Dere's a 'Paca in da Pool!

Keeping cool in summer is a challenge. I come indoors at day's end with clothing that can literally be wrung out. It must be far worse for the heavily-fleeced alpacas, animals bred and raised high in the cool reaches of the Andes mountains. Sure, we took them for shearing in April, but still they droop in the hot, humid air.

The kiddie pools have been in the alpaca pastures for a couple of weeks now and only Goldie Rose (shown) and Hamilton have taken to lying in them. Van, our other adult female, will step into the pool to be hosed down but won't snuggle into the cool wetness pooling about her feet. (For those who wonder, all that muddy water visible in the pool came directly from Goldie's knees and legs. Her light coat not only shows the dirt better, it seems to hold an inordinate amount of the stuff when compared to the other alpacas.)

Of the males, usually Gregs or Shaun like to lie in the mud when the hose is on, but neither has taken to the pool. So far only Hamilton, the black unintact male, has become eager to clamber into the pool when he sees the hose coming, then to cush (that's the word for the way camelids settle themselves down atop their folded legs). He looks quite pleased when he gets the pool to himself without any competition.

Although LaLa, the female goose who has been staying in the pastures with the camelids, will eye the water (as she's doing in the photo with Goldie), so far she has not tried chasing an alpaca out of the pool. Later on the floating feathers will speak of her having had playtime, but I'm glad such time is not at the alpacas' expense.

Worthy of note: LaLa has abandoned the three eggs in her nest. I've not seen her setting atop them for many days; however, she has also made no attempt to hop the fence to join JoJo--the gander who's lording it over the fowl down by the house. The pair drifts to one another along the fence, but seem quite content to remain separated by the sagging woven wire of the old home-pasture fence.