AND THE BEAT GOES ON........ (WHY WE'RE NEVER BORED....!! )

NIGEL LOOKING FORWARD TO STEAK..!!  THANKS, LINDA

Have you ever wondered when the merry-go-round was going to stop?  I've given up on that, might as well enjoy the ride I guess..........LOL

Miss PennyPacker is doing good, still in her pen until tomorrow after breakfast and her last penicillin shot.  She is such a pain to catch and work with, that we've left a halter on her.  There is no way I would let her out in the brush with a halter on, so she's had to stay in the pen.  Talk about a cranky girl.  During the day she has the run of all the pens on that side.  If she sees anyone out, she immediately runs to whichever pen is closest to the humans and starts pleading her case to get out.  

But she is eating well and seems to be healed from her dental appointment, John, Lynn and I will be almost as glad as she is when the shots, twice a day is over.  Actually she doesn't mind the shots, it was the banamine by mouth that caused her to have a hissy fit.

Lynn is strong enough to stay with her and hang onto the halter, until we can get a lead on her.  She hasn't had to have banamine for a couple of days, so it's been going better.  She'll let us walk up to her, pet her and usually get hold of the halter.  She'll even let you stand by her holding the halter without much fuss as long as you don't try to lead her or try to take charge, before someone shows up with a lead.

We were putting her in the redneck squeeze, but the last couple of times, she's let me give her the shot with Lynn holding her with the halter and lead.  The squeeze was absolutely vital when we were putting something in her mouth, for our safety.

Remember Casper the little hellion with attitude that is being fostered by our neighbors, because they have a fence like this rather than barbed wire?  Although he doesn't seem to care for other equine, he does like to visit thru the fence. Linda got this picture of Leddy and her 3 dogs checking up on the latest neighborhood gossip, I guess. 

Lynn has cleared out another ATV/Golf Cart path over here on the 10 acres, it even has a roundy-rounder, so you can go 3 different directions if you follow the circle.  We always enjoyed in Europe and the Middle East, having less traffic lights, with the circles the traffic kept moving.  Of course in the Middle East the traffic lights would have just been a suggestion for most of the people anyway.........LOL  They did really good in the traffic circles though, it was amazing. 

We've been trying to find a little ATV,  just my size, but so far Craigslist hasn't had it.  And I'm too cheap to buy a new one.........LOL  I want to get out and try out Lynn's trails.  It should be much easier to find wayward fly masks and polo wraps with the trails and an ATV.  Even if the missing items aren't in the path, the ATV will make me a little higher, so I can see farther.  Just got to find an ATV, before fly season.

Fly season must just be around the corner.  My 1st shipment of fly predators should be here Friday, poor little guys.  The days are nice and sunny, but the nights are still getting cold.  I guess they will burrow down in the poo pile, otherwise they'll be rather short lived, I'm afraid.

Now as to why we are never bored...........   Linda found out that Tombstone is having a St. Patrick's Day parade as a salute to the military and it's free to participate.  She's been looking for races or something to get Leddy out in public, and even though this isn't a race, I'm sure it will give him lots to look at..........!!!

Well you can't just take one donkey, so we decided to also take Justin, since he's been in "training" for racing.  Then we decided to also take BlackJack, since he's an old hand at this impressing people with how neat donkeys are.  So now how do we decorate them?  Linda's good at ideas, I'm mostly the nod my head in agreement type, artistic I'm not.

A friend of Linda's is coming over tomorrow to see about sewing blankets for Leddy and BJ.  Leddy will be 1st in line, and his blanket will probably have a rainbow and a pot of gold on it.  Then Justin will be following him, dressed as a leprechaun.  Well you can't just have one leprechaun, so Pepsi has been added to the party.  So 2 little leprechauns will be following the pot of gold.  BlackJack will be following with a St. Patrick's themed blanket, with Forever Home Donkey Rescue on it.  At least that's the plan at this time, we'll see what the seamstress comes up with.

A good friend of Lynn and Linda's is coming down from Colorado for a few days and was suppose to get here on the 19th of March.  The parade is on the 18th, so now he is going to come in early.  He's an older man and wants to participate in the fun, so now there will be a golf cart all gussied up, leading the donkey rescue part of the parade.  So now we've got to figure out how to decorate the golf cart.  Thanks goodness we have 2 golf carts, otherwise we'd have to decorate the cart after chores that morning, and I'm sure we'll have enough to do without that.

The last couple of days Cisco has been limping on his right front.  Hoof is a little warm, doesn't bother him to poke and prod it.  His legs are so arthritic, that was my first thought, but doesn't look like it.  Could be an abscess I guess, just have to watch him.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Cisco, from a few years ago.  He still loves to eat cactus at certain times of the year.  We can tell when he's been "snacking" when we put our hands on his face.........OUCH.......!!

LOTS OF PROJECTS GOING ON RIGHT NOW

 Justin in training and everyone else coming along for the adventure

Very little gets done around here without "help".  They remind me of cats, anything going on or anything new on the property, gets their full attention, until they ALL check it out. 

LYNN IS TRYING TO WORK ON HIS QUAD AND PEPSI IS "HELPING", WHICH OF COURSE MAKES THE PROJECT TAKE MUCH LONGER, THAN IT WOULD "WITHOUT" HIS "HELP".  

We've all learned to work around our helpers, otherwise we'd never get anything done.  This morning Lynn was digging a trench in the pens on the west side.  We've used hoses ran along side the pens for years to fill the water buckets.  Last year Lynn, ran water to each pen on the east side, so this year he's completing the job on the west side.  

He said Pepsi checked out the trench, jumped over it, which is not something they all would do.  I guess you never know when a snake or some type of monster might be in that trench and jump up to grab a donkey......!!!   Lynn said when Pepsi got thru checking everything out, he peed in the trench.  We're trying to figure out just exactly what that means.........LOL

Some friends of Lynn and Linda came out a couple of times on their way to Florida.  They had a lot of fun with the donkeys and as usual the donkeys did their best to be entertaining.  BlackJack is always available for letting kids sit on him for pictures.  He was raised with a little boy and probably would let kids ride on him, but we've never let anyone try.  

