BOAZ GIVING A RASPBERRY

Boaz has figured out that if he does "cute" things with his tongue and lips that people ooh and ahh and he gets treats.  So he is usually more than willing to play the game.  Looks like he could use a shave........LOL

This morning Tyler came to do Gigi and Penny's feet.  Gigi wears a shoe on one front foot 100% of the time, or the foot will turn under. Both of them have opinions on getting their feet done, and generally their opinion has nothing to do with Tyler's opinion on what he is going to do with their feet.

This morning it was almost like they had gotten together and decided to be as bad as they could be.  Gigi fought until she was on the ground, with Tyler's helper kneed down on her neck.  Not the best way to shoe an animal I'm sure, but he got it done.

THANKS LINDA FOR THIS EMBARRASSING PICTURE OF GIGI...!!

This is what a pouting donkey looks like.  When he was done with her and we all stepped back she refused to get up.  I guess she figured if she just laid there and ignored us, it didn't happen.  They can be so much fun to watch sometimes.  She finally made the effort to get up and went as far away from us in her pen as she could get and gave us the evil eye. 

So we move on to Penny.  She seemed to be of the same mind set as Gigi, Finally got her in the redneck squeeze so we could get a halter on her.

These two are never easy, but today they seemed to be particularly obnoxious. Soooooo............

Tyler knows a guy that can build stocks. https://www.cuteness.com/article/build-horseshoeing-stocks
 He's going to get the guy's phone number and see what he says.  He's made stocks for a couple of oxen our family doctor has, so donkeys should be a piece of cake.  I know one thing horse stocks don't work really well for donkeys, because of the size difference.

We're going to the races tonight at the asphalt track, to hopefully watch our son Rod, race his modified.  I don't know what it is about racers, but a lot of them seem to have no problem ignoring the car until a day or two before the races and then think their devotion to getting the car ready and staying up until all hours of the night turning wrenches, etc is fun.  John always started working of the car on Monday and in those days we raced every week-end.  Now we're lucky to get to race every month.

Lynn is going to try the asphalt, the 4th of March.  He might like it more than I do, we'll have a practice the end of February, so he'll get to feel it out before jumping out there in the "battle".  He's got a competitive nature, so he'll probably do good, at least I hope so. 

GOING TO PICK UP THE GIRL

 COQUETTE WILL BE GLAD TO HAVE HER BEST FRIEND BACK

The clinic called today and said Penny will be ready to come home Sunday.  She still isn't eating very much, although I guess she is enjoying the fresh grass a couple of times a day and they are feeding her alfalfa of some kind.  She won't want to leave all that attention and yummy food to come home to bermuda hay probably.  

Glad she is doing well, I hope she will continue to improve with no more problems.  John has the hay barn ready for her to stay in for a few days, it's softer in there and if it rains she will be out of the weather.  

So we'll feed early, and hit the road, Doug will let the others out in the afternoon.  Right now they are only going out for a couple of hours before time to round up for supper because of the over abundance of mesquite beans this year.  Last year wasn't bad, this year is making up for it.  The "fatties" are fattening up nicely and needless to say we are pretty gun-shy about someone else getting an impaction.  Of course they come out of the pens like a race horse coming out of the starting gate, their heads go down and their lips start vacuuming as fast as they can.  It's almost like they know we're going to control their time and they want to make the most of it.  

Right now Gigi has a swelling around her udder and belly.  We've had others have something like this before, in the summer.  Had the vet out a couple of times and they prescribed an antibiotic, that I keep on hand for emergencies, soooooo she's on her 2nd day and it's going down.  Gigi isn't really thrilled to be messed with.  We have to put her in a redneck squeeze to work with her.  I tried to put the antibiotic in her mush and that didn't work.  I have used powdered jello before to mix with something that doesn't taste very good, so I figured what the heck.  Yesterday morning when I "presented" it for her perusal and she almost swallowed the syringe.  Guess she likes strawberry/banana..........LOL  

AT THIS RATE IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG HOT SUMMER...........!!!

Yesterday we had a wind storm, nothing spectacular, just wind before a little bit of rain.  But it did tear up the tarp covering Rosie's pallet shelter and left much of the tarp shredded and hanging.  We didn't think it would be a problem, until John went out for afternoon round-up and caught GiGi, swallowing a piece about the size of a saucer and grabbing another piece and swallowing it before he could get to her.  So now we're on poo watch for the next 2-3 days, to make sure it comes thru the pipeline.  Why in the world would she eat it, it has no taste and I'm sure it doesn't smell like something good to eat.  The only thing I can figure out is, she liked the crackling sound it made as it went down her throat.  

This morning John and Doug took down the rest of the tarp, and put up a new one.  They've never bothered it before, and Rosie is usually our "alternative" eater.  That's why the wood in their pen is covered with chicken wire.  So hopefully they will leave the new tarp alone.  We plan on putting roof paneling on, but right now it's just too hot to be out there if you don't have to be. 

