Lazy Days of Summer

People often ask if our llamas are bothered by the winter cold since they are South American animals. In reality they are used to lower temperatures at high altitude and they seem happier in snow than they are in the middle of July heat. We try to shear them before the summer sun becomes unbearable and, during those two weeks or so of mid-summer when it is unpleasant for all creatures without air-conditioning, I try to hose them down at least once a day. 

Their most common defense against becoming over-heated is to do nothing. They are a lot like humans in that way. What I think of as the meditation pose for llamas is called a "kush". It is the pose in which you are most likely to find a relaxing llama whether it is resting on the trail, sleeping at night time or just trying to avoid heat producing activity at mid-day. The photo above shows the grand dame of our herd, Jake's Girl - Jake for short - in a classic kush. Jake is 27 years old and has just begun to show her age in the last six months or so. She has always been a class act and it hurts me to see her struggling to work out the stiffness every time she stands or jumping  in fright because she has apparently lost her hearing. 

The younger llamas are more likely to lie on their side in the heat of day with their belly and legs exposed. The llama above is Cashmere; one of Jake's great-granddaughters, in a casual moment. You would never see Jake in such an undignified pose!

And then it seems we always have one llama in the herd who is totally uncouth! Here is Rusty in his bare-all, I-don't-give-a-damn-what-the-world-thinks-of-me pose. If he was human he would be the guy sunbathing naked in his back yard!