Years ago a church got in touch with us, for a donkey to use in a Christmas play.  They wanted Mary to ride in on a donkey.  I told them we'd get back with them and we started trying to figure out who would be the best candidate.  We decided on Cisco, I got on his back, he took 2 steps and locked up big time.  I don't think anyone had ever been on his back in his life and he wasn't interested in learning to be ridden, so no one went to the Christmas show unfortunately.  

  

We're not exactly sure what Cheyenne was trying to do to Ted, but he was a good sport about it.....!!!  

Lynn has made a 7/10's of a mile trail over on Burroland that is wide enough for a golf cart or his quad.  It's really going to be neat, especially when looking for donkeys, fly masks or leggings.  We can drive around and see much more than stumbling thru the mesquite like we've always done before.  

He's taken everyone for rides and it's pretty exciting, in some areas, the mesquite are "real" close, so you better be paying attention....!!!  His best time is 1.46 minutes, which is an average of 17mph.  That might not sound very fast, but believe me, things zip past pretty quick on a lot of the trail and some of the turns are pretty tight.  

So now I'm in the market for a small quad so I can be lazy and ride instead of walking or stumbling over rocks and dead limbs the donkeys have pulled off the trees.  We found one on Craigslist in Tucson, but it was too big.  Years ago John bought me a Big Bear, and big was right, my little legs could just barely reach the pegs and it wasn't very comfortable for me to wrestle.  Hopefully we can find one that's my size.....!!! 

Linda took all the pictures this time, except for the quad picture, which was about 10 years ago.  We traded it for a retired U-haul car trailer, that we use to take my Hornets to the track.  Hope the people that traded got as much use out of it, as we have out of the trailer.  It was a couple and she was quite a bit taller and heavier than I am, so she probably didn't have a problem with it.  

It's starting to warm up at night, so we're probably going into spring, although it will be awhile before the mesquite trees bud.  That's when spring starts according to the old timers.  

We've also got a crew putting a new roof on the garage, and carport.  The shingles don't hold up well out here in the desert sun, so we've decided to put on a metal roof.  Metal roofs are really good in the desert and we don't want to have to do it again in a few years, although the shingles lasted about 25 years, so I guess we really shouldn't complain too much.........!! 

NEVER COUNT THE OLD GUYS OUT........!!

Cisco is somewhere in his 20's.  He was one of original 5, when we started thinking about doing rescue in the late 90's.

I had put an ad in the paper to take free donkeys and a roping school called.  At first they wanted us to buy him, which we weren't going to do.  So then they said just come and get him.  He was out in a field standing with his head down, not reacting to anything or anybody.  We got him in the trailer, brought him home and he stood that way completely uninvolved in life for over 3 years.  The only way roping donkeys can try to protect themselves is to shut down emotionally.  I've heard stories of them being hit with a HotShot and not even reacting.  Very sad. 

He wouldn't react to the donkeys or anything going on around him.  When the summer fly season started we found out he had horrible skin problems and was a fly magnet.   We had lost the 1st Cisco from the same problems and I swore we would not lose this one.  It was a long hot summer, I ended up just about living in the corral with him, trying to keep him from biting itchy places till they bled, which drew flies, which caused the problem to just get worse.  

At one time a local woman made him a "suit" to protect him, especially his very venerable sheath.  

This is what his sheath looked like after a couple of years.  This was surgically removed and the vet couldn't tell us what it was for sure.  It looked like lard inside, very few blood vessels inside, a couple of big ones outside, that caused a lot of excitement in the operating room as blood shot up in the air.  

His legs have never been very strong, very rarely would he move quicker than a slow ramble.  A few years ago he started choking when he ate.  We had a barium x-ray done of his throat and the esophagus looks just fine.  So we think that the muscles in his neck might have been damaged during his time at the roping school.  The students were allowed to take him home to practice on.  Who knows what they did with him.  Since the x-ray, he has eaten a mush and John cuts his hay up with a leaf shredder and then wets it, so it's easier to swallow.  He does really good, occasionally we'll hear him coughing, but it's been a long time since he actually choked.  

As he's gotten older the legs have gotten less steady.  Gus has done so well on Previcox, I decided to see if it would help Cisco be more comfortable.  He's been on it for a little while and we thought he might be walking a little easier.  

Yesterday when we came in from town, we noticed Coquette was "entertaining".  For anyone that has never seen a jenny when she is cycling, it can be quite a show......LOL  Coquette was giving it her all and I thought Boaz was seeing if he might be Mr. Right.  On 2nd thought, Cisco was trying to be Mr. Right, was in position and after 3 or 4 abortive attempts manage to climb aboard.  That was about all there was to it and he dropped back down to earth.  Then they both just looked at us like, "what are you two looking at?"  I swear I saw a gleam in his eye thru the fly mask.  I gave him a high five and told him what a good boy he was.  Who knew, he has never shown any interest in any of the jennies...........never.....!!  After all these years it's got to be the Previcox.  I'm so glad we found something to help him be more comfortable.  Obviously he's feeling pretty good, Courtney doesn't even lift his feet very high, when she trims his feet because he always acted like it hurt.....!!

HE'S NO LAP DOG.......!!!

We've tried to explain this fact of life to Saddik, but so far he doesn't seem to understand the problem.  He really is a nice young dog, whoever dumped him, probably did him a favor, they obviously didn't appreciate him.  He's still taking medication for Valley Fever, the last blood test still had high numbers.  He'll be tested about every 3 months, hopefully next time the numbers will be lower.  

It was 44 degrees here this morning, John is finally giving up on his shorts in the morning.  He puts them on later, but for morning chores he's putting on his usual winter wear AKA sweats.  

Yesterday we had to go to town for the day.  Doug was going to let them into Burroland about 1pm, so they could gorge themselves on whatever there is to eat over there.  He said he went out about 1 and was surprised to not see any donkeys standing by the gate.  Usually they just stand there waiting for someone to fix the problem.  When he got over the wash he saw why no one was waiting.  Somehow they had gotten the gate off the back hinges, enough to give them room to squeeze thru and not need to wait for one of the stupid people to do their job.........!!!  LOL  My first thought was Frijolita, she is our little gate manipulator. 