So tonight during round-up John noticed Boaz wasn't acting right, had water running out his nose with some green goop.  SIGH........!!!  He had been out on the property "self" feeding on mesquite leaves and beans, so it wasn't the usual pellets that he has problems with.  He didn't seem overly uncomfortable, so I opted to give him a shot of banamine and about 20 minutes later he seemed better.  I can only assume he gulped down too many leaves or beans and they got hung up somewhere, not too far down.  

John and Doug continued round-up and John came in to tell me Quilla was acting funny................!!!  It's a good thing my hair is already grey I guess.  He was off, but nothing you can really put your finger on.  He wasn't interested in eating, had gut sounds, felt a little warm, but no temperature.  We discussed taking him for a trailer ride, which sometimes gets things like gas moving along, but it was almost dark.  So we opted for walking him around the driveway.  He was not impressed and actually tried to run away, which gave John a thrill.  He managed to keep up until Quilla gave up, but it was touch and go for awhile.  He finally dragged John back to his pen, so we let him go and have been checking on them both.  

John just came in and said they are both eating.  Vets don't want them eating anything after they have choked for 12-24 hours.  As Dr. Karla said she likes them hungry and pissed......!!!  I've never had a problem with feeding them, I figure if it's a choke I can clear, it wasn't bad enough to upset their system by not feeding them.  

I am very relieved, it's very upsetting when they aren't feeling good, and having 2 at the same time, so soon after Daisy is scary.  

Now we're just on watch for Miss GiGi.....!!! 

Sacred Datura

This is a patch of jimpson weed on our property.  We actually have quite a few patches of it.  It's a member of the nightshade family, consequently it is poisonous and also is an hallucinogenic.  The Indians called it Sacred Datura, used it in their religious ceremonies and unfortunately it has been discovered by people that like to get high.  I guess it is quite dangerous, but that isn't always a deterrent.  It's dangerous to animals too, but the donkeys stay away from it.  If they were hungry they might try it, but believe me this bunch are not hungry. 

 The "fatties" are still staying in the pens at night, much to their disgust.  The beans are just about gone on the 10 acres, we haven't went over to Burroland to see how things are going over there.  We haven't really heard that many cows over there, hopefully they have been sneaking over there quietly.......LOL

The weather cooling off is helping with the skin problems, I'm down to Boaz, Rosie and Coquette needing to be doctored.  The salve Dr. Lindsey sent is still working.  I asked and she said I could use it on Rosie, so I'm trying it on her belly, so far, so good.  

I've got my fingers crossed the fly masks last till the season is over.  We only have one new mask left and some of the ones they are wearing are getting rather ragged.  

Falena is walking very good since Tyler opened up her abscess.  Unfortunately she has a big gouge missing from the side of her foot, and it is going to have to be covered for the foreseeable future, to keep it clean.  I'm pretty good at making a gorilla tape boot, but in our rocky soil, they don't last but a few days at best.  I dug thru my stash of foot covers and dragged out one of Jenny's, she wore after her hoof resection.  It's lightweight and would be perfect, BUT, Jenny was a mammoth and Falena isn't.  Even with the diaper wrap, ETC, it's still pretty big on her foot.  It does stay on, but it gets turned.  I don't know if it bothers her to be turned or not.  It's really hard to find boots that will stay on donkeys anyway, their feet is not shaped like a horse or pony, and they can just walk out of a lot of them because their foot is so upright.  

When Tyler was here last week to open up Falena's abscess, he also shod her rear foot that keeps trying to turn under.  He also put a shoe on Gigi's crooked front foot.  It's really made a difference in her ease of walking.  I'm not a fan of shoes, but have about decided that Gigi will probably have to have a shoe the rest of her life.  I'll see what Tyler says the next time he comes.  We've tried giving both of them chances to go barefooted, but after a few months their feet get wonky again. 

I'M REALLY REALLY TIRED OF HEAT AND HUMIDTY

I hate to whine, but I'm really ready for our normal hot dry desert weather.  LOL  I don't really mind it, but it's terrible on the donkey feet.  Falena is still recuperating from her abscess.  Gus probably blew an abscess a couple of days ago.  And Gigi is really sore on her crippled front foot.  Unfortunately when they have an abscess or that's what you think is the problem, you can't give them any bute.  It would slow the process of the abscess opening, which in the long run would make the process last longer.  I've left a couple of messages for Tyler, but he hasn't called me back.  He will when he gets time, he stays pretty busy. 

Gigi isn't the easiest thing to work with, but this morning I decided to try to soak her foot in warm Epsom Salts water.  Got all my toys together and out we went.  I mixed the water in a small bucket, but took an IV bag, planning on putting her in the redneck squeeze, because she has been known to kick like a machine.  

John opened up the squeeze and started trying to get her to go in it, but she didn't want to move much.  She got to where we tie her up when Tyler comes to trim her feet and she stopped, wouldn't go any further.  I gave John the halter and she let him put it on her.  She likes him better than me for some reason.  Tied her there and prepared for a rodeo.  She wasn't much interested in me picking up her foot, but when I did I decided to try putting it in the bucket rather than the IV bag.  Wonders of all wonders she left it in, tried to take it out a couple of times, but for the most part stood very good.  We only did 10 minutes, didn't want to push our luck.  Then she didn't want to take her foot out of the bucket.  Tomorrow we'll try it again, with warmer water and a longer soaking time.  

