Vana had her Smokin Gun baby boy just this past week. I saw the “herd huddle” on the Llamacam, signaling a new baby, and raced home from work to find he was already up, dry and walking. He has Vana’s signature hooked ears and long legs, and is calm and handleable like our Gun babies have been. He is white with a vivid face mask, and we are busy trying to name him. He gained two pounds the first two days and running around the pasture, waiting on the promised playmate due from Tia any day!
We’ve had a busy show season so far, with shows in Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We will finish off with shows in Ohio, and then pack it in for the summer. Our show string has done quite well in very intense competition! Michele finished her ALSA ROM, although we may continue using her as a PR llama until next year before breeding her. Luci Lui, Kailua Cruz, Sand Pebble Cruz, Pipe Dream, Shalom Cruz and Highlander have all placed very well and earned many ALSA points, qualifing for this year’s Regional show. Luci Lui, Sand Pebble Cruz and Pipe Dream also placed in the ribbons at the Millennium Magic Futurity, a venue that had both suri and silky llamas showing in the same classes. With the level of competition at that futurity, we were very proud of our babies!
Mushroom hunting season here in central Indiana has come and gone, and we seem to find fewer and fewer of the tasty morrels with each passing year. We did find one nice patch, enough for appetizers one evening. And no, I cannot disclose the location of this prime spot!
This spring has been a wild one here in central Indiana; the average temperature in March was the same as January! April finally gave us some really nice spring days, but we had a lot of cold weather too. The gardens are late, and a frost in early May killed a lot of bedding plants set out with optimism that the 80+ degree days were here to stay. I waited until this week to put out my flowers, new hostas, vegetable plants and blueberries, and thought I was safe, but…
The temps hit 88 on Wednesday, giving me cause for concern about the two mama’s due with babies. One was particularly hot and enjoyed a nice cool down with the garden hose, and then dinner in front of the fan. By sunset, a cold front was moving through, and with it, storms. We were in town having dinner, where we only had rain and lightening. Upon returning home, our “hill” was clothed in ground fog and the road was covered in tree leaves! By the time we reached our house, the road was covered with over an inch of hail! The alarm had gone off on Fred’s car, but it was not damaged. However, my hostas were ruined! I have not looked at the blueberry plants that I put in just the night before, but I am sure they are cut to pieces.
Here are two photos of my gorgeous Frances Williams hosta; I’ve had a fit finding the right place for this plant, and this year it seemed to be in hosta heaven…until the hail hit and ripped it to shreds! I am just sick about it!
The only saving grace is that my mama llamas are happily outside eating in the cool air, and nothing could have compared to the piles of icy hail that they can enjoy all evening! After checking for damage and downed trees, we left the pasture as all the llamas were walking around taking in the strange “summer snow.” They are truly as curious about this as we are!
After the hail and a brief respite from the rain, the main front moved through and a close ligtening strike damaged our network to YW West. Fred was downstairs near the main networking hubs, and saw a spark fly from one of the boards, so we knew we had damage. Toes, our big Maine Coon Cat, was uncharacteristically spooked by the weather. No amount of comforting him would shrink those large pupils, and it was not until the last storm passed that he calmed down!