I guess they were having a good time over here, because when it was time for afternoon round-up, it didn't go smoothly.  In fact Cisco never did come in.  After everyone was fed and he still hadn't showed up, I asked John if he had seen him.  John said he had seen him 2 or 3 times, happily munching away on stuff, so we didn't have to worry about him being down somewhere.  Usually whoever doesn't come in during the round-up will come waltzing in  before we're thru feeding.  After it got dark, John went out to see if possibly Cisco had come across and went in his pen.  No he hadn't but when John was coming back to the house, he saw him coming across the wash.  I'd loved to be able to channel their minds to see what goes on in there.......!!!!  

This morning after chores here comes a County truck thru the gate, hmmmm....... I'd just as soon they stay in their office and play video games, rather than be out trying to justify their jobs.  John was in the hay barn weighing hay and that's where the truck went.  When he left I went out to see what was going on.  John said the permit we got for the hay barn was still open in their files..........REALLY.....???  That was in 2006, guess they ran out of video games.  Or some big boss came thru and saw the back log.  

The BLM does the same thing on their mustang/burro adoptions.  We got a jenny from a family, they had for 4 or 5 years.  We adopted her to a retired vet in California and a couple of years later the BLM got in touch with the original owner saying they wanted to see the donkey to make sure she was being taken care of properly.  ?????????  Where was all that interest and concern, for all those years?  So we had a flurry of phone calls and paperwork going around and around, so their files would look tidy.  They wanted a vet to verify the burro was taken care of, no problem the retired vet's sister is also a vet.  

Now if the BLM spent as much time and effort with the 50,000 mustangs and burros they have in holding pens, with no shade and no room to move around.  Or if they had as much concern for the mustangs and burros that are killed and injured during the round-ups they insist are necessary.  Better quit before I really get mad..........!!!!  

HOW HOT IS IT?

SADDIK ENJOYING THE AIR CONDITIONING IN DOUG'S RV

As you can see, he believes in comfort and knows the "drill".  He had a run in with a skunk a couple of nights ago and had to stay outside for the night.  Not exactly his style, he has a routine and it includes going into Doug's RV after evening snack a little before 10pm.  But he's back to not smelling so he can be social again.  

As far as HOT, it's suppose to be 111* over the next few days.  Anything over 100* is hot no matter how it's worded.  The donkeys get their breakfast and by the time they are let out, it's already hot.  So they basically spend the day standing in the shade.  No moving around unless it's to find a better spot, and certainly no running and playing.   The only 2 I'm having to doctor every day is Cisco and Boaz, all other doctoring is on an "as needed" basis.  They aren't spending all their time standing around, almost every morning some of them come in with cactus spines in their muzzles.  So I guess at night, they roam around as usual, once it cools off.   Boaz's leg is doing better, it's dried up and no more new sores.  I'm still keeping it covered with Underwood Horse Medicine and it seems to be doing the job. 

We're taking the race car to practice tonight, to see if all the suspension work John has been doing makes a difference.  I don't know what all he's done, most of it has been to tweak something and someone else comes up with a brilliant idea, so he goes back up to the garage and tweaks some more.  I hope he remembers all of what he has done, to if it works, great, keep those measurements, if not have some measurements to go back to.  Tomorrow night we'll be racing.   I am SO looking forward to sitting in staging for 15-30 minutes or even more if the race in front of us has a lot of yellow flags.  That asphalt will hold heat long after the sun goes down, unfortunately.  I can't imagine people coming out to sit in the bleachers and roast, just to watch a bunch of cars go around in circles.......LOL

SO FAR, SO GOOD.......!!

 GOLDFIELD NEVADA 1904

 
Saddik, was back to normal the next morning, doesn't even act like anything happened.  He sure was glad to get his breakfast, we broke it up into a couple of feedings, so he wouldn't get sick.  He spent the night in the stock trailer and we did sneak him some water.  It's just too hot here to have an animal going without water for too long.  

So he's back to playing with the donkeys and trying to take off fly masks.  That seems to be a fun thing to do, no matter what species is involved.

We're heating up again, suppose to be in the 100's for the next few days.  Usually by this time I am fighting skin problems all over the place.  So far this year I've had a few outbreaks, Boaz has been the worse so far and a few days of Underwood Horse Medicine seemed to take care of the problem, the hair is growing in really well.  Haven't had any bloody legs, because we covered legs before it became a problem.

Well, forget that....!!!  I took a time out to go doctor after everyone got thru eating.  A couple of days ago Boaz lost one of his socks.  His leg looked good and I didn't bother to put another sock on.  When John and I went out to doctor (he's my vet tech...LOL) the 1st thing I noticed was Boaz's leg from knee to hoof looked like it had been painted with shellac.  Got some water and a rag and started trying to soften it up.  As it softened the hair started sloughing off to slick slimy skin.  Only one little bloody spot thank goodness.  This is the same thing Cisco has had in the past and looks different than what Boaz had on his body that is healing.  SIGH..........  Thank goodness my new supply of Underwood showed up earlier in the week, looks like I'll be going thru quite a bit of it in the next few days. 

Coquette usually has skin problems like Boaz had, but clipping her seemed to halt that problem, at least so far.  She also hasn't had any dandruff, at least that's what it looked like.  Of course now we can see all her fat pockets, so now she is on Magnesium Oxide again.  She doesn't mind the Mag/Ox but she sure doesn't like the short rations.  Of course she knows who leaves hay, so when we let her out, she runs the pens, running off anyone that got there first. 

I've got a problem with my stable fly trap.  The way it is built lizards can get in and of course can't get out.  So far my murder rate is 3, saved 4.  That isn't an acceptable ratio, so I'm think of taking it down for awhile.  I'm not really catching that many flies, they seem to be more prevalent later in the summer. 

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.......!!!

MUST BE MY WEIRD SENSE OF HUMOR

This morning was "brain" surgery for Saddik and also we had to take Boofer in for a blood test to see if his numbers are holding or hopefully getting better.  

Everything went well until the tech tried to take Saddik's temperature. He has always been a happy camper, but that woman trying to stick a thermometer up his butt wasn't going to happen.  He was adamant enough that I thought a muzzle would be a good idea.  Even then he squirmed as much as he could with another tech almost laying on him.  But she got his temp, took the muzzle off and he was his usual happy self.

