Baby llama born in Milton | |||||
Continued from page 1 | |||||
peacocks , angora goats , donkeys , dogs | |||||
and even honeybees in a large apiary . | |||||
Pollock spends much of his time in | |||||
New York City but loves coming north to | |||||
Milton to reconnect with nature . He said | |||||
llamas interact with humans in a very | |||||
unique way . | |||||
“ They communicate with your face , | |||||
they don ’ t communicate with your hands . | |||||
So if you do go up to a Llama , you do it | |||||
with your face , nose to nose ,” he advised . | |||||
Llamas are very affectionate and | |||||
come within inches of a person ’ s face , | |||||
and sometimes actually ‘ kiss .’ Pollock | |||||
noted that llamas do occasionally spit at | |||||
each other but rarely at people . | |||||
Llamas are members of the Camelid | |||||
family and 40 million years ago roamed | |||||
the plains of North America but nearly | |||||
12,000 years ago they became extinct | |||||
in the northern hemisphere . About 3 | |||||
million years ago llamas migrated to | |||||
South America and in recent years their | |||||
numbers have reached about 7 million . | |||||
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They began to be imported to the United
States and Canada in the late 20th century , with the llama population now
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Robert Pollock stands next to one of two male llamas at Millstone Farm , a part of his
Buttermilk Inn and Spa complex in Milton .
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standing at more than 150,000 and alpacas at 100,000 .
Llamas have been raised for meat and used as pack animals by Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era but today they are exhibited for shows , valued for their wool , kept as pets and for breeding .
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Pollock first acquired several llamas locally from Columbia County “ from someone who was hording animals .” Later at an auction in Washington State he purchased eight pedigreed female alpacas from Lloyal Nordstorm |
Pollock said llamas coats are only in a handful of colors .
“ Most come in brown and white but occasionally we do get red ones and we do get black ones ,” he said .
Pollock smiles when saying , “ I like
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The gestation period is a year and they |
McMillian , |
the |
granddaughter |
of |
four-legged animals more than I do |
rarely have twins . After birth a mother often hums to her baby but a llama will let out high-pitched scream as a warning call or if they are in distress . They have a life span of approximately 20 years . |
department store magnate John W . Nordstrom . He procured more animals from Llama Reserve , an organization involved in animal rescue , making Millstone Farm an animal sanctuary . |
two-legged animals .” He said in the summertime when he lies down in the grass “ they lie down next to you . They ’ re like big dogs and are gentle giants .” |
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Lloyd considering solar law | |||||
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Continued from page 1 agricultural , they must appear before the Planning Board and request a Special Use Permit .
Brooks said for large-scale , ground mounted solar installations an applicant must have a minimum of 10 acres or more to make the project economically viable and also take into account aesthetics and visibility issues . Brooks said the law also requires an owner to properly maintain the facility to prevent it from looking “ shabby ”. The law will require an owner to submit a decommissioning plan should they wish to cease operation , which requires the owner to pay for the costs of removal and to “ return the parcel
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to its original state prior to construction .” In case an owner abandons the property , the law will allow the town to remove the solar system and impose a lien on the property in an amount to recover their expenses .
Brooks said the law is “ pretty noncontroversial . We tried to think about what people would be concerned about .” He pointed out that the law is designed to cover three kinds of usage ; residential , for larger entities such as farm to cover for a home and for agricultural use and for strictly commercial enterprises to sell the electricity to the utility .
“ The only thing that we don ’ t cover is if it is too large , more than 25 megawatt
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capacity , the state takes over , the same people who regulate Central Hudson ,” he said . “ We can ’ t regulate utilities like that .”
Hansut said a public hearing on the solar law will be scheduled in January and adoption will follow in February .
A copy of the law can be obtained from the Town Clerk during normal business hours . It defines the different types of solar systems - roof and ground mounted ; along with height and setback requirements , lot size and coverage area , screened fencing , permitting requirements , decommissioning plans and enforcement and civil and criminal penalties .
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