Janel's Place

I am certainly in love with my llama. Last night Allen (my landlord,veterinarian) came down to the barn where I was staying with my sleeping bag so I could gaze at my llama, and we discovered that "he" is a female. As"he" was thought to be penned with an uncastrated male, I have marvelous hopes that I could maybe be a llama grandmother as well.

The noises llamas make are absolutely fascinating. After watching her interact with horses and goats for a couple of hours this morning, I have decided that one of my goals in this life is to be just like a llama. She is a bit aloof but never rude, she will let others push her away without much fuss, but if she desires a treat she will shatter their dominance complexes with a simple, fearless unhalting stride towards the treat that completely freaks the other animals out. If she senses danger she will tell everyone but she will not come unglued. She'll simply watch carefully and decide what to do. She is not like the pony who gets his confidence from the behavior of the goats. She is not like the young horses who will switch between groups of friends depending on where the food is. She is not like my horse, who can only approach the llama if surrounded by others. She is simply herself, happy to eat when it's time to eat, guard when it's time to guard, back away when it's not worth the argument, and be lovely and graceful through it all.

I simply love llamas. But now I must go shop and clean and cope with the world.
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(Portions of an email written to my dad)