Brought Boofer home, pressed on with things to do and about an hour later the phone rang.  It was the vet wanting to know what is going on out here with our dogs?  It seems Saddik is a heavy bleeder and they had to give him some Vit K to help with clotting, just from castrating.  She said he is also anemic.  What are the chances of having 2 anemic dogs?  He hasn't acted like he didn't feel good, and he has a lot of energy, so not sure what is going on.  Nancy asked again about rat poison.  I think we started feeding him the 6th of May, which has been about a month.  You'd think if it was something he picked up before, it would have shown up by now.  Neither of them run, and as far as I know none of the local neighbors use rat poison. 

Boofer's blood test, showed his Red Bood Cells are still low, but they are about what they were when we brought him home, so at least he is holding his own.  He's still on Predisone and will be for months, so I guess we'll press on like we know what we are doing.

Right now I am having to doctor Cisco's face under his eye.  Somehow some flies got under his fly mask, and obviously were carrying some habronema eggs.  That's really irritating, but he is such a fly magnet, it isn't a big surprise.   Next to cause problems will probably be his ears.  He gets some type of icky in both ears every summer, have no idea what it is, but do know what the vet used when she looked at it one time and basically shrugged her shoulders.  I have Animax and know how to use it..........LOL

We'll go pick up Saddik later this afternoon, hope he doesn't have anymore problems with bleeding.  

TIME FOR FLY MASKS

Instead of putting on fly masks everyone at once, we're putting them on as needed.  So far about half of them are wearing masks, mostly because of gnats not flies.  Usually gnats aren't a problem, but they sure are prevalent right now. 

I'm getting into the summer doctoring mode unfortunately.  Cisco's sheath and Rosie's belly are my primary objectives.  Not sure what Rosie's belly problem is.  She ends up with swelling in 2 or 3 places and open scabby places too.  And it seems to be an ongoing problem thru out the summer.  It's some type of ventral edema, I just don't know what causes it.  I've given her Tucoprim in the past and it seems to help, but as soon as I quit giving it, here comes the edema and open gooey scabby areas. 

I am pleased with Boaz so far.  His scarred knee is closed and staying that way, although it does have a crusty scab about the size of a dime on it.  I think that is caused by him laying down and the edge of the bone being so close to the surface.  At least if it is closed and dry, it shouldn't be that interesting to the flies.  

Just had to stop, someone knocked on the door.  It was Vic and Lara.  They were our neighbors a couple of years ago, lived just north of us.  Vic use to come over a couple of days a week and pick up poo, just because.  They moved to Colorado to be close to family and then the family went off doing their thing.  So they came back to this area and had been renting a place down by St. David.  Guess they got in touch with the owners of where they lived before and will be moving in as soon as possible.  They were good neighbors, glad to have them back.  The owner had talked about putting in a gate, so the donkeys could go over and keep the weeds in control.  That would give the donkeys 10 more acres of wandering space, plus brush to chew on.  We'll see if it happens or not. 

FINALLY........SPRING

I guess I should pay more attention to the passage of time.  I think this has been the longest I've gone without updating the blog.  The last week hasn't been all that busy, not sure what happened.

We've been in the 90's the last few days, the mesquite have leafed out like crazy and the weatherman says get use to it. Still not putting on fly masks although there are flies out, they just aren't bad enough to start with the masks...........yet........!!!  

It sure helps with Doug here to help with feeding and being here to let the donkeys out, when we come in late, like after the races.  This week-end when we got home at about 2am and I opened the door to get out of the truck, I heard this little tiny pathetic voice calling from the direction of Cheyenne's pen.  Sure enough she had gotten left in at 10pm when Doug let them out.  That isn't the 1st time someone has gotten left in, just the 1st time for Doug.......LOL  We have 4 pens that are actually a pen within a pen and it's pretty easy to forget, if you get distracted.  She was happy to get out and the other 3 minis were waiting by the pen for her, so they could go do donkey business.  

I've had to start keeping thuja Zinc Oxide on Cisco's sheath, even though he's getting benedryl every day.  That will be an all summer project, otherwise he gets itchy and scoots on the ground until it's bloody.  Of course that makes the flies happy............SIGH

It's about time to think about body clipping Quilla and Daisy, my 2 Cushings kids.  The last couple of nights have only been down in the 40's, so if we don't have any nights in the 30's for the next week, I'll probably get out the clippers and relieve them of that excess hair.  When Quilla came back from Claire's he had only been on pergolide a few days.  One thing I noticed was his hair was curly and sticking out all over the place.  We decided to up his pergolide as he was still on a minimum dose.  A few days after the change I noticed his hair was laying down, it's still long, but it didn't look quite so wild.  Must be the pergolide.

Tomorrow we are taking Cheyenne and I think Lynn to see the donkey dentist.  Cheyenne quids quite a bit.  She is fed a mush, John gives her a handful of hay for fun, but she chews it up and spits it out for the most part.  Recently both Daisy and Penny have quidded off and on.  Daisy is 30 years old, although she's always passed her check-ups and of course Penny has had a broken jaw.  But right now both of them aren't quidding, and John has found some quids in Lynn's bunk, so it will be her turn.  

Well the races Saturday night weren't too bad I guess, although my battery quit with 7 laps to go.  With the newer cars that have computers, the battery has to be working or the car won't run.  This is the 2nd time this has happened, last year at the dirt track it quit before I even got on the track........!!! John's tried new batteries, using the alternator, not using the alternator and even has added a switch, so we can disconnect the battery when the car is just sitting.  It will do just fine for awhile, which lulls us into thinking it's fixed...........then........SURPRISE...........!!!   Poor John, he felt so bad.  BUT, it might have been a blessing in disguise.  All the tires were brand new and you know how long it takes to wear out a new tire 30,000 miles or more......... It only took 18 laps on a 3/8's mile track to take all the tread off the outside of the right front tire, it was down to the metal cords.  It probably wouldn't have made 7 more laps without blowing out, which is a one way trip to the wall.  I'm really not interested in meeting the wall, if I don't have to........!!! 

We took the car into our son, Rod today.  He called tonight and said the spring on the right front is probably original and is very weak, which means the tire was rolling over on the side, especially in the corners.  John has changed struts many times, and after 3 years of pretty rough dirt track racing, probably should have thought the springs might need to be replaced too, but it's hard to keep track of all this stuff sometimes. Besides the stupid battery problem is very distracting.........

