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Llamas graze in the pasture of Diamond M Ranch Resort on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 near Kenai, Alaska. Three calves were born this summer to the herd that Diamond M owners Ronna and Blair Martin have kept since the 1990s. Though members of the Martin family have made yarn and felt hats from llama wool, taken them as pack animals on camping trips, and occassionally harvested one for meat, the llamas are mostly “exotic lawn ornaments,” Ronna Martin said.

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Llama mamas

By Ben Boettger Peninsula Clarion

Student nurse Jana Cooper gives a flu shot through the window of a truck during Central Peninsula Hospital’s annual free drive-through flu vaccine clinic on Wednesday in Soldotna. Normally held in the Central Peninsula Hospital parking lot, this year’s event was down the street at Soldotna’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, due to paving work in the hospital lot. In past years, student nurses have given over 400 shots at the clinic, and this year’s turnout seemed similarly large. Before the event began at 3 p.m, cars were lined up down the block as far as Rockwell Lane. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

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Vaccination drive-thru

Student nurse Jana Cooper gives a flu shot through the window of a truck during Central Peninsula Hospital’s…

The stands of birch trees alight with fall colors line the Seward Highway near Tern Lake on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. The fall colors have hung onto the trees on the Kenai Peninsula this year, leading many out into the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest to enjoy the sunshine between rain showers. Clouds dropped rain on the western Kenai Peninsula Wednesday and Thursday, but the National Weather Service predicts that sunshine will grace the area on Friday and Saturday, with highs in the low 50s. However, the forecast is for the rain to return Saturday night and continue through Sunday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Photo: Flaming colors

The stands of birch trees alight with fall colors line the Seward Highway near Tern Lake on Saturday…

A footbridge stretches out over wetlands on the Ryan’s Creek trail among foliage in full fall colors Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The Ryan’s Creek trail, which runs for about 1.3 miles parallel to Trading Bay Road and connects the Kenai Spur Highway and Marathon Road near Daubenspeck Family Park, was extended in 2013. The city of Kenai maintains a network of pedestrian trails downtown, part of which features a disc golf course in the park near the Kenai Safeway. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Photo: Out for a stroll

A footbridge stretches out over wetlands on the Ryan’s Creek trail among foliage in full fall colors Thursday,…

Sondra Stonecipher runs in the Kenai River half-marathon on Sunday, Sept. 24 near Kenai.

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Kenai River Marathon makes strides

One did it using a handcycle after breaking his back seven years ago. Others competed after coaching at…

A ceramic bear sculpture by potter Laura Faeo rests atop a pedestal in the Kenai Fine Art Center on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The sculpture, along with a number of other paintings, sculptures, photographs and other art works, will be available for purchase either through silent bidding or outcry auction at the center’s annual Harvest Art Auction, scheduled for Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. Silent bidding began Thursday and will run until the event on Sept. 30, when the outcry auction will take place. The funds go to support the art center’s activities throughout the year. Tickets for the event are $30 and include appetizers, desserts, music and door prizes. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Photo: Art in anticipation

A ceramic bear sculpture by potter Laura Faeo rests atop a pedestal in the Kenai Fine Art Center…

Not forgotten Small American flags dot the lawn alongside the Kenai Spur Highway on Monday in Kenai. The American Legion post in Kenai placed 2,996 flags on the greenway between Frontage Road and the highway, one for each person killed in coordinated terrorist attacks on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The display added to the Kenai Fire Department’s display of 343 flags on the corner of Willow and Main streets in honor of the firefighters killed in the line of duty trying to rescue people from the burning World Trade Center towers. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Remembering 9/11’s victims

Small American flags dot the lawn alongside the Kenai Spur Highway on Monday in Kenai. The American Legion…

Madee Knowlton chases down a steer during the steer daubing event at the Soldotna Equestrian Club’s first 9-11 Tribute Rodeo, junior division, on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Soldotna’s Centennial Park. In steer daubing, riders carry poles tipped with swabs dipped in mustard to tag a running steer forward of its shoulder. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

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At the rodeo

Madee Knowlton chases down a steer during the steer daubing event at the Soldotna Equestrian Club’s first 9-11…

Wind and waves High winds churn up the surface of Skilak Lake and blow in a mixture of clouds and blue sky Sunday in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Skilak Lake, about 15 miles long and up to four miles wide in places, is one of the largest in Alaska and can be extremely dangerous to boaters when the wind is high. From the hills above the lake Sunday, whitecapped waves appeared and large breakers were visible on the shores. The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation advises staying off the lake when the winds are high if possible. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Wind and waves

