We have him shorn so he doesn't overheat, and that's about the best I can say for it. I think I am forgiven, however. For all of those asking, YES, llamas spit. Lorenzo was frustrated, and spat at me after 40 some minutes. Think of an extremely obnoxious 2 year old with good aim and a mouth full of half chewed peas. Not dangerous, just gross.
Anyway, I tried to take a photo of him the next day, and he must have decided I was giving out treats...
Let me tell you, this looks reeeeally close in the viewfinder!
But I finally was able to move far enough away from him to get a 'decent' photo. So, here is Lorenzo, sans fluff. He looks TINY without the long locks he had! (And unfortunately, sorta gangly, too.)
But, it went as well as I guess I could hope for, except I found out, I need to make some adjustments, as I can't hold a llama leg up on my knee (No kneecap, so I couldn't support the leg, without my leg buckling). I will have to make a device I saw a farrier use, a jack with a v shaped top to hold the leg while I am trimming. Husband, bless him, got that duty. He didn't mind that a bit.
Shearing, not so much. I didn't mind shearing, except that Lorenzo's hair was so thick, I had a hard time getting a good start. (His butt has several different shear directions, because of this. Not classy, at all...)
In other news...
Last Wednesday, I did my usual shift at the substation. I sat down, turned up the scanner, and was just about to blog and play on the computer get to work, when I heard one of the deputies give an address.
OF MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR!!!
I listened, and, of course, Murphy's Law went into effect, meaning that they were busy, and stopped talking. All I had caught was "runner". I called husband, who, also true to Murphy's Law, didn't answer his phone. I told him something was happening at the neighbor's, please please please, don't go outside.
And I waited. No more on the incident. Stew. Fret. Worry.
More stewing.
What is going ON??!?!?!!
Sgt. came in for lunch. I thought about asking him, but knew he generally worked in a different area. Then another deputy came in, and I tried to be real casual, hey, did you happen to be working at XXX address?
He said yeah, why?
I pounced. That's my neighbor, and I didn't hear what happened, just that there was a runner?
He got a slight smile, indicative that some bad guy pulled an extraordinary dumb. Yeah, you know the kids clearing brush at your neighbor's house are Juvenile Delinquents, right?
Yes...
Well, one bright boy, (Sgt. comes in, grinning), decides to make a break for it. He runs from our road, to the next road behind our place. Now, this isn't all that far, as the crow flies, but there is a lot of brush.
Blackberry vines, to be exact. I guess the deputy just followed the broken branches, and blood trail from the kid going in a nearly straight line to the next road.
Sgt. then picks up the story with a nearly feral grin...
Yeah, the kid was standing at the edge of the road, and trying to get one of his buddies to come pick him up. I decided to give him a ride, after all, he did deserve it!
I cracked up, the Sgt. looked like he was just about to rub his hands together in glee.
So, the neighbor is fine? (She is elderly.)
Oh, yeah, I don't think the kid even slowed down past her house.
(Thank G*d...)
So, I went home, and Husband asked me about the phone call. I told him, and he said, yeah, I got your phone call, and walked around the house to see if there was someone outside, since you didn't leave a lot of detail in your message.
Not a lot of detail. "Please, please, please, do not go outside."
He walked around the house to check if there was someone outside.
Excuse me, my mental gears have stripped... AIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH!!!
But, all's well that end's well... But I know that one kid isn't going to be on work crew anymore!
7 comments:
he looks like I FEEL!
Lorenzo looks rather intimidating in that first shot! Ack!
Of course your husband went outside..that's what they do. They hear key words (go outside) and act on those words. It's enough to give us ulcers.
Lorenzo looks, uh, cool. And the nice thing about less than professional clip jobs is that they grow out, often rather quickly. I got a good grin about your "runner" story. Not the brightest bulb in the lot, eh?
I am in awe when I watch videos of people shearing sheep in what looks like minutes. I've never seen a llama shorn, though.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lorenzo's picture... the close up one! Did you notice the teasel in the background, just over his left ear? He looks like some sort of alien with funny antennae!
Poor kid (maybe read that as dumb kid) ... how humiliating!
the full shot of lorenzo made me chuckle. what a diva pose!
Love the way the officer described it -- decided to give the kid a ride! Glad neighbor was okay.
Also, don't you know as soon as you tell a boy, big or little, not to do something, that's the very thing he's going to do? If you had instead called, begged him to arm himself with a baseball bat or garden hoe or something, and go scout around outside, he would have objected that the deputies could handle it and he was busy.;)
Let's hope that as you get more practice shearing, you should be able to get done faster than Lorenzo's apparent 40 minute patience window.
Never a dull moment, eh? Bahaha! about the phone call! It is such a MAN THING to go outside and check things out in a potentially dangerous situation. My grandpa still went outside when he heard a noise late at night--into his 80s!
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