I'll be racing tonight.  For the first time this year the Hornets will be qualifying.  That means we will run 2 timed laps and our time will be used to line us up for the main event.  After tonight we will only have 2 more point races for end of the year points.  I am in 7th place right now, but within striking distance of 5th place, if I have 3 good races and 6th and 5th place drivers don't.  I'm not wishing them any bad luck, but 5th is better than 7th.........!!!  LOL

They are also going to have a trailer race.  That means they can use any car or truck as a tow vehicle, and any type of trailer.  They paint them all up gaudy, last year they had a full size house trailer.  They aren't allowed to hit the tow vehicle, BUT, the trailer is fair game.  It really makes a mess, when it's over, there are trailer parts strung all around the track.  Needless to say, that's the last race of the night.....!!! 

ANOTHER ABSCESS?

Sure looks like it.  Gigi, the one that has been crippled from birth is not putting any weight on her bad front foot and laying down a lot.  The problem with her is she is really difficult to work with.  I sent Tyler an e-mail, so hopefully he'll get a chance to come out and evaluate.

All this rain and humidity isn't good for feet that are use to being dry.  Falena seems to be doing good, still a little ouchy on the foot Tyler dug on, but moving around and not laying down.  He said he had seen one of these homemade boots stay on for 3 weeks, so I guess we'll keep it on as long as possible.  I put one of the old boots I had for Jenny a couple of years ago.  It's way too big for Falena, Jenny was a mammoth, but it is just a flimsy material, so I wadded it up and did my best to get it as tight as possible.  Put it on yesterday morning and it's still on.  It's just a barrier to keep her from walking on the gorilla tape, so if it comes off, no big deal, except to try and find it.  

The drill now is, if individual donkeys don't eat their hay at night, they don't get out of the pens until noon the next day.  They only get 5 hours out on the 10 acres a day that way.  No one is going over on Burroland at all.  

Yesterday John heard some cows in the area, he took the golf cart down on Cattle Drive and saw where they had walked past the gate.  So he opened the gate and we took a salt block down to put in the gate opening, to encourage them to go thru the gate.  

This morning we heard cows bellowing in 2 different places, one sounded like on our neighbor's property, and the other one sounded like it was on Burroland.  We needed to go over and open the other gate on the east side of Burroland anyway, so off we went.  Sure enough there was a Charolais cow on Burroland, one half grown Angus bull and 3 or 4 of his friends on the neighbor's property and the little bull was yelling at the cow, and she was yelling back.  She couldn't be his momma, so I don't know what was going on, but there was no way for them to get together.  We went ahead and opened the other gate, and right after we went back in the house they shut up.  Not sure if they got together, they sure couldn't go in a direct route, but I guess they figured it out.  

With the 2 gates open they can wander in on one side and wander out on the other.  Hopefully eating beans as they mosey along, at least that's what we hope happens. 

ON WATCH

When they get 36 years old, it becomes "watch and worry".  This morning when John and Doug went out to attempt to entice reluctant equine to their pens to have breakfast, Rusty wasn't interested in a cookie and found a shady place to lay down in one of the pens. Not taking a cookie is always a sign that something isn't right.  

Checked him for gut sounds and the ones he had were very quiet.  So I came in and got my "go to" colic fix. Rusty is always fun to medicate, it has to be official (halter and lead) and even then he throws his head and acts like you are trying to cram acid down his throat.  We got most of it down him and when I came in to clean the sticky stuff off my hands and change clothes, John said he poo'ed and also pooted, which is a good thing.  But when it's all said and done I don't think that's the only problem.  His vitals are fairly normal, although he is breathing a little heavy.  I did notice his gums are not very pink, which could mean he's not getting as much oxygen as he should, as in, possible heart condition.

He wanted out of his pen, and when we let him out he found a shady spot and laid down.  We took him a bucket of water.  It's been so hot lately, dehydration can become a problem real quick.  John took the bucket over close to him, he jumped up and walked off, didn't even look at the water.  Just now John came in and said he had come up behind the hay barn, yelling for Reba.

My WAG (Wild Ass Guess) is mild colic at age 36 and a possible on going heart age related problem we don't know about.  I guess I will be monitoring his gums to see if there is any change.  John was going to check Reba's gums to see what they looked like, but she's as bad if not worse than Rusty about being cooperative.  Dehydration is my big worry.

Courtney came yesterday to work on Gus.  Right now a lot of the donkeys are having feet problems, too much rain and too much humidity.  For those that have lousy feet anyway, it gets real dicey.  He lost one of his epoxy "soles" and started slowing down.  She tried something different this time.  Besides the epoxy on both front feet, she also wrapped his feet in a mesh web that looked a lot like my casts when I abused my thumb, wrist and hand.  She dumped a roll of the stuff in a bucket of water and wrapped  both front feet with the wet wrap.  When it dried she could shape it if needed with her rotary sander, it is really hard.  Hopefully it will give his feet some support, because the bottom 1/3 of his hoof certainly isn't.

