Had fun at Mike & Zeke's annual walk-a-thon for charity.  This year they walked for Care for the Horses in Sierra Vista & for us.  I actually walked the 1st 4 miles along with Ann Jost the founder of Care for the Horses, as the horse riders left us behind.  Zeke stayed with us though, I guess our pace was pretty close to donkey speed.  

He did have an affinity for the goodies growing along the side of the trail, going from side to side to try to snatch a mouthful.  I looked back one time, & Mike had dismounted & just turned Zeke loose.  Zeke was having a great time, wandering & eating, didn't seem to bother him, that we were getting farther & farther ahead of him.  Mike finally climbed aboard again, & actually for the final few miles, Zeke stayed up with the horses.  For a donkey he has a pretty fast walk............if he wants to.  

Tonight is my last night of racing.  For some reason the "powers to be"  seem to love to "mess" with the Hornet races.  They have made us run the opposite direction, which is really interesting.  Last race night we race half the main event one direction & halfway thru, they stopped us & had us run the other way.  Actually I didn't finish the race, my motor said, "I'm done", right after they stopped us to make us go the "wrong" way. 

Tonight they are adding laps to the main event, so instead of running 15 laps we'll be running 25.  And they are going to invert the field by points.  What that means is the higher you are in the points the farther back you will start the race.  Oh! goodie this should be interesting, I am in 5th place for points, so I will start in the 3rd row from the back, with the hotshots all behind me.  John said to let them pass me, & then get on their bumper & let them make a path thru the other cars.  Sounds great in theory.........BUT........sometimes those "paths" close up real quick, or 2 or 3 cars try to fit into 1 space.  I just hope I can finish, & hopefully have a decent finish.  I'll be driving the poor little underpowered Toyota from last year.  John hasn't started working on the Kia motor yet, so it's me & the Toyota.  Wish me luck............!!!!

As of 5pm this afternoon Mother's house is officially sold...........YIPPEE.......!!!!  It seems like John & I have been living, breathing the house & it's contents for the last month, so it will be great to no longer have to worry about it.  

This afternoon we moved the "leftovers" from the garage sale, (thank goodness for the stock trailer) down to Sierra Vista.  Care for the Horses has a rummage sale twice a year, that has become a "happening", & they usually do really well.  I thought that would be a good use for what was left.  Although I REALLY..... REALLY wish the 3 piece oak entertainment center & the OVERSIZED computer desk had found a new home at the garage sale & the new owners had moved them, rather than John & I having to load them this afternoon.  Brad is a good friend & bought Mother's house.  He knew we were going to be loading stuff this afternoon & being the good friend he is, was waiting for us when we drove up, so he could help load.  He sure made the job easier, at least from my point of view.........!!!!  LOL  Not sure he & John would agree.  

Pepper is back to what is normal for him I guess, doesn't seem to have any lingering problems from his "incident" last week.  

We changed Jenny's foot covering yesterday & the foot is looking good.  Now that we aren't using such a heavy bandage, her foot isn't as damp when we unwrap it, which I would assume is a good thing.  The next step will be to just cover the opening in the front of her foot that is growing out, with a gauze pad to keep heavy amounts of dirt, mud, etc out of it.  According to the vet, just put the gauze on, tape it to the hoof, put on a pantyhose, & super glue the panty hose to her hoof.  OK...........!!!  Sounds simple enough, but I haven't gotten to the stage of attempting it yet.  What we're doing now is working, so I'm in no hurry to do something that might not work as planned.  

It looks like Ruger & Pancho will be going into a foster home for awhile.  The family wants to make sure they are ready for a long term commitment, which is OK with me.  I'd rather do it this way, than have them decide later on, this isn't going to work.  We'll do a home study just like an adoption to make sure it's a good home.  

Ruger & Pancho play together & eat in the same pen.  We moved Ruthie to a pen of her own since we're pretty sure she's pregnant.  Ruger is still very attached to her, Ruthie to Ruger, not so much.  And when she has her new baby, poor Ruger will be drummed out of the family in a hurry.  So if we can get him "weaned" from her before then, it will be a good thing for him.  

