Silbury’s Diary 2
Hello Everyone,
I remember a funny story from earlier this year. That so-called ‘herd leader’ Ringsbury was out strolling on a track with Avebury and our people on a llama trek when he saw eight sheep in a field. They trotted towards him and he got scared and called out our distinctive llama alarm call. What a baby! Apparently he mistook the flock of sheep (baa baa) for a pack of dogs (woof woof). I teased him about this later and he was very embarrassed. He claimed the setting sun was in his eyes and that the sheeps’ noise was very dog-like. Back in the field, he was very keen to be close to our people who had soothed him and made him more relaxed. They’re a couple of softies too – if it was up to me, I’d have told him to stop being so stupid and act like a grown-up llama. As I have told you before, I am actually the senior llama here, but Ringsbury is a big boy, and if wants to be called herd leader, then that’s fine with me. When he’s not looking I manage to keep the others in order anyway.
A llama’s alarm call is an interesting noise. People say it sounds most like the call a strangled peacock makes, but how they’d know….
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Look, the question we most often hear people ask is ‘Do they spit’, and I don’t have a problem saying ‘yes’. Llamas do spit, but this is confined to disputes within the herd. I mean, only the other day Long Meg got a bit to close too Doll Tor at the manger, so…Spit.
Yesterday the brothers Stenness and Brodgar had a discussion over personal space in the field and after both had failed to resolve the situation amicably, the conversation went something like this:
Brodgar ‘Spit’,
Stenness ‘Spit’,
Brodgar ‘Spit’,
Stenness ‘Spit’
and that resolved it – five seconds and it’s all over. Splendid!
Now, I think the reason people keep asking this question is because we are camelids. Camelids – Camel, oh right! Now camels REALLY spit.
AND CAMELS ARE UGLY.
Let me show you. On the right is a handsome animal – Me
And below is an ugly animal – Camel
Handsome – Me
Ugly – Camel
Late summer on the farm and the grazing is still good, though we’re eating more hay now. Avebury is munching his way through the sloes on the bushes – nasty bitter things – enough to make any two-leggeds who try them spit. See, not just a four-legged trait!
More llama chat soon