Tyler had been here a few days earlier to work on the uncooperative ones, like Gigi, and Penny.  Both of those girls have nasty feet.  Both of them were probably crippled from birth and haven't been handled much, if at all.  Needless to say they can be nasty, although Gigi is improving with the passage of time.  She hasn't tried to kick Tyler recently.  The last time he did Penny she missed his head by about an inch.  Tyler always has a helper with him, Courtney works by herself, so Tyler gets the fun ones.  He really didn't think we could save Gigi, and is quite impressed with how much she has improved.  She will always have to be trimmed regularly and she will always be crippled, but she gets around just fine. 

INTERESTING WEEK.........(aren't they all)......!!!

Doug is finally getting settled in, the sewer is the last to be installed and hooked up and they should get that done today.  Well except for internet, I have DSL with our land phone.  He doesn't need a land phone he like most people in the 21st century has a "carry round".  He's been told by the company that he gets his phone from, that we're in a dead zone, no signal.  They have extenders and different ways of boosting the signal I guess, so I have the local computer geek coming out Monday to see if he has any brilliant ideas.  

I was afraid Doug would get bored out here, but he says he doesn't think it will ever get boring. I think he's saying it's somewhat like a 3 ring circus...........LOL

Got Gus and Quilla home and they just fell right back into the routine, Gus lays down in his favorite dusting place in the afternoon and by the time John goes out to do round up, he's standing in his pen, wanting to know where supper is.  Quilla is Quilla, nothing fazes him.  I guess Vaska, one of Claire's horses was pretty upset, cried all night and laid down by the gate they went out when they left.  Haven't heard if he has settled down yet.  

Doug is really a lot of help, I have to hurry making up my feed pans, between him and John rounding up donkeys, it now takes less time and they end up having to wait for me.  Didn't take him long to figure out the routine, and who goes in what pen.

Janice is out this morning grooming donkeys.  She comes about once a month and usually gives everyone a "lick and a promise" at least.  Today she's probably going to have to spend more time on Rusty the mule.  He is really shedding a lot. If you touch him there is an explosion of white hair everywhere......!!! The white or light colored ones seem to start shedding first.  Well except for BlackJack, he doesn't shed much at all, must be that Poitou blood.   The donkeys, well most of them really appreciate getting groomed, although Gigi, Rosie and Penny can be stand offish.  I think she can usually groom on Penny a little bit.  Gigi is really evasive, unless you are outside the pen, with a cookie, then she's usually pretty friendly.  

Yesterday I noticed 2 of the cats were in the spa room, "observing" something right outside the window.  I also was hearing a squeaking sound about every 3 or 4 seconds, but couldn't really tell where it was coming from.  In my infinite wisdom and a lifetime of living with cats, my assumption was the squeaking sound was coming from where they were looking.  

This is a rock squirrel.  Yesterday afternoon,  he was just sitting there squeaking at the cats inside the window.  He wasn't in any hurry to leave, I went over to see what was there, went ALL the way to the other end of the house to get the camera, came back and he was still sitting and squeaking.  He finally saw me after I took the picture, and ran up a 4 inch pipe just to his left behind the wood.  Unfortunately for him, the other end of the pipe is buried in the ground......in other words no escape.  I went out the door to see if I could help, and the pipe was doing a little dance.  By the time I got back in the door, he had figured out how to back out and left at "warp" speed, I didn't even see which way he went. 

This is Miss Grumpy Penny

Penny is probably not going to like any of us for awhile.  Between the worming a couple of days ago and Tyler coming this morning to do "pedicures" she is in a real snit.  Her rear feet grow long in the front.  Tyler told me the name of it, the back of the coffin bone is actually lower than the front, he said it's probably genetic, as if the poor girl doesn't have enough problems, with her broken jaw and hunchback.  Tyler said she should be trimmed on a regular schedule, which won't be a problem because Gigi has to be trimmed regularly too.  And since both of them seem determined to keep their independence, especially Penny, I'll have Tyler come out for them.  He always has a helper with him, Courtney is by herself, so she doesn't need the adventure.

He didn't have to reset Gigi's shoe, just had to trim more off on the outside of her front hooves than the inside.  He says she has some nice looking growth coming out, much fuller and "normal" looking.  So hopefully with the passage of time, her feet will get better.  I'm afraid her shoulder will always be "wonky" from walking crippled all those years, but if we can get her feet straight without shoes, that will be one less thing for her to have to put up with. 

She wasn't too bad at all, and little jumpy, but not bad.  Penny on the other hand was a little kicking machine.  She's fast and she fairly accurate, but this isn't Tyler's first "rodeo" and he managed to keep 1/2 step ahead of her, except for one REALLY close call.  

