The day started pretty quietly giving no indication of what was to come. The 4H kids who were coming for a fecal class arrived at 9.00am although we were expecting them at 10.00am. No problem, lovely kids who came bearing gifts of scones made with home grown herbs, garlic, Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.
We began the day by ultra-sounding some of our pregnant females. Our vet, Melinda, showed the kids where they could find the beating heart of the cria. They were enthralled. Tom Parrish, who helps us on the farm (we couldn’t do it without him and Jessica), walked through the pasture and started waving his arms wildly. There was a baby on the ground.
The previous day, Tom and I had spent the day watching Shiny Boots whose back end was protruding in an alarming manner. We had not expected a good ending to the pregnancy, but here was a huge male cria already trying to get up. Class was interrupted to take care of Mom and baby. Just as we crowded around, a truck and trailer pulled into the drive. Here were our new Llamas, Bella and Tattoo. We had bought them the previous week from Llama guru, Page McGraith, to help protect our crias from predators.
Ed and Teri, took care of Mom and her new son, while Paige and I led the girls out of the trailer. They stayed wide-eyed at their new home, but followed us willing into the pasture which thanks to the recent rains, were green and lush.