Death becomes us

I'm sad.

Remember that beautiful baby alpaca I wrote about yesterday? Well, this afternoon, I had the misfortune of walking into the barn and finding Walnut dead, crushed under the weight of his sick mother. I ran into the house to get Vito to help me move the mother alpaca, but sadly, it was too late. It appeared as though the mother had collapsed as baby Walnut was feeding and trapping him beneath her. The mother alpaca has been getting progressively worse and is expected to follow her baby soon. 

We buried Walnut's body in the back of the property. Having had such a strong bond with the little alpaca, Kat was inconsolable. In his quiet way, Vito was also clearly deeply affected. In fact, we all were. 

A sad lesson in the impermanence of life...

As Kat put it, "I know death is part of life, but I don't know why it is still so shocking."