OBTW, we chickened out on the termite tenting project.  A friend had treated for termites and had studied the pros and cons of different methods.  She had even checked with the UofA and after all the rigmarole  of finding a place to keep 4 cats, and making sure all food stuffs were kept safe, and at least 3 days of major disruption, there is no guarantee that next week a swarm of dry wood termites wouldn't come in again.  Besides our house is not conventional, we don't have open spaces in the walls and an attic.  We have 2 foot thick adobe walls, and our ceiling is the roof, with a coating of painted foam covering it.  So there is no place that needs to be permeated by the gas they use.  We know of at least 3 different areas in the house, but they can be treated locally by a different method.  Need to call the company Susan recommended this week and get the little devils sent to termite heaven.....!!! LOL

RAINY DAY AGAIN.......!!!

Well, maybe rainy is a little much, it's mostly been dreary, windy with occasional 2 minute sprinkles.  This morning when we got up it was 50 degrees, it is now time to do evening chores and it's 50 degrees.........!!!!  This afternoon it was a little warmer, but not much.  John said it wasn't going to rain, so I've been making fun of his weather reporting abilities.  

Of course the donkeys are grumpy, I went out this afternoon to make sure the heater was on in the feed room, and about half of them were standing in the "rain", I yelled at Cisco and told him he had a perfectly good shelter in his pen.  Unfortunately when I looked in his pen there were 4 mini donkeys already in his shelter.  There are plenty of places to get in out of the wind and rain, but a lot of them just turn their butts to the weather and wait it out.  

This is Rosie last January , with her pones and bubble butt

I took a picture of Rosie this morning to compare to what she looked like last January when she came here.  She is still a "little too short for her weight", but we are headed in the right direction.  She's lost the lumps and her tail is no longer embedded in her fat rump.  YIPPEE..........!!! 

GETTING COLDER......!!!

 CUTE BABY WITH MOMMA

It was 16 degrees this morning.  I'm sure there are people in other parts of the country that get tired of hearing my whining, BUT.......... I'm a desert rat, I have neither the clothes or the thick blood for these temperatures and I'm not going to be silent about my displeasure........!!!  LOL 

The donkeys aren't willing to come in when it's cold.  They find a spot that gets early morning sunshine and there they stand, no matter how many times John rings the bell.  Usually we go ahead and feed the ones we have and then John goes out to rout the hold outs away from their nice warm spot.  Tula is particularly irritating.  She will ignore any efforts to get her to come in until the last minute.  Then she will show up, run in her pen, turn around and start yelling at you.  We haven't figured out if she is yelling to say, "here I am", or if she's yelling because her food isn't waiting for her.  Grrr.....!!!  

This morning Cisco didn't show up at all, even after everyone else had been fed.  That was worrisome, Cisco usually doesn't go very far and shows up pretty quick.  So John went out looking for him.  Finally found him standing in a nice warm sunny spot.  Cisco's got real bad legs from being a roping donkey in a roping school.  He gets along pretty good, most of the time, but I would imagine these cold mornings make his legs hurt.  He was moving pretty slow.  Pepper's not walking much better.  I'm sure they both have arthritis along with all their other problems.  

John's started cutting up hay for Cheyenne again.  For months all she's been getting is mush, but she started picking up little pieces of the other mini's hay when we'd let her out of her pen.  So John is giving her a handful each feeding.  All she does is chew it up and spit it out as little quids, but I guess she enjoys it.  Someone comes along and eats them later................YUCK!  

Still putting fly masks on about 6 of them that the flies bother.  There aren't many flies left thank goodness, but the few still around prefer those donkeys eyes.  I even had to put Cisco back on benedryl, his sheath got warm and he started scooting on it, which makes it bloody, etc, etc.........!!!  Two days of benedryl and everything is good, well except for doctoring the scooting scrapes.  

BRRRRRRR........!!!

 HOW CUTE IS THIS?

Eighteen degrees this morning 21 degrees yesterday.  But, in the desert those cold temps don't usually last long.  Yesterday was nice, sunny and warm, today looks like it will be a repeat.  Too bad we couldn't put off chores until about 9 or 10am.  Don't think the donkeys would allow that.......!!!

I picked up my super duper fly trap this morning, the one that seems to be real good at catching lots of stable flies.  A couple of days ago I noticed a praying mantis on the outside, waiting for flies to land where she could get to them.  Yesterday morning she was still hanging on the side in the cold.  I guess she warmed up enough to move yesterday afternoon, because she was gone last night and wasn't there this morning.  I'm not sure about the life cycle of praying mantis.  I know this time of year we see lots of big fat ones, which I think are females with eggs.  It seems that they probably lay their eggs, maybe in the ground, I don't know and then die in the cold.  One of these days when I run out of things to do, maybe I'll look it up.  I've seen little tiny ones less than half an inch long earlier in the summer.  If they only live one season they sure grow quick, since most of the ones we see this time of year are 4 inches long or more.  

Since it's getting cold the starvation rations have been upped, much to Rosie, Coquette and some of the others pleasure.  Rosie is quite a "beaver", she will chew on just about anything wood and has started dismantling her plastic water bucket.  I don't know that she is that hungry, she doesn't try to run John down when she sees the hay bucket.  She is very nervous for a donkey, and I'm not sure her chewing doesn't have something to do with her personality.  It's not cribbing, actually I don't know if donkeys crib, never heard of one.  

Cisco is the only one getting doctored now.  I'm still putting Animas in his left ear.  It's much better and doesn't have that YUCKY smell.  Because of the gooey texture of the Animas I can't tell if the ear is dried out or not.  I'll doctor for a few more days and then see what happens.

Pepper is still getting Tucoprim and we haven't heard him cough, so I guess whatever he had is going or gone.  It's been 5 days which is the minimum for giving antibiotics, so a couple more days will just be a little extra insurance.  

Well, it looks like my racing days are probably over.  We were told at the driver's meeting Saturday night that the track had been leased by USAC for 3 years.  USAC runs open wheel cars like sprints, 1/4 midgets, not stock cars.  The latest rumor is we're done, USAC will only run 6-9 programs a year and we won't be part of the program.  Unfortunately the closest dirt track is at Casa Grande, half way to Phoenix.  It's exactly 120 miles from our gate, the reason I know that is we raced up there years ago, when we had less donkeys and were younger.............LOL  If we went up there I would have to race Bombers or factory stocks or something like that.  Nothing wrong with that, but I've got a perfectly good Hornet with a rebuilt back-up motor sitting in the garage.  We use to get in about 4am, and it was hard then, can't imagine what it would be like now.  

