Chapter Four:
Getting to Know Them
[Page 1]
The summer days were long and warm, but winter was already blowing
a chill across our minds. Our first winter on the land had been
difficult, with the winds battering our trailer as if the thin walls,
built in southern California, were gauze curtains. Ice had formed
at night on the dogs' water bowl in the kitchen. We had been snowbound
twice. For weeks there had been six-foot snowdrifts. Everyone had
said it was the worst winter in years, but we wanted to be well
prepared for whatever the coming winter might bring.
We built sheds for the llamas. We moved our trailer to a less exposed
spot, bought a second old trailer with fine wood panelling, and
began building a large greenhouse/living room between the two. I
was sorry to move the trailer. I had grown accustomed to seeing
Levi looking in our bedroom window early in the morning. It was
a nice routine, and I would miss it. But the trailer did seem to
fit well into the new spot, still near the llama fields but on the
other side of them.
The first morning there, I opened my eyes and looked out the window.
Levi and Tumbleweed were sitting as close to our bedroom window
as they could get. Levi was gazing in. I was delighted, even though
I recognized that their interest in our movements stemmed, in part
at least, from a desire for breakfast.
Sometimes Levi was balky on our walks. One evening, we took him
out with Posey, leaving Tumbleweed behind. Levi didn't like leaving
his buddy, and after a while he just sat down. He wouldn't budge.
I tried running at him, which I'd heard would get a sitting llama
up, but he was imperturbable. As soon as I started to walk back
toward the field where Tumbleweed was watching, Levi stood up and
followed me.
All we wanted that evening was a lazy stroll, so we took Posey
by herself. "We'd better do more training with Levi,'' I suggested
as we wandered along Llama Lane.
"How do you propose we teach him to do what we want, instead
of whatever he pleases?'' asked Kelly wryly.
"I don't know. Just practice, I guess.''
My confidence increased as I succeeded in little things. One evening
when Kelly led Posey, and I had both males, the tarp covering the
tractor flapped in the breeze and startled Posey. She reared up,
and the males ran sideways. Levi headed off to the right, while
Tumbleweed angled away from him. I held on tight, spinning around
with their lead ropes in my hands. I was ready to let go if I really
had to and pleased when they stopped and I was still there.
As I became more comfortable around them, my love for the llamas
increased Yet at times I felt frustrated: here were these incredibly
woolly animals, and I just wanted to cuddle them. Posey liked a
cuddle now and then, but you had the challenge of catching her first.
The males were not into cuddles.
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