The llamas are thoroughly enjoying Vermont. Getting used to the cows has been their biggest challenge so far...they made wonderful hawk-like noises the first few times they came across one!

May and Bell:

Bella:

Bella, next to the calf hutch:

At Home in Vermont

White Mountain Llamas participated in a Farm to School Day today at the Poultney Elementary School. Ethan Allen and Dust Bunny, two of our angoras went to the school and we brought llama wool, two sets of carders, and home-made drop spindles to show the students how to spin! It was a very successful day with each class spending 15 minutes going to whatever station they chose. Many new children know how to spin today as a result! There were farm animals, food comparisons and tasting, butter making, and much more!

The llamas are residing with Erika near Green Mountain College currently and are having lots of fun in their newest residence hanging out with cows! The llamas are very vocal around the cows and are a riot to watch interacting with these strange new creatures!

As a strong advocate of food security and learning White Mountain Llamas c0-owner, Erika, has been learning and teaching about local, historical food preservation at Green Mountain College. So far workshops that have been done are apple sauce and sauerkraut, milk preservation, meat processing, and animal husbandry.

"Food is the vessel of Life.
Because Life is another name for God,
Food could be called "the vessel of God.
If you truly respect and revere the Spirit
Then shouldn’t the first thing you do
Be to build a shrine within your own body?"

Eiwan IshidaGenmai, (Tokyo: Japan Pub. 1989)
www.southrivermiso.com

Hand made soap and herbal products

Hana and I are beginning a new side business called Pro-Pos-In-Tea, which is an abbreviation for pro-positive intentions. It involves making soaps and herbal products like lotions. If you would like to know more about it please visit our other website!

Thank you for visiting our site and have a wonderful day!

Farmer's Market, Littleton, NH

Starting on June 17th White Mountain Llamas will have their first stand at the farmer's market in Littleton, New Hampshire (downtown by Rockie's Video). We will be bringing our wool products!

Our angora rabbits, Rosie and Brooke

We hope to bring llamas and angoras to the stand every Sunday! We will also be hosting a myriad of classes. A trait that White Mountain Llamas prides ourselves on is the diversity of events we can plan and give information about. An example of a few classes we can offer are:

From the Farm:
Spinning and Wool Processing
Origami for Health and Wellbeing
Knitting, Crocheting, or Weaving
Dry/Needle Felting
Wet Felting
Jewelry making
Llama or Rabbit Husbandry
"Llama Whispering" (can be applied to other animals)

Dowsing Theory Classes:
Agriculture Dowsing
Husbandry/Pet Dowsing
Dowsing Chakras
Dowsing Herbs
Dowsing Earth Leylines/Crystals

If you are interested stop by the Littleton Farmer's Market or email us at whitemountainllamas@hotmail.com

History of White Mountain Llamas

White Mountain Llamas used to be situated in Jefferson, New Hampshire right in the heart of the White Mountains. Nestled in the valley with a view of Mount Washington and the Cog Railway were the original White Mountain Llamas. Our two llamas, May and Bella grew up there. This wonderful farm was owned by Joanna Fyon, our friend and teacher.

In 1998 Joanna got breast cancer and needed to find a home for her twenty or more llamas. It was difficult for her to find so many homes so our parents let Hana and I invite two of her yearling llamas, Silace and Fabyan into our backyard for the winter. That was our introduction to llamas. Hana and I took care of them as diligently as a 5 and an 11 year old could. Joanna would come often to help us learn how to work with them and get them ready for a happy life full of people and good interactions.

Joanna recovered from cancer that winter and all her llamas came home. That was the first year that Hana and I got to show llamas. Joanna took us to Fryeburg Fair and we won versatility championships with Fabyan and Lizzy Bourne for a few years.

We went to Fryeburg Fair every year for the show and helped Joanna around the farm. In 2001 Joanna's cancer returned and she gave us three more yearlings, May, Jazzy Lamb, and Marcel Marceau. We had another spectacular winter with the boys and May. We took them out into the community and in the fall we took them to the Fryeburg Fair and had a great time. We continued to help Joanna with the farm as she was losing physical strength.