I finished 2nd in the main event Saturday night and 2nd for end of the year points.  So I can't complain, just wish we had someplace to go play.  

ON PEPPER WATCH..........AGAIN....!!!

I know he doesn't do it on purpose, but it seems like a lot of our time is spent worrying about the old buzzard. 

He's been laying down more often lately, usually on his good side, thank goodness.  He's also developed a dry cough, and since I'm the type of person that looks, "for the zebra, rather than the horse" my 1st thought was lung worms.  We've never had lung worms that I know of but donkeys are known for being carriers.  A lot of horse owners don't want donkeys around for that reason. Ivermectin takes care of lung worms and I'm giving him antibiotics, Tucoprim, just in case it's something else. 

A couple of days ago he was laying down when it was time to come in for feeding.  When he got up he could barely walk on his right front, which is the one with a bad knee.  I picked the foot up to make sure there wasn't something else going on and noticed his sole is lower than the sidewall.  It looks like it's going to slough off, but with him it's hard to tell.  He has a lot of rotation and the hoof grows crazy, not to mention we don't know for sure exactly where the end of  his coffin bone is.    Courtney has kept him going a lot longer than we ever thought possible. 

I gathered up some foam, vet wrap and duct tape to make a boot for him.  I have Soft Rides, but hesitant to put them on him for a couple of reasons.  One is, because of his gnarly feet, not sure they would stay on and number 2......... although they are fairly light weight, not sure he could walk with the extra pound or so.  By the next morning he was walking a little better and has continued to improve, so hopefully we bit the bullet..........again. 

Yesterday morning John noticed Cisco rubbing his ear.  He had icky problems in his ears all summer, off and on.  I had quit watching him since it got cooler, but sure enough he had some type of slimy, gooey, smelly YUCK in there.  Animax i.e. Panalog is what the vet usually uses for ear problems, but I can't remember what she used to clean it out and I'm a little cautious about putting stuff in an ear.  Thanks goodness he has "donkey" ears, and I have small hands.  I rooted around with a rag to get rid of most of the yuckies and then squirted in the Animax.  That bad thing is I got the stuff on my hand and could smell it all afternoon.  Hopefully I can get it cleared up, otherwise we'll have to take him to the vet and do a culture I guess. 

Everyone else seems to be doing good.   I hesitate to say Rosie is losing weight, but she does look less fat.  As fat as she was, less fat is a good thing.............LOL  Tyler will be coming out Monday to check on Gigi's foot with the shoe.  She is walking very good, almost without any limp at all although her shoulders are still deformed because of walking oddly for 11 years.  We will have had them a year in January and hopefully one of these days Tyler will be able to take the shoe off and leave it off. 

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE DID A HOME STUDY

I always love to go visit with people that are enthralled with donkeys and want to add them to their family.  Bobbie and Jim are those people and are interested in Ruthie, Ruger and Wister as a family group.  They have 10 acres of perfect donkey country, lots of rocky ground and even some "over hill and dale" country" to give them exercise.  BUT.........isn't there always a but?  They spend most of their time in Tucson, although they have a routine of spending time on the acreage on a regular basis.  But, there is the worry of the donkeys getting hurt or maybe getting out.  Without a daily routine of having people around, there is a good chance even though that trio is very people orientated they would learn to rely on themselves rather than people and probably lose some of their friendliness.  

So right now we're on hold, they have been talking about moving to the acreage full time, but don't know when.  We'll see how it goes, I can't imagine anyone else showing up wanting to adopt 3 donkeys, any time soon.  So I think the donkeys are pretty safe for now.  

Bobby and Jim's place is just a "hop, skip and jump", from 2 of our alumni, Nina and Benny.  In January they will have been in their forever home 8 years.  I never thought we'd find a home for Nina.  Her nose had been ripped open and not doctored, so she has an open nostril, which has to have Swat put on it each morning during fly season to keep the little buggers at bay.  When Susan and Tom came out to see if they wanted to adopt these two, I had to show Susan Nina's nose, she didn't even notice it and didn't see it as a problem.  

Since we were in the neighborhood we had to stop by and see how they were doing.  They looked great, a little fat from mesquite bean season, but like we told Susan, we've got 5 or 6 that are in the same situation.  Bennie came over to me and put his head on my shoulder.  I don't know if he remembered me or not.  He was always very friendly and I don't think has ever met a stranger.  Nina is a little more reserve, but more than willing to accept any and all attention.  I didn't have my camera, but have some pictures from when they were here.

NINA

BENNY BEING A HAM, WITH A TOUR

Anubis finished up her antibiotics this morning and seems to be feeling much better.  I didn't realize how lethargic she had been acting recently.  Now she's back to jumping around and wanting attention. Having bad teeth can be bad for people or animals I guess.  She's actually missing some of her side teeth, Dr. Nancy and I decided probably from the raw beef bones I get the dogs occasionally.  To say she has always been an enthusiastic chewer is an understatement....!!!  

Every night when it gets down in the 30's, I expect the flies to take the hint, but so far they are hanging in there.  There are less and less each day I think, but John is still putting on fly masks every morning and I'm sure the donkeys appreciate them.  But doctoring is down to just a quick look before we let them out in the morning.  Coquette is my only patient now, even Cisco is doing well.

Reba went to her dental appointment and was absolutely the best patient ever.  Dr. Debra said Reba got "best behaved" award for the day.  She had some hooks, but nothing really bad although she did have one tooth that was longer than the others.  Next month we'll take Penny in for a check up after having a tooth pulled last month.   Because she has had a broken jaw, and had a tooth pulled Dr. Debra wants to make sure everything is doing OK. 

MY NEW BEST FRIEND........!!!

Well, maybe not my best friend, but I've been watching her build a magnificent web, and catching snacks for her larder for the last couple of weeks.  She's on the courtyard, where I soak Cisco's hay every morning and night, so we have a lot of contact.  She doesn't even move when I'm in the area.  One morning I came out after a low of 41 degrees and she was hanging on the web, like above.  I touched her and she didn't move, so I was afraid she had gotten too cold.  But later in the morning after she had a chance to warm up, she was running all over the place.  I haven't seen her early in the morning again, so assume, she got caught out that night and is making sure it doesn't happen again.  