I got a call from a friend I haven't heard from in a couple of years.  She has 5 acres that has turned into a jungle with all the rain we've had lately.  She was wondering if she could borrow a couple of donkeys, that would like to eat "wild" food for a couple of weeks.  John & I talked about it & I think we will send BlackJack & Boaz out.  I have to call her back to make sure this is what she wants to do.  The boys won't care, as long as there is food.  Karla was disappointed that they won't eat tumbleweeds.  When we do the home study we'll make sure there is enough "weeds" for them to eat.  If it's all tumbleweeds, this might not work. 

Below, is an e-mail Patti sent out that covers all the bases about the Walk-a-thon this year.  We all had a great time last year & this year should be even better.  We'd love for everyone that can to come help us celebrate these wonderful creatures.  You couldn't ask for a better representative than Zeke.

Tish

From: Patti

Sent: Friday, August 03, 2012 7:04 PM

To: Patti Woodbury Kuvik

Subject: Mike and Zeke Rescue Walk October 12th

Mike and Zeke (Zeke is the cute one with the long ears) are hitting the road again this year to raise money for Forever Home Donkey Rescue in Benson http://www.foreverhomedonkey.com/ and Care For The Horses in Sierra Vista http://www.careforthehorses.com/. The date is October 12th, Donkey Appreciation Day which falls on a Friday this year.

The Mike and Zeke Rescue Walk Community Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/mikeandzeke (you shouldn't have to "belong" to Facebook to see this page but if you do belong, please share with your FB friends).

The Rescue Walk will cover about ten miles starting from the ghost town of Fairbank (near Route 82 and the San Pedro River) ending at The Good Enough Silver Mine, 5th and Toughnut in Tombstone.

We'll provide a ride from Tombstone to meet up with Mike and Zeke for anyone who would like to walk the last few miles with them. We'll also provide a ride back to Fairbank if you want to park there and walk the whole route with Mike and Zeke. (We don't advise bringing your horse to ride as the route is mainly on highway.) Or you can walk a shorter stretch in between. Check the FB page for final confirmation of the route and a map of drop off/pick up points. And don't forget to wear you "Old West" duds!

We're asking people to consider helping out with a dollar a mile - more if you can, less if you can't. You can donate directly at https://www.facebook.com/mikeandzeke/app_18015191938?ref=ts

Mike and Zeke have long been part of Tombstone's "Old West" atmosphere and when you meet them their devotion to each other is obvious. They have done an activity together to raise money for charity every year on "Donkey Appreciation Day", October 12 - and if that isn't an official day we'll make it one in Arizona!

Put October 12 on your calendar. If you can walk part of the Rescue Walk with Mike and Zeke it will help the miles pass more quickly. But if you can't make it, follow them on Facebook with your "likes" and contributions.

Patti K in Vail

(who will be driving the red truck to shuttle walkers joining Mike and Zeke)

MIKE & ZEKE ARE READY TO GO AGAIN....!!

Last October 12th on Donkey Appreciation Day you might remember Mike & Zeke walked from Ft. Huachuca to Tombstone, Arizona to raise money for our rescue.  It was a lot of fun, & Mike's wife Teresa called today to let us know they are going to do another walk-a-thon this year for us, & also for  Care for the Horses, a local horse rescue that help a lot of horses in the area.  Don't have any information yet, except it will be Friday, Oct 12, not even sure where Mike & Zeke will walk from this time.  But they will end up in Tombstone.  Last year we took BlackJack & he actually behaved himself, so maybe we'll take him again this year.  

Of course this morning he went on my "not favorite list".  He actually spends quite a bit of time on that list, although not as much as he did years ago.  He's learned what he can get away with & what he can't, & for the most part stays in the boundaries.  

This morning a friend was driving in the gate & BlackJack made a break for freedom........!!!  I was in the house, but John saw what happened.  The friend came in & told me, so I took off in the golf cart to see if I could help.  I found them, BJ  was eating mesquite beans as fast as he could stuff them in, & John was standing watching him.......!!!! Hmmmm, I asked what was going on & was asked if I brought a halter & lead.  It seems that BJ had staked out where he planned on staying until the beans were all gone & wasn't moving for any reason.  A 4 foot limb whacked across his rather abundant rump changed his mind about moving (John & I have different approaches to unruly donkeys), but of course he didn't go the right direction.  

I went back to get a halter & lead.  Came back & here is John & BJ sauntering down the road like best buds.  John said when BJ stopped he let John walk up to him, & John put his belt around BJ's neck.  By the time I saw them, no belt, but John was sharing treats out of the "treat" pocket, & BJ was more than happy to mozy along beside John.