Shear joy!

At its height, HeartSong Farm had 33 llamas, old and young, in its pastures. One of my greatest pleasures was to sit in my back porch swing with a glass of something cool to drink, and spend time just watching and listening to the female herd and their crias grazing, chewing their cuds, sunbathing, rolling in their dust bowls, and interacting within the hierarchy of their llama society. The crunching sounds of grass being cropped, the ear flicks and tail swishes at the interference of pesky insects, the clouds of red dust, the stand-offs and neck arches, and, yes, an occasional spit!   I whiled away many a fine hour in such a fashion.  It was a form of meditation for me, and it helped greatly in my need to relieve much of the stress of my daily living at the time.

That was in the back pasture.  Out front, in their very own individual pens, were the male llamas who needed to be separated not only from the females, but from each other.  A fight between two male llamas is not a pretty sight, not to mention they could and would kill each other if they got a chance....over breeding rights! Males! These guys usually weigh in at 400 to 450 pounds each, and are generally so sweet and amenable, but when those hormones start coming into play, their strength and determination can seemingly double their weight instantaneously.  You need to be very careful when separating them.  Believe me, I speak from experience!

LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY HERD SIRES:

GL Ramsey

Catfish

HSF High Noon Sir Prize

Smokin' Jaguar

Ramsey and Smokin' have passed on and Catfish went to live on a farm nearby several years ago.  Smokin' and Prize have been my main studs through the years, and Jagger is Smokin's last cria and the only male he put his spots on.

I am now letting the remaining five llamas "age out" here in peaceful pastures. Sir Prize is the oldest at sixteen, then Texanna (the only female left) at fifteen, and the geldings: Armando (14) and Moonshadow (13).  The youngest is Jagger (aka HSF Jaguar Moon) who, at age two, should be around for a long time. Llamas can live to be 20 to 25 just like a horse, although none of mine have made it past 19.  Sir Prize was my first cria, and Jagger is my last.  (sigh!) 

The two geldings escaped into the back pasture with Texanna about a month ago by finding a weakness in the fence that separated them.  They could care less about her.  They saw how green and abundant the grass and weeds were in the pasture on her side of the fence!  However, this did cause some concern on the part of Sir Prize as he does not understand the difference in the meanings of the words stud and gelding.  As far as he is concerned, they are MALES!  Therefore, his fences have been reinforced and are checked periodically.

Just a few weeks ago, I moved Jagger out to the front pasture that his papa, Smokin' Jaguar, used to occupy, right across from Sir Prize.  There is a 10 foot passageway separating the two so that there are no "close encounters of the fighting kind."  There is a lot of glaring and pacing going on, however, on Sir Prize's part.  I don't think Jagger understands, really!  

After all these many years, I just can't imagine life in the foreseeable future without being able to see at least one llama in my pastures. Once Jagger becomes the Last of the HeartSong Farm Llamas, I will get a few goats to keep him company and to help him keep the weeds and brush down.  And that should be fairly entertaining, too!

I got my shears out this past week and cleaned and sharpened them up, then headed to the barn with them and both pairs of toe nail trimmers, a red llama halter, and a bucket of llama treats.  I hadn't been out to the barn since last fall and, oh my, it was filthy.  Winter winds and rains had worked havoc in there, tossing all sorts of stuff here and there.  After picking up a bunch of trash and putting some things back on their shelf, I set my shears and trimmers down, and set off with the halter and bucket of treats toward Jagger's pasture.  He was first on my list for a haircut, but he didn't know it yet!

My tools:  Nail trimmers (2) on left, and my Fiskars shears on right.

I bought some electric shears years ago when I had 28 to shear one 

spring, but I didn't really care for them even though they were faster.

I prefer these hand shears because they produce fewer second cuts.

They are also cheaper! When they get dull, I just go to Hobby Lobby 

and get a new pair.

Jagger, pre-haircut, ignoring me and the halter.

Llamas can be rather contentious about getting a haircut.  First of all, they are suspicious about anytime they see you approaching with a halter!  Then, when they see you have a bucket of treats with the halter, they know you are up to something, yet they are conflicted.... there will be treats! .....  but there is a halter.... how to act, what to do?!  Stay just out of reach, but close to the bucket.... try to grab a mouthful, then step back out of reach again.....see how long you can keep this up before you have to give in to the halter....maybe she will give up.... and leave the bucket anyway ..... just this once!

Once they are caught and have a halter on, they are the most docile of creatures (usually!) that you can imagine. This is because they are innately curious and now they are curious about what kind of adventure is ahead with the halter on their heads.  

HERE IS THEIR THOUGHT PATTERN:

Maybe a date with one of the females (Yes!) or maybe a walk near the rose bushes by the farmhouse..... a mouthful or two of the red or white roses would be quite nice! And there are some blackberry vines over by the driveway... oh, yummy!  But wait, didn't I notice one of my kind with a haircut the other day?!  Oh, no! Is that what this is all about?!  I mean.... it IS a lot cooler with a haircut, but what if it doesn't turn out right? What if the others don't approve of my new look?!  What if they refuse to be seen with me?!!  What if it ends up longer on one side, or is cut too close on the legs?  And, heaven forbid, what if she shaves my neck again....all the way up to my jaw....like a few years ago when it was so hot and humid already before summer had really begun?  We all looked like creatures from outer space!  No! No! NO!  I am afraid!  Haircut, NO!!!!  Time to dig in with back legs and pretend to be a donkey....put ears back against my head and look like spit is about to happen! Wait, no, doesn't work with her....she is calm and patient and encourages me to take just one step towards her and waits until I do....and spit doesn't bother her for some reason....DANG!  Looks like I am in for a haircut after all....  When will I ever learn?  Well, it WILL be a lot cooler, and so what if they don't like my haircut...it'll grow out soon.  Okay, let's get this over with, and no tickling my tummy and those shears better be nice and sharp!!!!

Jagger in the chute inside the barn.  He will also get his toenails trimmed.

It all starts with a cut through the fiber down the back line!

One side sheared.  Look at the spots and the fiber!  This is a barrel cut.

Looking good and feeling cooler.  Still not happy!

Dang! This new hairstyle itches!!!! 

The fiber treasure bag!  I use a pop-up laundry hamper
to collect what is shorn off.

You can just see how wonderfully soft his fiber is!

This is Jagger's  fleece on my breakfast table.  Ahh, luxury!

Well, two more llamas still to shear, but Jagger and Prize are a lot cooler these days, even if they did have to be patient with me as I slowly worked my magic shears.  I tickled no tummies and was very careful with the toenail clippers.  It rained all week here in East Texas, so I couldn't get around to shearing Moonshadow and Armando. The good thing is the temperatures have not been too bad, either, and the wet ground will make toenail trimming much easier because their nails will be nice and soft.  It will be like trimming through butter!

I have yet to turn on the air conditioner, so we are trying to stay cool and out of the rain here on HeartSong Farm!