I think everyone is enjoying the cooler weather, less flies, less doctoring.......although the donkeys are still wearing their fly masks and need them.  Less flies doesn't mean, NO flies unfortunately.

This morning while I was languishing in bed and putting some thought into getting up, I heard a large bird run into one of the bedroom windows.  We've actually had less bird strikes this year than we usually have, which is good.  Large birds are REALLY loud when they hit.  I got up to look and right below the window was sitting a Sharp-Shin hawk.  As soon as he saw me he move away but stayed on the ground, so I assumed he had hit the window, which is unusual.  Birds of prey rarely strike the windows.  I stood real still, but he still knew I was watching him, so I moved to another window to sneak a peek.  He went back right underneath the window with purpose, picked up a dove, which was what had hit.  A Sharp-Shin is a small hawk, not much bigger than a dove, and he had a hard time getting off the ground, but he finally made it.  We've had hawks learn to fly birds into the windows, makes hunting a lot simpler for them, I'm sure.  One time John's sister was complaining about the prey birds hanging around where she fed the birds.  John's nephew told her "well it is a bird feeder you know".........she was not amused.............LOL

Had a lady come out to visit with Pancho and Pepsi.  She has a rescue heart, already has a "family" of them from what she said, including a blind weanling horse.  He was born with cataracts, has been checked, and there is nothing that can be done to give him even minimal sight.  She really liked the boys, but on second thought, decided her plate is pretty full, she also works.  I appreciate her putting thought into making a long term decision and deciding not to adopt.  Pancho has been in 2 homes in a little over 2 years, for no reason except people changing their minds, basically........no commitment to making it work. 

THE SHOOT IS OVER.......!!

 MORNING PREPARATIONS

ALL DECKED OUT AND READY TO GO

 Well at least John and the donkey's part.  This group have been real nice, started on time, even if it was early, did the miner and donkey part early and it's not even noon yet.  John just brought BlackJack home and went back over to have catered lunch and to bring Cisco home when lunch is over.  I still don't know exactly what they are doing,  when I took Cisco over after I did chores, there were a bunch of people in western dress, running out of the church.  

 WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN

I was really impressed, when John and BJ came home I didn't know they were here until John came in the house.  He said he was going back over and I assumed he had left BJ tied at the feed room.  Imagine my surprise when I checked and BJ was wandering around and all the trappings were on the porch of the feed room.  Guess John was paying attention when I was bumbling thru putting the saddle on, at least enough to get it off.  I haven't checked yet to see if the straps and buckles were taken off on the left or right side.  For some reason John mentally, doesn't retain which side you work from on equines.  Thank goodness donkeys are really forgiving...............LOL

We went to watch our son run at the asphalt track in his modified last night.  He managed to finish the race, which sometimes is about the best you can do.  He is having "fun" getting the suspension set up.  Asphalt is not as forgiving as dirt when setting a car up, and to be competitive you have to get it right.  They have 2 more races before their season is over.  Hopefully over the winter he can get it figured out and have a good year next year.  He's actually in 6th place for end of the year points, so it hasn't been a total loss, even though it gets frustrating to go out there and not have the car set up properly. 

I don't race again until the 11th of October.  I think we have 6 more race dates.  I've dropped to 3rd for end of the year points.  I've got a good chance to take back 2nd, but first is pretty much unattainable.  Catching fire last race night and not having a good finish, really put me down on points.  It was going to be almost impossible anyway, I told John I wish the 1st place car would not be able to start the main some night, that would really help my position......!!  LOL  He seemed to think I would jinx myself, if I thought of that.  So I guess I just won't tell him what I'm thinking until the season is over............LOL

GOING TO THE MOVIES?

Well John and BlackJack aren't exactly going to the movies, they are going to be in a movie, tomorrow morning starting at 7am...........!!!  Why can't they start at a decent hour, like after chores are finished, chores are much more fun if two are doing them and only half the work.........!!!  LOL

BJ is the only one of us that has had experience packing, but it's been a long time, at least 15 years.  The pack saddle is not that old, but the straps are dried out.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to work with leather straps that have the flexibility of a piece of metal.  John soaked them in water for 2 or 3 days and then slathered on as much Lexol as he could.  But it hasn't made much difference.  Of course all the straps needed to be adjusted since the last time it was used on obviously a larger animal.  

When I say he's the only one with experience, that is really important information.  Some of you know John was never around large animals until we got BlackJack.  He still has creative ways of putting on halters sometimes... and we won't even talk about tying a quick release knot.........!!!!  I had horses as a girl, BUT, that has been a LONG time ago.  My experience was with riding saddles, not even sure I ever saw a pack saddle up close. 

But the show must go on.  We put the saddle on BJ last week, but without all the "stuff" that hangs on it, like shovel, ditty bag, you know all those things miners use.............or at least to give the perception of things miners use. 

I wouldn't say BJ was the most patient victim, but then again it took us forever to get the straps adjusted and all the other donkeys were out doing donkey stuff and he knew it.  

I really surprised myself....I still remembered how to tie the cinch straps.  I would imagine most saddles now have buckles.  John was impressed, so was I............BJ.........not so much, I'm sure.  

Hopefully they will only be needed tomorrow, one movie that John, BJ, Cisco and Buddy Brat were in was only suppose to be one day, ended up 4 days of mostly standing around waiting and waiting some more.  

We were told it was going to be a Western, Zombie, Comedy............I don't even know what that is, although I said something to JR our grandson and his wife and they both laughed and seemed familiar with the concept.  I didn't even ask if they watch them, don't want to know.  But the latest we heard it's going to be a heavy rock video.......!!  I don't know anymore about that than the other, I'm afraid......!!!  LOL

Have a woman coming out to visit with Pepsi and Pancho next week, keep your fingers crossed.  Also had someone else interested in them, but they have 80 acres which would be a lot of acres for 2 little miniatures or in Pancho's case almost mini.  So I'm going to see if they might be interested in Ruthie, Wister and Ruger.  Eighty acres for 3 donkeys would be like donkey heaven, they wouldn't even need to be fed except for something to have them come in once or twice a day and check in.  The people have a large stable for their horses and some boarders, that all stay in stalls and paddocks, so all that land is going to waste from my point of view..........LOL

Doctoring is getting almost boring............YIPPEE....!!!  No leg wraps on anyone, the flies are respecting the Swat or Thuja zinc oxide. 