High winds churn up the surface of Skilak Lake and blow in a mixture of clouds and blue…

Trio triumphs at Triumvirate

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Trio triumphs at Triumvirate

Guitarist Lisa Pimentel of LA rock trio No Small Children performs on Friday, September 1, 2017 at the…

Leading a group of berry seekers, Janice Chumley of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service contrasts the tasty lingonberry (also known as lowbush cranberries) with the “edible but insipid” specimen of bunchberry dogwood in her right hand during an instructional walk on Monday, August 28, 2017 at Tsalteshi Trails near Soldotna, Alaska. The event was part of the fifth annual Harvest Moon Local Food Festival, which concluded Monday.

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A tasty walk in the woods

Leading a group of berry seekers, Janice Chumley of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service contrasts…

Putting technology to work Mariana Livingston (standing) of Assistive Technology of Alaska guides Brad Rooker through demonstrations of a hearing device and software that enlarges and enhances the contrast of digital text for the visually impaired on Wednesday at the Kenai Senior Center. Livingston’s Anchorage-based group was one of four at the senior center to hold a health fair and one-on-one clinics for those interested in aid devices for vision, hearing, and mobility. Others included the Independent Living Center, the Alaska Center for the Blind, and the Kenai Centenial Savvy Lions Club, which offered free vision exams. Independent Living Center office manager Melissa Kline said the groups hope to hold the event annually in Kenai in the fall and at the Soldotna Senior Center in the spring. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

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Seniors get demo of hearing and vision aids

Mariana Livingston (standing) of Assistive Technology of Alaska guides Brad Rooker through demonstrations of a hearing device and…

Paul Montenieri, the founder of the Soldotna senior softball league, releases a wreath in honor of Kurt Keltner on the Kenai River on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Keltner, who lived in Sterling during the summers and Colorado in the winters, has been missing since Aug. 4, when he was thrown from a fishing boat due to a mechanical error near Centennial Park and was not able to swim to shore. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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With no sign of missing man, community members say goodbye

Blustering winds and rain may have stopped the Soldotna senior softball league from playing their final game of…

Four hands of fury

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Four hands of fury

During a stop on her Listen Hear Alaska tour, classical pianist Miki Sawada (left) played a four-hand piece…

Drive down memory lane

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Drive down memory lane

A Ford Model A pickup truck belonging to John Tichenor of Wasilla stands parked next to a line…

A trumpeter swan floats in the shallows of Tern Lake near the intersection of the Seward and Sterling highways Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Midnight swim

A trumpeter swan floats in the shallows of Tern Lake near the intersection of the Seward and Sterling…

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Nature photographer focuses on hard-to-see birds, plants

From deep in the trees comes the voice of a bird. Even without looking up from his fishing,…

Summer attire

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Summer attire

Summer fashion A caribou grazes along the side of the Forest Lane in Soldotna on Friday. The coat of…

Raindrops glisten on the petals of woolly geranium flowers growing near the boardwalk in Soldotna Creek Park on Sunday, July 9, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Heavy rainfall Saturday night cleared off briefly Sunday morning before turning back to heavy showers Sunday afternoon on the central peninsula, dousing anglers out fishing on the Kenai River briefly before abating and allowing a little blue sky to peek through. After a rainy weekend, the National Weather Service is predicting the weather to warm in the coming week and for the clouds to clear by Wednesday, with temperatures reaching the high 60s and low 70s. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Photo: Summer showers, wildflowers

Raindrops glisten on the petals of woolly geranium flowers growing near the boardwalk in Soldotna Creek Park on…

Samson, a 15-week-old dogo argentino puppy, gets a scratch from owner Richard Politte of Sterling, while on a walk in Soldotna Creek Park on Thursday, July 6, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Politte said he adopted Samson about 5 weeks ago from a litter of puppies borne by a dog that escaped a house fire in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. Politte and Samson were out enjoying the sunshine along with dozens of other people in the park Wednesday, where anglers were fishing for sockeye and children played in the shallows where Soldotna Creek meets the Kenai River. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

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Photo: Finding a good home

Samson, a 15-week-old dogo argentino puppy, gets a scratch from owner Richard Politte of Sterling, while on a…