It’s all about the Llamas
There is not much missing from our life on our Llama Farm, but there has been something that I haven’t been able to put my finger on. It’s been bugging me since we first moved to the farm in June last year. It was on …
Tag: quirky holidays
Carpool Cacophony
Back in September I was scrolling through Facebook, as you do, when a post by @LesAmisdesAnimaux caught my attention. Looking for a forever home were 2 kittens, they not only wanted a home but also wanted a dog, I should have know at that moment …
Chewing over the Cud
For anyone that has ever wondered where the expression chewing over the cud comes from…
Now our Llamas are a very social bunch, they always stick together and do not like to be apart from each other. Being amongst them in the field and listening to their chatter is one of the greatest joys of being a Llama Mama. They communicate with each other all the time, whether it be their soft chattering or their body movements. Watch them carefully and you begin to understand the language of Llama; the position of their ears, their tails and the sweeping movements of their long elegant necks. Youngster Orion will be the first to tell you that there is no mistaking when you have upset a Llama, he regularly has grass spit covering his beautiful brown face! Just a quick add, they do not spit at us or at our guests, they have been raised with impeccable manners and the only time you will be spat at is if you get caught in the crossfire!
Throughout the day our Llamas will return to their stable, cush down together and chew the cud. There is a video on our facebook page called chewing the cud and you will see Orion in the video giving us a fine example of cud chewing and if you listen carefully you will hear Axle chattering softly, then coming to see what I’m doing (in his mind it is an absolute certainty that I have bought gifts of Figs, apples or carrots) before settling back down with the herd. Video of Chewing the Cud!
I can’t think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than to cush down with your best friends, chewing over the cud, having a chatter with the late autumn sunshine still warming your bones and on that note my best friend is visiting from the UK next weekend and that’s exactly what we will be doing… making like Llamas ????❤????❤????
A Tail of 2 Kittens
I was once a happy, slightly obsessive cat servant to two Maine Coon x brothers. These boys were called George & Bernard, I loved them with my entire being ❤ I was the cliche that is The Crazy Cat Lady. But, as in the lyrics …
Life in Lavernat? Yes! there is
We’ve been a bit naughty! well quite a bit naughty really ????… Having arrived at our new home in June and had the final signing in July, you’d have thought that we would have been to our local bar and become part of the furniture …
The Mystery of our Stream
Down at the bottom of our fields we have woodland. Beautiful woodland that we love to stroll through with our dogs. When Llamas become accustomed to longer treks, we will also stroll through these woods with the Axel, Savannah and little kissy lips Orion. This is our current goal, and Nigel and I are dedicated to getting our 3 trekkers out daily, we are reaping the rewards.
Orion, Axel and Savannah are also reaping the rewards as they munch on the untouched nettles, chestnut leaves and long grass outside of the llama field. Now our difficulty is getting the little monkeys back into the stable with the adults of the herd. The same adults that watch with envy as their off spring munch away. Now don’t feel sorry for them, we are literally days away from opening up another few acres of pasture for the herd to devour, and Nigel, my man of northern steel, is actually a soft touch, on a daily basis he takes the llamas apple branches and vines, both with their fruit still attached. Everything in moderation.
Now back to the woods; when we moved here at the end of June, we noticed that the stream that feeds our lake had dried up and the lake itself was shrinking from its former glory. We can only guess at its former glory from where the edges look like they should be and where a little fishing boat has been tied up. We felt it was such a shame as it is incredibly beautiful, and Nigel is a keen fisherman, who dreamed of fishing the lake one day.
Onward one week; Nigel returned from a walk, whilst I melted in the July heatwave, he was excited that the stream was once again flowing, not a dribble but actually roaring along. We set about 2 days hard graft, clearing its path to the lake. It had lost its way on the last stretch, the area had become marshy as the stream struggled to weave its path through the reeds, grasses and mint, I think it is mint, it looks like mint and smells glorious.
Day 3; we walked to the lake to see if its level had risen and take satisfaction in our graft. The stream once more was dry.
An explanation for this, we have none. It hadn’t rained in the days before it came back to life. We thought maybe a dam had cleared itself but that doesn’t explain it stopping again. It has been suggested maybe a farmer pumps from the stream further up and it takes a while to get going again.
The good news is that we discovered this morning that the stream is once again roaring along and the lake looks slightly higher, how long before it runs dry again…. This is the mystery of our stream.
