Sunday, September 16, 2012

Field Trip – Erie County Forest

So a couple weeks after our adventure in Batavia, we took a field trip to the Erie County Forest.  They have horse trails there… and where horse trails are, llamas are allowed to go  smile

What interested me most about this field trip was the fact that the forest contains streams, wooden bridges and covered wooden bridges – all things I want The Boys to not think twice about should they encounter them in the future.

To accomplish these goals, I enlisted the help of my sister and my friend Terry: one set of hands for each llama.  Unfortunately during the actual training times, we were all too busy to take pictures  hmm

 

Unloaded and ready to go!

 

On our way...

 

The trails in the forest were great and it was a very enjoyable afternoon.  The first obstacle we came to was the wooden bridge.  I have to admit that we spent a lot of time there…The only one to make it successfully over the bridge was Harry.  I guess I’m going to be able to bribe him to do anything  laughing  And just as before, once he went over the first time, there was no problem after that.

 

Hey - I made it over!

 

Indiana and Dalai just would not cross.  Both went onto the bridge, but once we hit the point where the bridge was actually going over the streambed (there wasn’t any water flowing underneath), they refused to go any further.  Between the three of us, no pushing, pulling, poking, prodding or bribery would get them to want to cross.  Indiana kept looking over the railing.  Maybe he’s afraid of heights?  I’m thinking that when I go back with him, the strategy to use is to distract him so he just looks straight ahead and not let him look down.  We’ll see how that goes…

 

 

Treats wouldn't get Dalai over the bridge  :(

 

Not far from the bridge was a stream that we could walk across.  The Boys did well here.  Indiana just plodded through, exactly like he was supposed to.  Harry and Dalai tried jumping over at first, but quickly learned that they needed to walk through the water, not over it.  I had wet soggy feet the rest of the afternoon to prove it  rolleyes

 

Heading out to explore

 

We spent a couple hours exploring the trails and stopped for a little something to eat before heading back to the parking lot.  While we were eating, a hiker passed by us – The Boys behaved like perfect gentlemen  smile

 

Lunch time!

 

On the way back, we decided to try the bridge one more time, but the results were the same.  I’m going to have to bite the bullet and come back with Indiana and Dalai one at a time and just work with them until they get it.

 

Say Cheese! 

All in all, it was still an enjoyable afternoon and I do feel like we did accomplish something…  I can’t wait until the day when they will start carrying our stuff.  I have to save up for the saddles, so it may be a little while  hmm

 

Indiana is my sister's favorite

 

The Boys are ready to go home!

Ready to head home!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Washed Up

I would really like to think that my Boys really liked the rain we had today and found it very refreshing instead of thinking that they weren’t smart enough to stay inside where it was dry.

 

Indiana

 

Dalai

 

Harry

Monday, September 3, 2012

Llamas and Chickens

So the one question I get from everyone is “How do the llamas and chickens get along?”

The answer has kind of evolved.  At the beginning, neither couldn’t have cared less about the other.  Over the weeks however, The Ladies have taken a keen interest in The Boys.  Every evening now, when I picket The Boys, The Ladies come over to visit.

 

 

I’d like to think that they really like each other, but in reality it’s probably the fact that with all of us out in the back fields, we kick up a lot of the the grasshoppers and crickets.  We make easy meals for The Ladies   rolleyes

 

 

I’ll bet you never saw a chicken cross a picket line before….  laughing 

 

crossing the picket line...

 

Chicken?  What chicken?

 What chicken?

Field Trip – Batavia

So two days after Dalai learned to get in and out of the trailer, we headed off on our first field trip.  My sister owns a whole bunch of acres of land, so that was our destination:  it was still private land, in case we ran into any trouble, but still someplace new for The Boys to experience…

When we first arrived, I put The Boys out on picket lines until after we ate and got settled in.  They did fine – they were more than happy to graze away while waiting.  Then the fun began…  The kids love The Boys – especially my nephew – he couldn’t wait to go out walking with them!  (He looks a little worried in the picture, but that’s just how he looks when he says ‘Cheese!’ for the camera laughing )

 

Ready to go!

 

So once everyone decided who they wanted to lead, off we went…

 

Off we go!

 

The Boys did really well.  The only thing I noticed was that at the beginning Harry seemed like he was worried that everyone was going to leave him  behind (I had him at the back of the line).  By the end of the day, he figured out that no one was going to leave him and he did great. 

 

 

 

Look!

 

 

When it was time to go, The Boys all loaded onto the trailer easily.  The tricky part came when we got home – it was after dark.  I hadn’t thought about how to unload The Boys at night, but it went well once I got a flashlight.  They all got off the trailer nicely and we made to their field without any incidents.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give the day an 8  smile