The Llamaleers

So many things to talk about...I guess I'll start with the Llamas.  Bolt's foot is healing, he has been happy to have the dry stall we made, but hates being apart from his buddy Cody.

Although I have no idea why you would want to hang out with a guy who constantly spits in your face. 

We've been taking Cody on walks without Bolt, which has been nice, I finally am starting to "get"these animals.  It's like having a cat that doesn't really care about you other than you feed him, but then it's kinda mixed with a dumb dog cluelessness.  Cody bounded around like an idiot anytime I got too close for awhile and I just would try and ignore him, he kinda spooked Sharon because a 350lb animal jumping around can be a little intimidating.  Apparently they can sense when people get nervous and tend to feed off the energy.

When we separate them they do what is called a "hum".  It's kind of a weird grunty whiny sound, like they are worried or constipated or something.  It doesn't sound like a hum that I would think of.

Here is a link to the video of us getting the Llamas! (since I can't get Blogger to post the video)

The Llamaleers

The Moberly clan came up for an early Thanksgiving.  It was great to see everyone!  Sharon's brother, Dean and I went for a little Thanksgiving Hunt.  I had him walk on one side of the pond while I snuck up the other.  We could see the ducks in the pond and got excited, Dean got closer and closer and then CRRRACCK he fell thru the ice...not in the pond mind you but in the mud pit right next to it!

At the gravel pit, they wash the gravel and then pump the glacial flour (mud) up to the settling ponds and then the silt settles out and the wash water feeds the pond.  Well, I forgot to tell Dean what to look for, because it looks like solid ground unless you know the tell-tale signs from growing up, and playing in them every summer for 20 years.  So Dean and I didn't get any ducks, I laughed for about 20 minutes, then stood up and laughed some more while I pulled him out, and then laughed some more on the walk back, then while he washed in the creek, and at dinner.

At least the first Thanksgiving in Sequim we made some good stories and had some laughs!

Don't you hate it when your car breaks down...

It's kinda like that with owning Llamas and, well... I guess animals in general...The vet bills alone this week were like the time when the car breaks down, right when you thought things were shapin' up...

Bolt kicked a hole in the floor of the van during transport from Salem, it happened to be right behind the rear right wheel well.  Well, That so happens to be the same place that, directly below, is the exhaust pipe.  It seems as though he kicked thru and put his foot on a hot tail pipe from a long drive.
We figured this out after a week of detective work; and learning not only how to deal with Llamas, but how to deal with an injured one and how the hell it got injured.  The vet agreed that our theory seemed to be consistent with the injury and the healing.  It took us awhile to figure out why he hadn't bled at first, then we realized he probably sloughed off the blistered skin which is why he had a bloody foot long after he was limping.

This happened right as we turned off the highway into Sequim.  Bolt kicked in the hole and got pissed, which pissed off Cody, at which time they started spitting at each other, which also happened to be when Sharon was filming and laughing because I was yelling at them to knock it off...Ahh, the thrills of livestock...

On the plus side, I haven't spent a dime on materials for building the chicken coop, the Llama corral, shelter or stall.  I have been saving up all the random gate hardware and nuts, bolts screws and any kind of fastener that one tends to acquire when you build stuff.

My dad and stepmom were in town this weekend!  It was great to have the help, Dad helped me get the roof on the shelter, chopped wood, pulled nails out of old barn and deck wood, and helped build a stall for the Llamas inside of the big barn.  Whew!  Since the Vet has been by, we now know Bolt needs to stay in and chill for at least 7 days, so the stall was priority.  It was a huge help to have extra hands that didn't have a squirmy, wiggly 1 year old preoccupying them.

Sharon and I cobbled together a chicken coop out of pallets, Pallets are amazing things, I have so far used them for stalls, chicken coop, the barrier between the Llamas and us on the ride up, A hay feeder, different gates, they have really been useful, not the prettiest things but utilitarian and free.

It feels good to be back at it.  My back is still super tender, but I can finally get working again.  I just have to choose my chores carefully and spread out the physically hard stuff over a longer period.  On one hand that kinda sucks because its getting colder every day, but on the other hand, what the hell else am I gonna do with my time.  Everything seems to get done one way or the other.

I think I'll go shoot some time-lapses tomorrow and give my back a sleepy afternoon on some hill somewhere.  Hopefully I won't get too wet.

Ta Ta

Pugs are NOT farm dogs...

My suggestion to those who move to the country with pugs, is to not bring them.

Pugs are dumb.

Mine specifically are really dumb.  They resist leashes to the point that they will pull against you into the road, Barking bravely at gravel loaders is sure to make a pug pancake and not the kind Sterling likes me to make, and chasing and yiping at the bald eagle circling the fields will certainly bring a panicked scolding from mommy.

Yesterday was no exception to their stellar intelligence.

Pugs are famous for snarfling.

snarfle; To put your ridiculous face to the ground sniffing and eating everything that: smells good, stinks, makes you throw-up, poop or is chewy.

Yesterday, Izzy and Precious' snarfling got them a night at the B&D spa for dogs!

At the B&D(Barf and Diarrhea)the specialty menu consists of activated charcoal, and spa treatments include things like shoving tubes down your throat and cold things in your a$$.  You get to go home with really expensive food and a super thrilled mommy and daddy, a night for 2 at the B&D is a mere $1499 plus tax.

It turns out that yesterdays Mushroom hunting was a success for all of us.  I found some beautiful Shaggy Manes and Shaggy Parasols,

also some of these beauties that I wasn't sure of, so I didn't pick,

Preshy and Izzy just loved eating whatever LBM's they could find.  Little brown mushrooms are all very similar looking and you could have anything from a night of deliciousness with the fairy ring mushrooms, or a trippin' night with some potent psilocybe, or finish it up in the grave with Deadly Galerina.  It should be noted that most of the random LBM's out there's bad side effects are, getting the trots and vomiting, which is what Izzy and Preshy got to enjoy all night at the B&D.

We are happy they are home even though they are sad little pigs who have curled up next to the heater in the mudroom because we don't need to step in any more surprises this weekend.

Another week at the farm...