When he was done, we all left the area, so John could take the halter off and let her out with the others.  He tried really hard to get her to take a cookie from him, but she wasn't having any of it, if looks could kill he would have been a goner..........!!!!   LOL 

Finally got the final 3 wormed yesterday morning.  I had 2 leftover biscuits in the freezer and thought that would be really good for the 2 mules.  I lovingly prepared a molasses and biscuit sandwich, with wormer.  Tula had to settle for 1/2 a hot dog bun.  Took it out, Reba and Tula grabbed it and looked for more.  Rusty let us know that he wasn't going to be taken for a fool, as soon as it hit his mouth, he dropped it an accompanying dirty look.  So it was halter and lead time, I told Doug to snub him up, which he seemed to think might not be necessary.  Hmmmmmm Rusty was his usual obnoxious self to try to stick something in his mouth, but John and I got it done.  Doug took his halter off, and Rusty took off with a kick in the air, as he hid behind Reba with a wounded expression on his face.  They can get some of the saddest looks on their faces, considering they don't really have the muscle system for a lot of expression.  He kicked up his heels a couple more times, before he allowed himself to be "caught", petted and loved on.  Brat....!!

Going up to the Phoenix area to pick up Gus and Quilla tomorrow.

As I always say............WE ARE NEVER BORED.........!!!!   LOL

HAPPY NEW YEAR......!!!

The flagstone is done and the new gate installed.  I'm going to miss the redwood gate we'd had since the house was built.  Unfortunately over the years the donkeys had almost destroyed it by pushing on it when they wanted us to come out and play, and chewing on it when bored.  It was starting to look rather bedraggled. 

The cracks in the walls have been fixed, but they will wait about a week to come back and paint.  We have to hose the walls for about 4 days to help the salts and minerals to leach out. 

The donkeys are happy to not have to stay in their pens, when the guys are working.  After the first couple of days, they actually became resigned to their fate, and stopped yelling so much.  We did let Pepper out every day.  His legs are so creaky that he needs to be able to move around as much as possible.  He's been laying down more since it's been cold, I would imagine those old legs don't handle cold very well. 

Gigi is finally walking pretty good for her.  After Tyler took her shoe off last time she got really lame.  I guess it changed the angle enough that she had to readjust her walking.  And I'm sure the cold weather doesn't do her any good either.  

Everybody else seems to be doing good.  Not sure they enjoy the cold weather but I'm sure they are happy to not have to wear fly masks, and get doctored, so it's a trade off.  Since it's been cold John upped their hay, even the fatties, so I guess we're not going to do diet control for awhile. You can bet, Rosie and Coquette will enjoy it for as long as it lasts........LOL

SECRET SANTA......???

Got this off Facebook, don't know who Carole Powell is, but this is wonderful......!!

Today we went to a funeral for a 22 year old woman that fell while enjoying the great outdoors.  No parent should ever have to bury a child.  What a waste, she was a lovely young lady that wanted to help others less fortunate, as her life's work and will be missed judging from the many people attending her service.  

This evening we were rounding up and feeding right before dark, and the dogs started barking.  That's not unusual, John says Niki barks every time the neighbor coughs.  It's not quite that bad, besides our neighbors aren't that near.  

Anyway we usually look down the driveway when they bark, just in case.  We noticed a car out there, but didn't think much about it, as we are always expecting FedEx and UPS and have a large container out by the driveway for them to leave boxes in, so the donkeys can't get to them.  This time of year they use contract drivers that use their own vehicles to deliver.  Sure enough I saw someone get out and go towards the container.  So I finished what I was doing, jumped in the golf cart and went out to see what they brought.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at the container and saw a $20 bill stuck under a rock on top.  No boxes inside.........!!!!  I guess someone wanted to buy the donkeys some extra carrots for the holidays, I do wish they had come in so we could thank them.  Hopefully they will see this blog.

Gigi seems to be getting a little better, I know she's already looking forward to her graham cracker, applesauce sandwich with j-herb in it.  She gets that twice a day and anxiously watches when I come out of the house and head for the pen area.  I might add Rosie watches about as anxiously, their pens are side by side.  I've explained to her that Gigi is getting medicine that she doesn't need.  I don't think Rosie wants the medicine but she'd sure like to get hold of that graham cracker..........!!!

GIGI

Gigi has been struggling since Tyler took the shoe off her right front foot.   I checked her foot a couple of days ago, it's not hot, started at her shoulder and felt all the way down to her foot.  Didn't find anyplace that was ouchy, so I don't know what's going on.  I've got a call in for Tyler, but haven't heard back so far.  She's laying down like she did when she first came here.  Hopefully she isn't getting an abscess.  I can't imagine trying to soak her foot, although she did let me lift her foot to make sure she didn't have something caught in the bottom.  Of course that was after John put her in the "redneck" squeeze, she just will not allow us to do anything with her out of the squeeze.