BURROLAND IS OPEN AGAIN......!!!

A DONKEY GRAZES IN FRONT OF A 17TH CENTURY MONASTERY  IN N. IRELAND

It's been 3 or 4 days since they got their 2 or 3 hours in Burroland, so late this morning we opened the gate, before we let them out of their pens.  So far it's been a slow transition, guess they had given up on being able to go over there.  When I came in 2 of the minis were working that way, eating beans along the way..........SIGH.!!!

Doctoring is getting pretty easy, a couple of habronema spots, scabs but no open sores.  This morning Cisco was scratching an ear with vigor.  Stuck my hand down in it and yuck........!!!  Gooey, so I sent down a rag, which he really seemed to appreciate.  Then I squirted some Animax in his ear, which wasn't appreciated at all......!! He usually has ear problems once or twice a summer, don't have a clue as to what it is.  Brought it to the attention of a vet years ago, and she used Animax, without telling me what IT was and the Animax clears IT up pretty quick, whatever IT is..............!!!

The weather is changing into fall, it's interesting how you can wake up one morning and it looks and feels like fall.  No more 100 degrees and probably very little rain, although we got a couple of drops yesterday afternoon, so the monsoon is still trying to hang on.  This has been a good monsoon for a change, it's been years since we got a decent monsoon, so we are enjoying it, even if the rain usually comes at feeding time.

Of course all the toads and desert critters are enjoying monsoon.  This morning I saw a little toad, less than a 1/2 inch in diameter hopping along.  I had to look twice to even know what it was.  He was a perfect little Colorado River Toad, although I guess it could have been a Spadefoot, too little for me to tell the difference.  As tiny as he was, he must have been a tadpole yesterday. 

I guess Snooky can only stand being wild for 3 days and 2 nights, he came in yesterday morning on his own, as long as the door was open and we weren't standing by it.  Guess he missed his ice cream and Temptation cat treats. 

FIXED FLY MASKS

While I was gone to Missouri, Michele was busy fixing fly masks.  She and her husband came by this morning to deliver her work.  She obviously is meticulous, when I took them to her, some of them were probably beyond saving.  

Obviously she loves a challenge, she even wove in the eye area where they like to rub, if they have itchy eyes.  I usually have to throw those away, even if the rest of the mask is good, since the main reason for the masks, is to protect the eyes.  Thank you Michele, now maybe we can make it thru fly season without having to get more new masks.  

Yesterday our grandson married his sweetheart Rebecca.  JR already has a son named Hunter, who is 2 years old.  Rebecca brings Kyler to the family, which is almost the same age as Hunter.  Right now JR is trying to get full custody of Hunter, which would be great if the boys could grow up together full time, rather than Hunter popping in and out.  It looks like it might happen, although you never know what the system will do.  

The donkeys are all doing pretty good, doctoring is down to almost nothing.  Boaz's mouth finally healed, unfortunately his 3 crusader fly masks seem to spend most of their time missing.  John spent most of this morning trying to find at least one.  He did find one, but unfortunately it is in need of Michele's TLC before it can be used.  Sigh!  We're still having some skin issues on Boaz, Coquette, and Cisco, especially.  I'm using Underwood Horse Medicine on them and it's doing the job, IF that's a big IF the flies don't manage to get thru the medicine barrier.  I swear the flies right now are really vicious.  Unfortunately stable flies will not go to the fly traps and of course they are the ones that make bloody legs below the knee.  In the picture of the habronema in the above link, I would never let the larvae get that big, without putting ivermectin on topically and pulling the little dead bodies out with tweezers, vets prefer to debride, which makes a bigger wound area.  

We're doing pretty good with polo wraps and for those that have flies above the knee, men's crew socks.  Penny has to have both hind legs wrapped, which only lasts a day or so, before the wraps come loose and we find her dragging a polo wrap behind her.  She has gotten real good about letting John retrieve the polo wrap off her leg, but still will not let him put a halter on her without being in the squeeze.  Donkeys that have been abused, develop definite ideas on what is allowed and what isn't.  We usually work around their psychosis rather than "make" them do something.  They probably have a good reason for their thoughts on the matter. 

I'M BACK......!!!

 JUDGING FROM THE ADVERTISEMENT ON THE SUV, THIS IS PROBABLY "SOP"

Had a good trip, got to visit with what family I have left in the area, and some of my classmates came to the viewing for Mother.  It was really good to see everyone, wish the circumstances could have been different.  Mother would have enjoyed visiting with everyone.

John got along just fine while I was gone.  Even Cisco and Boaz with their on-going skin problems looked good.  There were a couple of polo wraps missing.  He's never learned the ins and outs of putting polo wraps on legs.  Actually neither have I, but he's not willing to put them on and then have to go look for them, or see the donkey trailing a polo wrap behind them.  So he sprayed the legs with fly spray, which works..........well except for Penny.  Penny does not like fly spray and isn't shy about letting you know she doesn't.  He said he chased her around her feeding pen, spraying as he went.  I asked him why he didn't put her in the redneck squeeze?  I got a blank stare........LOL  Said he never thought of it.  Certainly would be a lot easier than trying to hit a moving target, especially one that knows how to use those rear feet in a threatening manner.  

What gets me is if Penny doesn't want you to do something, she will not give up.  But you can put her in the squeeze, and she will stand like a statue.  Actually you don't have to put her in the squeeze, she will go in on her own.  

John groomed on Gigi yesterday morning.  Some of them have slicked out, some haven't and Gigi is one of the non slick ones.  She will let us touch her, well, most of the time in her pen.  Most of the time she will go stand in her "safe" corner which is where the squeeze is.  Not yesterday morning, he had a brush in his hand and she would go stand in her corner, until he tried to come closer.  He opened up the squeeze, she went in and he groomed her.  I guess having the panel between her and him is OK, standing beside the panel isn't.......!!!!  I'm always amazed at how going in the squeeze settles them down, all of them..........even Tula.....!!!