Grandkids at the farm

Halter training alpacas and meeting "Mr. Miller," the llama; hauling hay bales, feeding grain.

These are just a few of the things that our younger grandkids get to do when they come to the farm. Drew spent a few days with us and he was taking an honest bath every night -- washing off the barn dust and "hay head" that working in the barn causes.

In the first photo, Brianna (age 3) is walking with Yukon Quest, a wonderful Canadian registered alpaca. You can see the delight on her face as she proudly shows off her "leading skills" to her mom.

Andrew (also age 3) really bonded with Mr. Miller, a new llama boy at our farm. He even said (as he left the barn) "I LOVE Mr. Miller." Mr. Miller is a cool gelded male who is trained as a carting llama. Plus Grammy is working on her "hat making" skills. That hat, modelled by Drew, is from our alpaca girl, Magnolia. It's incredibly soft and VERY warm.

It's such a joy to share these wonderful animals with our grandkids. Hopefully we're making some pretty cool memories for them.

New folks learn the ropes

The Greens came to the farm to look over the herd.

They recently purchased their "little piece of heaven" and the farm came with a gelded llama. They are looking to buy a buddy for their llama.

They came to the farm with no experience in handling llamas or alpacas.

When they left the farm, they had caught and haltered over a half dozen llamas and alpacas.

I thoroughly enjoy helping new owners as they become confident handlers of llamas and alpacas.

Good luck to the Greens in their new adventure of camelid ownership.

Punxsutawney llama

What a surprise. No one breeds a female llama in February on purpose.
I acquired three females last year from MO and much to my surprise, our Autumn delivered a lovely little female cria on Monday. We've named her Punxsutawney and she promises to be a real beauty. She's already a proud-standing girl with a gentle personality.

She's strong and healthy and such a wonderful addition to our herd. I don't have very many llama babies. Some years there have been none. This year we have Night Owl, Clementine and now Punxsutawney. Ironically -- none of the mamas were bred on my farm.
Little Punxsutawney will grow up in our herd and maybe even showcase her talents at this year's IL State Fair.
Welcome, little Punxsutawney, welcome.