This year for Thanksgiving we went to some friend's house and had a great time.  Unfortunately when you go out  for  the holiday there isn't any leftovers, which John is always ready to tell me about.  SIGH......!!!  I promised him that I would fix him a holiday dinner sometime between  Thanksgiving and Christmas.   Well I looked up and discovered Christmas is coming pretty quick.  So today is the day I make good on my promise.  I cheated by cooking a turkey breast and getting John  2 drumsticks, since he loves the drumsticks and sandwiches.  And I'm cooking all the other stuff that goes with it, dressing, potatoes, gravy, waldorf salad, and of course pie.  Was going to do pumpkin pie, one of his favorites, but my frozen pie crust looked like a road map with all the cracks.  You can use a cracked, put together crust with a pudding filling, not with pumpkin.  I learned years ago the crust will float to the top, which makes for an interesting visual.  So it's one of my favorites, chocolate........!!!  LOL

Needless to say for 2 people there's going to be a lot of leftovers, I've never been able to cook, just a little bit of all that stuff, so John should be thrilled for the next few days......!!!!

Our cold, high humidity weather lately has been hard on old Pepper.  His knees are really bad, but it doesn't stop him from wandering all over the place, I just hate to see him gimping around.  I put a cover on his worst knee a couple of days ago, and it seems to be helping.  

GRADUATION DAY FOR GIGI.........!!!

Well Tyler is giving it a try.  This is little Gigi's shoe off her right front foot.  It will be a year next month, since we picked her and Rosie up, to keep them from being shot and buried.  

This is what her feet looked like when we picked her up.

 This is how her feet look today

As long as she doesn't start trying to turn that right front foot backwards, she won't have to wear the shoe again.  The other 3 feet although they looked pretty gnarly last year, never tried to turn backwards or anything like that.  She still isn't a very good candidate for farrier care........LOL  Let's put it this way, every time Tyler comes he seems to think she should be friendlier.  I think that on a regular basis too, but so far she's not interested in giving up her independence.

This morning John almost had a mess.  Coquette is trying to entertain the boys and this morning when John was putting everyone in their pens, she came into Pepper's pen, which is beside her pen.  Pepper picked up on the subject and started trying to figure out his plan of attack.  Unfortunately Pancho was also at the ready.  John said it didn't take long for Pancho to decide to get rid of the competition, by lunging at Pepper with his mouth open.  John started yelling, I asked him if he threw himself in front of Pepper to protect him.  Guess not, looking at a mouthful of donkey teeth seemed to make him think yelling would take care of the problem, luckily it did.  Well except for Pepper, he was still trying to figure out his next move once Pancho left the area..........!!! 

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. 

100 DEGREES AGAIN........???

 HOW ABOUT JOHN'S SHOES, THEY ALMOST GLOW IN THE DARK.....!!  lol

What happened to cooling off and the end of the monsoon?  Guess we'll have to wait for awhile longer.  I think Tucson had 3 days in a row over 100 degrees this week.  Today is cloudy so it's not going to get so hot, but it might rain.  The closer we get to the week-end the higher the chances for rain, in fact 50% for Saturday, the next race night.  SIGH!

Had good races Labor Day week-end, I won both heat races and both main events, couldn't do much better than that.............LOL  Unfortunately they weren't point races because they added the Hornets just a few days before the week-end.  It wouldn't have been fair to drivers that already had other plans. 

Pepper is still mostly laying down on his left side.  About twice a week he gets down on his right.  Usually it's in the wash where the sand is soft and deep.  Probably because it's so soft, he loses his balance going down and his weak side goes first.  We just take one day at a time, he is still interested in going out and surveying his territory and will let you know if he thinks he's been in the pen too long.  

A couple of days ago, I noticed Boaz had a wound of some kind right below his knee with the scar tissue on it.  I cleaned it up, wrapped it up and this morning removed the bandage.  It looks to me like a rattlesnake strike, the flesh is starting to look icky.  Called the vet and they said bring him right in.  Unfortunately I let him out after I doctored him.  John and I walked all over the place and couldn't find him, so I called them back and said I'd make an appointment Friday if it doesn't look better when I change the bandage then.  John had already hooked up the trailer, so while I was calling, he was putting it back where it belonged.  Came in and told me while he was backing the trailer up, Boaz came waltzing by from somewhere.  Grrrr.!!

Our "fat" farm is growing, the minis and Frijolita are getting added tonight.  We haven't had any rain for awhile, so the "weeds" are drying up pretty quick, although if it rains some more, they will probably perk up again.  Most of the mesquite beans have fallen and we have noticed the donkeys don't eat beans after they have been on the ground and start turning brown, which is a good thing.  Because of the lack of goodies to eat, we're going to try just keeping them in at night and letting them out during the day.  Their necks are getting hard and cresty, so we'll keep watching them and if being out half the time doesn't work, they'll go in for the duration.  The other 6 will continue to stay in 24/7.  Rosie and Buddy Brat are capable of eating enough in a hour to equate what the others eat in 4-5 hours.  Actually Penny and Gigi wouldn't have to be in the pens, but Rosie and Coquette would have an absolute hissy fit, if their best friends weren't with them.  Coquette especially stresses really bad if Penny is out of her sight. 

RACE TIME.........!!

Suppose to race tonight, if the weather cooperates.  Right now it's nice and sunny but the weatherman says 30%  chance of thunderstorms this afternoon.  Of course he usually isn't right, so hopefully his record will hold tonight. 