In the summer of 2002 Joanna and I took a trip to New York to bring Jazzy Lamb and Marcel to a new home. We stayed over at Green Mountain Llamas for a visit on our way. At Jazzy and Marcel's new home they had their own "llamasairy" and their own flock of guinea fowl and peafowl! It was one of the most fun road trips I've ever been on. We slept out in the pasture with them the last day we were there.

In 2003 May came back to us and Isabella Stone (Lizzy Bourne and Fabyan's first born) came as well. Joanna gave them to us as our very own first llamas. It was the first fall we showed our own llamas.

In January 2004, Joanna passed away. She was always there for us and a few days before she left she gave Hana and I beautiful llama trail packs and a driving harness, among other things. She also let us carry on the White Mountain Llamas farm name. Along with carrying Joanna's legacy of amazing devotion to her animals and always giving optimal care, we have a few White Mountain Llama traditions as well.

The Importance of Names
Joanna always named her animals after historical figures of the White Mountains. We are starting out with Isabella Stone and Queen of the May. May's name is after the holiday of Beltane on the first of May. Its a celebration of spring and the Queen of the May is the beauty of the town who is recognized on that day. Bella is named after a historical figure who lived in the White Mountains in the late 1800's.

Importance of Community
Joanna always served her community and her friends first. As owners of White Mountain Llamas, Hana and I are always looking for ways we are needed. We take our llamas to local schools and events giving presentations on agriculture and animal care. We also love to promote these amazing creatures!

I am also now an officer of the Greater Appalachian Llama and Alpaca Association so that I may help spread the word and help any new camelid owners.

Hana and I have been making home visits to shear llamas, trim toenails, and help owner and llamas with general training for the past three years now, and we continue to make a business out of it.

Showing
Since the first show in 1998 Hana and I have not missed a llama show in Fryeburg. While we are there we give presentations on the uses of llamas and we bring spinning wheels and felting to show what you can do with their wool. For 8 years in a row Hana or I won the Versatility Championship with one of our girls and Hana and I have both received the Joanna Fyon Youth Memorial Award showing stewardship of our animals. We have lots of fun promoting llamas and being with our girls.

Here is a picture of Joanna's prized show llama Fabyan on top of his "mountain." He often stood on his mountain to be on the look out for anything that might come along to threaten his herd. He is an amazing llama and now resides with Joanna's dear friend Lindsay at Northern Vermont Llama Company. After Joanna left we became wonderful friends with Lindsay and Deb and they have helped Hana and I keep growing with our new farm.

I can give credit to only a handful of people who have altered my life in the same capacity as Joanna has. All of our memories were of loving, learning, and happiness. From buggy rides with Fabyan through the back roads of Jefferson to spring time when all the crias were born, to showing and shot time the memories are extensive. Joanna has given me a gift that I can pass on forever in life and in farming and I will always remember her for that and thank her.

WML - Up to Date

These days May and Bell are hanging out at the Green Mountain College's Cerridwen Farm. Cerridwen is the Welsh Harvest Goddess of Fertility. Their neighbors are chickens, Black Welsh Mountain Sheep, two Oxen and a few ducks. I have them here at school with me along with my angora rabbits. May and Bell are here making campus and the farm a little more diverse. We are doing projects with wool and community. Last year we went to the Poultney High School for a home-ec class and to the Poultney Elementary School for an interactive assembly with grades K through 4.

I have been doing spinning workshops and plan on doing felting workshops in the future.

Poultney High School spinning demo

This isn't the best picture of me but it shows how versatile these animals are. May and Bell had run of the room (after removing the potted plants:) and the teenagers could walk up to the llamas and brush them and feed them carrots with no problems.

This is Hana and I at the Welsh Harvest Festival that our College Farm has every year in October. There was traditional food, apple cider making, dancing, music, and merriment.

