Pickets

I’ve been working on introducing The Boys to picket lines.  Picket lines are long lines attached to anchors that screw into the ground.  The llama lead is tied to the picket line and they can graze and hang out when out camping or picnicking without me having to worry about them wandering away.




From what I’ve read, you’re supposed to put them on a picket line in an enclosed area the first time, so if they freak out or anything, they won’t go anywhere.  I tried that.  I picketed them in their field, but The Boys just stood there.  For a loooooong time.  Like over a half hour.  I  could see that they really weren’t learning anything, so I bit the bullet and took them out to the (unfenced) back of my property.  Again – what a difference when they aren’t fenced in…  They moved around and experimented with the line.  Each one got tangled up eventually. 



Indiana figured out right away that if he just picks up his foot, the line will drop down and he can continue merrily on what he was doing.  Harry figured it out after a couple of entanglements.  What amazed me, was when he got ‘stuck’ he just stood there very calmly and waited for me to come over and free him.  I was kind of anticipating all kinds of jumping and tugging and pulling and freaking out, but it never happened.  The same thing with Dalai – he still gets tangled once in a while (it’s taking him a bit longer to figure out the whole I-just-need-to-calmly-lift-my-foot thing… he likes to stamp his foot until it’s free), and if he can’t stamp his foot loose, he just stands there nicely until I help him out.  It’s kind of awesome   
 


Pretty much every day for a couple of weeks now, I’ve been picketing The Boys somewhere on the property.  I bring a book and a chair and hang out with them for an hour or two, keeping an eye out in case anyone gets into trouble.  Indiana and Harry pretty much have it down pat now – Dalai is about 85% there.



Today when I was out with The Boys, Indiana was totally focused on the cows that were in the field next door.  He’s seen them before and they didn’t seem to bother him, but for some reason he wouldn’t take his eyes off them today.  For the first time, I heard a llama alarm call.  It was kind of neat – definitely not the ‘scream’ that I imagined from what I’ve read.  The one interesting thing I noticed is that Indiana did not open his mouth to make the calls.  His mouth was closed and his lips just kind of quivered as he was making the noise…  Every day has a surprise!