John had to change the shock absorbers again.  I think Kias were designed to drive the kids to school and go to the grocery store.  They don't stand up well to the pressure of racing on dirt.  There certainly isn't any aftermarket or racing parts made for Kias either.  I'm in 2nd place for end of the year points 35 points behind the 1st place car and 20 points ahead of the 3rd place car.  Of course it's a long time to November, there could be a lot of changes between now and then.  

We had some teenagers come out this morning to do some grooming.  We really appreciate it when someone comes out to groom and most of the donkeys really enjoy it.  John put Gigi in the squeeze, otherwise she wasn't going to cooperate.  Even at that she had a fast right rear foot.  So she got smacked, yelled at and more grooming.  I'm not sure she ever really gave up, but she finally did settle down and just threaten a little bit, rather than a full blown, "I'm going to kick you" mode.  

I think I'm going to change from polo wraps on the legs for fly protection, to men's crew socks for awhile.  One problem with the polo wraps is they shovel up dirt, when the donkeys dust bathe.  The socks fit looser, so if they gather up dirt while rolling, when the donkeys stand up the dirt just falls off.  I had always used men's socks that had been "retired", which means the elastic tops had lost most of their elasticity.  Kathy from Longhopes Donkey Shelter in Colorado sent me some brand new crew socks and they stay up really good.  

Boaz has lost his last remaining crusader fly mask.  John went out this morning looking for it, but it's still out there somewhere.  I'd really like to protect the edge of his mouth, now that it is healed up, but he isn't making it easy. 

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.....!!!

PLANS ARE ON COURSE.......!!!!

 

No big surprises as yet, everything seems to be going smoothly.  I've got my plane, my car and my first night motel.  For years I've stayed in the same motel between Grandview and Belton.  Everytime I stayed it was a little less welcoming.  The last time, they were working on about half of it and the room I had looked like it should be next on the list.  

That was almost 4 years ago, so I am assuming the renovations are completed and it should be in pretty good shape.  I only made reservation for one night, just in case. 

I think I've got everything planned, so I can visit with all the family.  One whole family of cousins is coming to the visitation e'mass.  That will be great, some of them I haven't seen since we were kids.

Wednesday night, Rod our son, and JR our grandson came out to see Mother one last time before she flew Thursday morning.  I ordered a cedar casket, my stepfather's casket was maple and my Daddy's was knotty pine.  Knotty pine was available, but the cedar caught my eye.  When we got there, the funeral directer started talking about how beautiful it was..........and he was right.........!!  In fact he had shown me the metal casket that he has chosen for himself, but said he thinks he will change his mind.  

John has been following me around when I'm doctoring, so he can learn the drill.  He will do fine, even though he doesn't like to doctor.  

We have been waiting for Penny to decide we aren't going to eat her, when we want to work with her.  She is very distrustful of ropes and halters and we were hoping that over time she'd decide we were OK.  She's better with John than with me, he is around her more.  She has all 4 legs wrapped in polo wraps for fly control.  They stay on pretty good, but every few days, at least one of them will come loose and have to be rewrapped.  The last few times we've wrapped them, I've had John try to put the halter on her without being in the squeeze.  This morning he finally got it on her before she took off.  She isn't really scared of us, and she knows what cookies are and also knows they are always available for good behavior.  And I'm also pretty sure she knows what we want to do..........BUT........she really doesn't want to give up her independence.  So hopefully this morning will be a break thru.......we'll see.........!!!  

When we get thru messing with her, Gigi will be our next victim, her behavior is almost exactly the same.  We can rub her all over, down in her ears, just about everywhere...........as long as we are outside the pen, and she is inside the pen.  John can actually pet her a little, sometimes when he is in the pen with her, but not always and not for long.  

When I get back from Missouri, we were going to take Frijolita and Daisy to a foster home.  Jodie rents a house with horse property that Mother owned in Tucson, actually next door to our son, on 1 1/4 acres.  She wanted to adopt 2 donkeys, but I didn't have any that I thought would work.  So we decided she could foster, which would cut down on our numbers and she could see if she really wanted to have donkeys.  

Yesterday I got an e-mail about 2 donkeys that needed to be rehomed from a non profit that works with at risk children.  They had horses, goats, donkeys, I don't know what all and are getting rid of the animals, because of a loss of donations.  I called Jody, she went out to see them, and decided to take them.  Didn't help us being over our self imposed limit, but, 2 more donkeys will get a good home.  Jody has kids and does foster care, so these donkeys are already "broke in" for working with kids.  John didn't want Daisy and Frijolita to go anywhere anyway.  Do you know how hard it is to run a rescue, when John wants to run it as a sanctuary only? 

SURE MAKES LIFE INTERESTING

Last night we were watching TV, well the TV was on, I was reading and John was checking his eyelids for leaks........!!!

Anyway I heard this weird noise, sounded like the water softener doing it's thing, or maybe the cicadas chirping, but not quite.  I got up and 3 of the indoor cats were looking out one of the windows thru the screen. As I got closer I could tell what the noise was, a very P.Oed rattlesnake.  Ran the cats off and grabbed the camera.  He was under one of the sotol grass bunches, almost against the house and letting everyone know he wasn't happy. That's OK, we weren't too thrilled with his visit either.  That's only the 2nd snake, 1st rattler this year. 

