down to the lower part of the land.” I liked […]

Another afternoon, we took Tumbleweed out for a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, which passed near our ranch. Tumbleweed was a steady, reliable hiker. On the trail, there were a number of stream crossings, something new to him. He took them with flying leaps, so I stayed well to one side and kept my […]

In June, we began doing the hikes. Ashland, a tourist destination because of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, was a good place to be doing them. We found that many of our guests were tourists; others were local people who often came when they had out-of-town guests to bring along. A car would drive in. The […]

Beyond these simple things, the surprising connections that were happening more and more in our lives often left me in awe. One July morning, only one person came on the brunch hike, as some other hikers cancelled. So Kathryn and I talked more personally than we might have otherwise. Within a few minutes, we realized […]

Posey was lying on her side, twitching one of her rear legs. I’d seen that motion, though less pronounced, the day before as well. She still had several days until her second baby was due, and I wondered if the baby was moving into position. When I glanced out a few minutes later, it looked […]

We tried again to put the little guy under Posey. She thrashed around with displeasure at being handled, making it impossible for the baby to get to her. So we walked her up to our llama chute, where she couldn’t mill around so much. Once there, Posey did stop thrashing around. She sat down. When […]

Some breeders had experienced behavior problems from young male llamas who were bottle-fed or otherwise handled a lot as youngsters. It seemed that if these llamas bonded with people, they could come to think that people should be treated the same way as llamas. Normal intact male llamas threaten and attack each other in the […]

By early evening, the cria had consumed two or three cups of milk, some from Posey and some from a formula the vet suggested. We let the two llamas out of the barn as the air cooled off. The other lady llamas were excited by their first look at the baby and followed him around […]

Shadow was growing up quickly. We sometimes took him out for a walk with Posey: She would be on lead, nibbling here and there, and he would be loose. He didn’t let her out of sight for long, but he was quite adventurous, going off on little sorties, eating and looking. Bobra Goldsmith, who had […]

One cold winter afternoon, we caught Shadow as usual. As I led him past Posey, I said, “Say goodbye to your mama. It’s weaning time.” We took him right down to the field where Romeo, Poco, and Levi lived. I removed Shadow’s halter and lead rope. The three adult llamas surged toward him. Romeo looked […]

Two days later, I went down to the males’ barn just as a fine rain stopped. Levi, Romeo, and Poco were dry; Shadow’s wool was wet. He had been out pacing the fence where he could see Posey. I took him for a walk, but he was too upset to pay me much attention, so […]

lamas are a kind of ruminant–they chew their cuds. Morning, noon, or night, I could see my llamas just sitting quietly and chewing their cuds. What were they doing as their jaws moved in steady rhythm? I thought they were ruminating, in the second meaning of the word. As far back as Shakespeare’s time, ruminating […]

My imagination led me further afield. In my several years with llamas, I’d met many people who had a striking natural affinity for llamas. Often, their understanding of the animals was profound. If reincarnation was a reality, might some of us have had past lives with llamas? While I was open to the concept that […]

I imagined the story continuing; maybe I would write a trilogy. How were the mother and son received by their family, and by others in the llama community? Some ridiculed them, others thought they were dangerous or evil for turning to a spiritual tradition other than Christian, and still others wanted to blindly follow them. […]

“It’s another boy. Another beautiful, darling, doggoned boy.” Juliet had been awkwardly sitting down and then standing back up all morning. It was springtime, but springtime in the mountains wasn’t just wildflowers and zephyr breezes. Springtime at Juniper Ridge also meant muddy fields and drizzling rain mixed with snow.Kelly moved Juliet into the part of […]