By JACQUELINE M. DOMIN
After reading about llamas, Teri Conroy decided to take a few in as rescues. She figured she’d have a good idea of how to relate to them, having grown up with a backyard horse.
She was wrong.
She had a hard time connecting with them. When she’d try to get close to the llamas, they’d try to push her away. Conroy figured they didn’t like her.
Then she met a woman with a llama farm. She explained to Conroy that llamas are naturally territorial. In other words, it was nothing against Conroy.
`It turned out the rescues I thought hated me were lovely animals,` she said.
Having `learned llama,` Conroy shifted from rescue llamas to animals of her own, buying three that she and her husband and daughter took care of on their property in Altamont. That number multiplied as the family `fell in love,` Conroy said.
Today, Wunsapana Farm is home to 18 llamas and one alpaca that Conroy jokes thinks he’s a llama. On a typical day, Conroy is up at 5 a.m. to tend to the animals and doesn’t turn in until about 11 p.m., after spinning some llama yarn.
She also spends a lot of time out in the community, bringing llamas to libraries, festivals and community events. It’s important to her to educate the public about llamas, to give people their own opportunity to `learn llama.`
`I’d love to see more people have llamas like they have horses,` she said.
Conroy’s next public appearance with her llamas is Saturday, Oct. 13, at Faddegon’s Nursery in Latham. She’ll take part in the family fun day, as she did last year.
`It was a great success,` she said. `Everybody loves, loves, loves the llamas.`
To be honest, the llamas’ appeal is a bit mystifying to Conroy, who says hundreds of people have visited her farm, and many describe it with words like `magical` and “peaceful.”
Of course, that’s kind of fitting at a place with such a storybook name. Conroy said she wanted to go with the straightforward `Once Upon a Farm,` but her husband didn’t like it. So she turned over ways to phoenetically spell it. When she pitched `Wunsapana Farm,` he liked it a lot.
It’s funny, though. Adults don’t often get it, she said. It’s the younger set who immediately realizes the intended pronunciation.
Conroy entertains all ages at the farm. She said people like how big and beautiful the llamas are, as well as how gentle they are despite their size.
“They don’t spook like horses,” she said. “You can put them and they act calm. People are just comfortable.”
She has regular visits from Living Resources, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities. It gives the patients a chance to get out, helping with cleaning and grooming the llamas. Conroy frequently hosts people with special needs. She does these things free of charge, knowing times are tight and visits to llama farms aren’t likely a part of most budgets.
She does bring in some money with her adult llama walks, asking for a $5 donation. The walks have proved so popular that Conroy doesn’t go to great lengths to advertise that she’s having one. She simply puts out a note on her Facebook page, and the 10 or so spots quickly fill.
The walks are held on her property, with participants guiding the llamas along trails on the farm’s 30 acres. It’s kind of like walking a dog, Conroy said, just striding together. It’s a peaceful experience, one that resonates people who want to exercise, people who want a unique experience, people who enjoy the chance to bond with the animals.
Another avenue Conroy has developed to make some money is to sell the llamas’ poop as fertilizer. In fact, that’s how she hooked up with Faddegon’s. Llama manure has `that little extra something` that really gives gardens a boost, she said. She has been sharing the `llama beans` with Guilderland Community Gardens for a few years, and `they just went nuts over it.`
About a year ago, Conroy taught herself how to spin llama yarn. She shears the animals in the spring, then washes the yarn, dries it and dyes it. It tends to be fancier than regular yarn and is used chiefly as an embellishment, maybe on cuffs and collars.
`It’s really pretty,` Conroy said. `And it’s all one of a kind. People like that.`
Her llamas and that lone alpaca, which was near death when she got it and not only rebounded but assimilated with the llamas, are joined at the farm by three goats, a mini horse and a mini donkey. The days of thinking she couldn’t connect with animals are long gone.
`I’m happy, they’re happy,` she said.
The family fun day at Faddegon’s Nursery runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. walks with Conroy’s llamas will be available for $5, with all proceeds benefitting the Upstate New York Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The day will also feature pumpkin carving contests, Olympic pumpkin races, free cider and cider donuts and plant sales.
For more information on Wunsapana Farm, visit wunsapanafarm.com.