He had a lump in the middle, maybe that's why we don't see the little Harris Antelope squirrels anymore.  This morning he was gone, but last night when John went out to let the donkeys out, he was a little more cautious than usual.....!!!! LOL

Yesterday evening John and I went down to the Oasis Exotic Bird Sanctuary.  They usually have potlucks when anyone has a birthday or are leaving.  They had one leaving and 3 birthdays, so it was quite an occasion.  On the way down we were bouncing along in the van (the last 5 miles isn't paved and can be quite exciting) and I turned to tell John something.  Saw something small, brown and fast run from under his chair to the chair behind his.  We've had trouble before with mice getting in the van if we park it down by the house which we have been doing lately.  We have no idea how they get in, but they do.  John forgot to set the live trap last night, but I noticed it's sitting on the courtyard for tonight. 

Doctoring is going well, fly masks, not so well.  I'm down to just doctoring Boaz and Cisco on a regular basis.  I have others that get a general look over every morning, just in case.  Rosie has been a little lame on one of her rear legs ever since Tyler was out to trim her and Gigi a few days ago.  He just trimmed Gigi and reset her shoe on her twisted foot.  She is actually walking better on that foot than the other one now, but Tyler isn't ready to see how she does without the shoe.  She wasn't real cooperative, she's a lightening fast kicker, doesn't try to actually nail you, but lets you know she's not happy.  Rosie was real good, but somewhere along the way her leg got tweeked or something.  She's getting better, but I hate to see them limp around. 

John goes out every morning after feeding to look for missing fly masks, and other assorted missing items, like knee pads, polo wraps, etc.  So far he's not finding as many as are getting lost. 

SUMMER HAS ARRIVED........!!

I took this picture in 2007 on our back porch.  It's 2 male Western Diamondbacks, fighting for the hand of a sweet young thing, hanging out under a chair, watching the action.  You might also notice a young roadrunner watching.  I guess he was trying to figure out if either of them was small enough for him to take on.  NO, he wasn't much larger than a white winged dove, which I've seen rattlesnakes eat.  

We very rarely see snakes anymore.  Too many hoofed feet roaming around and some of the donkeys are snake murderers.  Actually Shiloh was my snake killer, before he went to his forever home, we use to find them with their heads either smashed or missing, he definitely knew which end to stomp. 

Yesterday was a summer day, it just felt different than the warm days recently.  Probably won't be too long until we have our first 100 degree day.  Not looking forward to it.  

I broke down and put out a fly trap yesterday morning.  It's already got a layer of little dead bodies on top of the water almost 1/2 inch deep.  Yesterday I noticed the flies were just horrible on faces below the fly masks, they are going for mouths since they can't get eyes I guess.  I've asked quite a few people and they said they have more flies than usual too.  Probably a result of our "non" winter, winter, I don't think we had 6 fires in the wood stove total.  I didn't even wear sweats like I usually do.  We will probably pay for a mild winter, with a HOT summer with lots of flies...........not sure it's a good trade.  

Courtney and Martha came out last week, to do feet and massage on Gigi again.  This time John tied Gigi up rather than having her in the squeeze.  We thought we'd try it and if that didn't work I have happy drugs.......!!!  LOL  She did really well, she would let Martha know if she wasn't comfortable with where Martha was going.  Ribs on one side were just fine, "don't touch the other side".  She did learn to relax and enjoy it, which was the general idea.  Old buzzard Pepper even got a little massage.  He enjoyed it so much he started drooling.........!!!  

Boaz is usually Mr. Cooperative, but for some reason he had a bee in his bonnet and kicked at Courtney.  Came close enough to her head that it was time for an "attitude adjustment" for the boy.  So he got a Scotch hobble education on his hind legs.  He had been acting weird for him for a couple of days, then he did that.  That was Thursday and this morning is the first time he's acted like Boaz.  Friday when I changed the bandage on his knee he didn't even beg for animal crackers.  But this morning he was more like his old self.  Still have no idea what the problem is or was.  I'm still doctoring whatever his skin problem is.  He doesn't act like it bothers him, so I don't think that's it.  Friday evening when John did round up, Boaz refused to go in his pen.  He'd circle around and go past or head off somewhere.  I finally got a whip and encouraged him to cooperate and he went in.  OBTW, his knee is almost healed, actually to me it looks healed, but if I take the bandage off and the gnats are attracted, I assume it isn't.  

Rosie got trimmed again and did really well.  She's got some crooked front feet, that hopefully with regular trimming will straighten up.  Doesn't seem to bother her, she can move pretty quick if she wants to. 

John just informed me it's time to start looking for hay again.  Sigh!  I hate this search, there is no such thing as a perfect hay broker or perfect hay.  My big problem is to find someone that has a squeeze to load the hay into the hay barn, that is willing to come out here.  There is a local guy that has a squeeze he uses for the local feed stores, but he won't come out here.  

Raced last night, let's just say, I'm glad that night is over and hope it is the worst night I have this year.......!!!! LOL