Lazarus

Enter, Little Bit of Heaven Llamas.  Linda and Pat Wunce had a lovely young lady named Joy that seemed to be just what we were looking for.  Proud bearing, beautiful fiber and eyes "to die for".  She also had a stablemate who would lavish attention on you, beg for kisses and simply follow you around talking to you.  We were strong, we didn't buy Murphy (aka Heartbreaker) until the following weekend when we went to spend some "quality time" with Joy.  OK, so we have no willpower. 

There are worse addictions you know. So there we were, 30 days into our obsession, deeply in debt, and never happier.  Rich and I work together during the day keeping training devices in good working order at Fort Eustis, Virginia. Then we commute for 45 minutes to an hour and change into "work" clothes to put up fences, build a barn and generally work ourselves into a very happy, satisfied stupor.  No trouble sleeping lately I must admit. Now it is mid-April.  We decided that we should purchase a guard llama for our fledgling herd.  (Which by the way, none of which are yet home.)  We visited Little Doc's farm.  Karen Baum and her husband Emile have the greatest assortment of animals you would ever hope to meet.  Each and every one is given individual attention on a daily basis and knows without a doubt that it is loved.  We went to Little Docs' to purchase one llama, and came home with three.  I'm telling ya, the're addictive and her animals are so loving and well adjusted that you can't help but fall in love.  In fact, we had a true "Kodak moment" when we watched my 80 year old mother and Tahoe taking a walk down a country lane, talking to each other and falling in love.  She came back from that walk "committed" and purchased Tahoe on the spot.  Six weeks ago, who would have guessed that we would have cleared land, built a barn, fenced anything that held still and increased our family by eight. Our original family (two dogs and a cat) have all adjusted in their own fashion.  Doodle "the fearless" is terrified and Ricky, the timid one seems to have found his place in life.  He will calmly allow the llamas and alpacas to inspect him.  They have determined that at worst, he is not a danger, and at best, he may become their friend.  Ethel, the supreme ruler of the household (she is a cat you know) marched into the pasture to find out what these creatures were.  The closer she got, the less curious she was.  When the llamas started to check her out she exited the pasture immediately.  But, day by day, each one is venturing closer and checking each other out.  Soon, everyone will find a level of comfort and peace will once again reign at The Fuzzy Farm.

When we first conceived the idea of The Fuzzy Farm, we were totally unprepared for how all consuming alpacas and llamas can be.  (This is NOT a complaint.)  Currently, less than six months into this venture, we have 3 alpacas, with a cria due in November, 5 llamas, with 2 more to come home as soon as they are weaned.  There is something so incredibly  magical about these animals that you simply have to experience it to understand.  We live in an area that is zoned for agriculture.  Still, we checked with all the county offices before we purchased the first animal.  All systems were go!  Suddenly, 5 months in, with untold dollars spent and our entire hearts invested, the county proposed an ordinance that would label our beloved herd as "dangerous and exotic".  Well, the "Mama Grizzly Bear" in me took over.  We teamed up with Marilyn Lindsay, of Lindbray Llama Farm in Gloucester, to enlighten the powers that be about llamas.  We took Murphy and his "sidekick" Lazarus to see the county attorney.  We met him on the front steps of the County Courthouse to give him the opportunity to fall in love.  He did!  We had previously taken Murphy and Laz to visit the local convalescent home, after which a herd of first graders became acquainted with the magic of llamas & alpacas.  The animals behaved beautifully and brought smiles everywhere they went.  Fortunately, the entire event was covered by a top Daily Press photographer.  This, coupled with the courthouse steps incident = instant celebrity for our two guys.