Sir Charle. (Photos by Mink)
Sir Charle is the son of Princess DiJean of M&M and FLL Windstorm. He was raised by the Sisters at the Monastery Llama Ranch in North Dakota after his mother died of cancer, and we were fortunate to buy him in his third year. What a Joker! The first day the llamas were here, we had to leave the homefront and wanted to have them closer to the house in the catch pen, so Mom went out in her Sunday Best to chase them into the catch pen. Charle made her run in circles for about ten minutes, and then Mom slipped and fell flat on the ground. At which point Sir Charle turned on his heel, went into the catch pen, and stood there waiting for Mom to close the gate. He had never meant to hurt her.
Here are the Llamas, Sir Charle and Magical Flag, ready for the Ketchum, Oklahoma Christmas parade, a lighted parade, December 7th, 2008. The float is another of Mom's art projects.
More pictures of the parade on Mom's page.
Sir Charle has pulled our llama cart in parades since 2000, and won many prizes from the local communities.
In 2001 we entered three parades, in three completely different sets of costumes (because of the three different parade themes) and won prizes in all three categories. Most years we try to stick to one design and theme, Mom gets pretty worn out costuming everyone three times while preparing for Christmas, but it sure is alot of fun. Her favorite time of year: Halloween through Christmas, with all the costumes!
Sir Charle is about as different from Magical Flag as a creature can get within the same species. 'Charle demands that he be groomed and takes great pride in pulling the Llama Cart in the Christmas parades each year. His mother was Princess DiJean, and you can tell it from the way Sir Charle's attitude manifests. He loves adulation and public appearances. MINK claims Sir Charle as her llama, Kimball belongs to Magical Flag. Ah yes, Sir Charle... Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wrist...When the weather changes he starts waiting by the gate, looking foreward to the change of scenery and excitement of all the people.
You may recognize some of the M.A.D. House Artists in this 2006 photo (yes, the camera is chaotic, too), as the loyal personnel who make up the float are the very same talented artists who contribute to this website and The M.A.D. House Artists in the general chaos of things. Kacie, Sir Charle, Robert, Aliene, John, Mink , and Magical Flag. The theme in this parade year was Red Hat. Mom is the Royal Mugwump, and all the pink and red hats belong to the rest of our artists. (Dad is at the wheel of the truck, and Mom is the photographer)
About the Subject of Mom's Llama T-Shirt
(And Llamas in General)
This is a portrait from life of our younger Llama, Magical Flag. As you can see from his portrait, He does NOT like having his hair cut. Magical Flag was about two years old when this portrait was drawn. He was having his wool sheared for the hot summer in Oklahoma, which is not like the cold mountains of the Andes where the llamas originally lived. Llamas have wool with no oil, it does not smell when it gets wet. Llama wool does not shrink, garments made of llama wool can be washed with the rest of the laundry and dried in the dryer.
When you approach a llama, you keep your hands out of sight and present your face for kissing. Llamas cannot stick out their tongues, so they "kiss" you with their soft furry lips while they are sniffing you. Our llamas rarely spit at anyone, preferring to investigate the newcomers. Llamas have a sense of humor, and are always trying to be 'one-up' on you. Our Llamas are in the Christmas parades in and around Delaware County Oklahoma each year.
Feeding llamas is pretty easy, and can be inexpensive. Llamas will clear your yard of flowers (especially roses) in a matter of minutes, but when they have their own space, they eat field hay, 14% creep (in small quantities), cut-up carrots for treats, grass, rabbit feed (in small quantities), and other grains. Their habit is very tidy, and they carefully place their waste products in a neat pile in one spot in the yard. Llama waste is almost odorless and can be used on your flower beds immediately, as it does not need composting and will not burn your plants.
A llama can go indoors with you for an hour or two without needing to relieve himself. This makes them great for visiting people in schools or nursing homes.
Llamas will fight off dogs and other predators. Many people keep llamas with their sheep or goats. But llamas are not invincible, and do better in a small group. Dogs can kill a lone llama. We have two geldings so they can keep each other company. Llamas like to be part of an herd, and become lonely and pine if they are all alone.
As for fighting the llama, we were completely won-over by them, and have been very glad we made the decision to have Magical Flag and Sir Charle join our family. The llamas won our hearts, even this one who dislikes being groomed, and, Yes, Those are two llamas in our living room.
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