FALL 2015 NEWSLETTER
LIFE ON THE FARM with Buddy and His Pals oo
e m o c l e W
F
all is clean-up time,
and this year we decided to have Buddy and His Pals help. The horses trimmed the grasses in the paddocks, rings and areas near the buildings too difficult to mow. The llamas ate weeds, and the cats kept mice out of the barn LENNY AND VINCE IN THE COLD-WEATHER COATS
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Annie and Thunder returned for a visit. Tasha and Annie went to the dentist.
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C
ooler weather means getting the llamas’ shed and horses’ stalls
ready for winter. Each Fall we get a trailer load of sawdust from the local lumberyard. One wheelbarrow at a time we unload the trailer and pack the sawdust along the sides of each stall.We hang heated water buckets in the horses’ stalls, plug in a heated bowl for the cats, and heat the outside trough.
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We winterize the llamas’ lean-to with hay. Not to waste fresh hay, I rake the hay from the barn floor and the uneaten hay in their paddock area. We make a deep pile on the floor to keep their undersides warm. As hairy as they are, llamas have very little fleece on their belly. To keep the wind out, we put hay against the openings along the bottom of the sides and back.
George made metal gates for two paddocks and the larger ring. After nearly 10 years, the wooden gates were falling apart.
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Life off the farm has been heartwarming. “Buddy and His Pals” was favorably reviewed by Johnstown Magazine in its November issue and Susquehanna Life Magazine listed it as a ‘book to buy’ in its summer issue.
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