Here is Hana with one of our angora rabbits - Rosie. This is also at the Welsh Harvest Festival.

May and Bell the campus llamas (I'm in the blue hoodie)

Here is my llama May Here are May and Bell outside our Ackley Theater

More of May and Bell on campus

This is May and Bell in front of Griswold Library

These last two pictures were taken by my wonderful friend, Toby, who also works at the Cerridwen Farm like I do. These are pictures of May and Bell this winter on the campus farm.

WML - Business

Hana and Erika


Hana and I just got our first business card made and we are very excited. We have been offering our services as a traveling llama beauty shop as well as traveling llama school.

We have been driving all over New Hampshire to help people learn how to work with their animals. Llamas need to be shorn once a year because they suffer easily from heat stress and they also need their toe nails clipped, much like any other animal. We have been working with animals with T-Touch with our animals for a long time. We strive to work with our animals and teach others to do the same.

Hana and I are a great resource as a first llama owner. Please feel free to contact us at our email address: whitemountainllamas@hotmail.com

Farm Goals
Hana and I have many goals in our every day lives and that includes the farm! We are always striving to take our environment and surroundings into account with our farm. We strive to feed our animals organic or whole foods and we are always trying to make our world a greener place. We use rotational grazing for pasture management and we buy local hay for the winter. May and Bella are very proud of their ecological footprint as a result!

We are proud to support propeace communication at all times. I made up a new word the other day that I really liked the looks of: proposinty. It is a combination of the three words pro-positive intention. We have the intent there that is positive and always supportive of others to be positive. With this kind of attitude anything you want accomplish is possible.

Outlet for Knowledge
Hana and I both have a wide knowledge of green things. We garden and prepare food from out land and the woods and meadows and marshes. We also know beginning herb lore. I am learning about organic farming and sustainable grazing and grass-based feed. We love to share, so please email us with any questions.

Wool For Sale - Updates

Currently I have two fleeces for sale. I have a white fleece as well as a baby black/gray fleece. They are raw and I would be willing to wash and card by hand for extra money. Please email me if you are interested in purchasing some llama wool from White Mountain Llamas.

Upcoming:
May and Bella will be shorn this spring so coming up will be a cinnamon brown fleece as well as a beautiful light gray fleece.

This summer Hana and I will have a stand with Mom at the Farmer's Market in Littleton, NH. We will be selling anything from felted, spun, knitted, and raw fleeces. Below is a bag that I felted, it is reversable, brown on one side and gray on the other. I like to say May on one side and Bella on the other!

If you are interested we will be doing more felting in the summer time.

Llama Uses

Llamas are a very versatile creature, here are some of the things they can help you with in ever day life:

Guard Llama
Llamas have a natural guarding instinct. A llama is a fight animal versus a horse, which is a flight animal by nature. A llama will stand ground and chase a strange canine or feline that is trying to attack their herd. The great thing about a llama is they will accept their herd to be sheep, cows, chickens, even horses. A llama makes an impressive alarm call when it sees something out of the ordinary. They will know a friendly canine (AKA a pet dog) if they are introduced properly. My friend, Marla, uses llamas to guard her fainting goats. You can visit her website here.

Packing Llama
Llamas are great pack animals. They can carry up to 100 pounds if conditioned and have a correct llama pack on. A llama's back is structured differently from a traditional riding animal, therefor they need a pack that takes pressure off of their spine and are not usually ridden for that reason. They will follow dutifully in a pack string or just along a trial and they are a great companion for the outdoors.

Therapy Llama
A llama is a great therapy animal because they are a versatile animal that will go into nursing homes and schools. A llama will defecate in certain places in the pen, and therefore if they do not see other llama's feces they will usually not use hallways as a bathroom. I've been bringing my llamas inside since they were six months old and we've never had an accident!

Driving Llamas?
That's right! Llamas can be taught to drive - pull a cart that is. They don't wear a bit like a horse, but respond to voice and nose pressure. There are many great competitions you can enter with a llama and a cart and there is nothing more rewarding then traveling the country side back roads with your llama or being pulled on cross country skis across fields after a good snow!

Show Llamas
Like any animal llamas are great fun in the show ring. They can do obstacle courses, and there are also many competitions involving their fiber and conformation.

Llama Wool
Llama wool is a fine fiber that is also warm at the same time. It contains little or no lanolin so it is not itchy. People who are allergic to wool can be allergic to the lanolin, and llamas have none - so you can wear llama wool! Llama wool is a pleasure to spin and you can felt it as well. Weavers, knitters, and crocheters will always have fun with a wide array of llama colors!

Family Pet
A llama that is treated correctly makes a great pet for the family. A llama always needs a buddy (usually another llama, but can be other large animal) so you need to buy in pairs! Having a llama for home spinning, or for walks is always a pleasure. They are an economically feasible large animal to own because they do not need as much food as a larger animal like a horse. My two full grown llamas eat about 120 bales per winter as apposed to 300 per one horse.

Llamas and Spitting?

Do Llamas Spit?
Llamas and most members of the camelid family (alpacas, camels) have the ability to chew their cud. Chewing their cud means they chew their food once, then regurgitate it to chew it again at another time to get the most nutrients out of their food. With this ability they can also spit the half eaten food as projectile with quite good aim at about up to eight feet.

Now - that does not make a llama sound like a very likable friend. However it works both ways - if you are good friend to a llama then they will not be a bad friend back.

Llamas use the action of spitting as a hierarchical mechanism, mostly among llamas. It is like a horse kicking or a dog growling. Dogs growl more at other dogs than at people. Well, a llama that is used to people will realize that a person is not who they should spit at. Llamas will spit over food, or over mates or friends. Llamas will also spit to protect the herd, or a cria (baby llama).

Do my llamas spit at me?
My llama May is a Smart Alic and when she doesn't like me doing a certain act near her, she will spit right over the top of my head as a warning. Its a lot of fun being near such humorous creatures because they will play with you, but they also respect you. May has never spit directly at me before and Bella has never spit at me period. They are a dynamic due though and its funny to watch them spit at each other in their food fights.

A llama will spit if:
It feels threatened
It is cornered
Its not used to your presence
There are extraneous circumstances

Information

For more information you should try these ideas:

1. Llama organizations! Two I am on are GALA (Greater Appalachian Llama and Alpaca Association) and NHLA (New Hampshire Llama Association). Its a wonderful place for networking and getting information. GALA also has a wealthy library of books and movies on topics from packing to diseases that you can borrow if you are a member.

2. Books! My llama bible is Storey's Guide to Raising Llamas. It has llamas a-z in it.

3. Internet! You can find great info on the Internet, but as with all sites, some are less helpful than others. I find the best sites to be those of Llama farms. A few I would recommend would be:

General Information

Guard Llamas

Leisure Acres Llamas

Philo Mountain Llamas

Northern Vermont Llama Company

Home at Green Mountain College

I think it is wonderful to point out the amazing community here at Green Mountain College where our llamas live with me during the school year. There are amazing people that help at the farm and the animals are a fun community as well. This is where May and Bell stay with me during the school year and these are their friends and neighbors (My good friend Toby took these amazing pictures, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do):

Its fun to see the different phases places go through. Whether its a sunny afternoon in late August or a foggy morning in November, the farm is always a fun place to be.

Here are the Black Welsh Mountain Sheep. We have a strong Welsh heritage here in Poultney, Vermont and lots of slate!




Our little flock of ducks will always brighten up your day!

The laying flock is let out onto fresh pasture every morning.
Bill and Lou are visited frequently by members of the community. The following pictures are from our Welsh Harvest Festival.
Community always ends with fun and dancing!

Lambing here at College

Its lambing season here at GMC. What a fun time of year!