MONSOON CONTINUES

This is a picture of a grumpy mule named Reba.  The wadded up mess behind her use to be her "temporary" shelter that had been up for a year or so.  A couple of days ago we had a lot of wind, lightening, thunder and rain going sideways right at evening chore time.  This was the result, actually a couple of the other shelters didn't fare much better, but at least they are standing on their own, and John could fix them.  He's already figured out how to put in another wooden shelter in the mule pen.  There is already one shelter in their pen, but it isn't big enough for 2 mules.  We also got 2.5 inches of rain, in about 1/2 an hour.  It's much nicer when the rain is a little less pounding, most of it runs off, when it's that hard.  

I raced again last night.  We only race about once a month, I almost forget what I'm suppose to do between races..........LOL  I finished 5th again.....!!  That's about the best I'm going to do with my car and the competition.  Brought it home in one piece, but it sure looks weird to look out in the driveway Sunday morning and see a clean car sitting on the trailer.  

Amy and Doug fed the donkeys and Doug let them out at bedtime, so we didn't have to when we got home.  It's really nice to have them taken care of, so we don't have to at 1:30 in the morning.   At this track we have to be there before 3:30 in the afternoon, so I guess we'd just double feed them in the morning and leave them in the pens until we got home after midnight.  This is much nicer for them and for us.  At the dirt track we didn't have to be there until 5:30, so we just had to feed them a hour or so early.  Of course they had to stay in the pens until we got home, they would start yelling when I got out to open the gate..........!!! 

Everybody is doing real good right now.  Heard from Ruthie's foster Mom and she is doing just fine.  They have a lot of desert grass on their property, which cuts down on the hay they have to feed.  Hank the horse is still smitten with her, Diane says whenever they are standing in the barn, Hank likes to hang his head over the divider and lay his head on Ruthie's back and she just stands there.  He's never done that with Marci, her other donkey.  Ruthie and Marcy have finally gotten use to each other and bonded, after a pretty rocky start.  Ruthie is a take charge type of gal and her moving into Marcy's space was a little rough, but Diane said they get along fine now.

ETC

Haven't heard anymore about Molly the little mini donkey that got torn up by the owner's dogs.  So don't know what will happen there.  The owner signed both her and the jack over to AREO a rescue in Phoenix and she was taken directly to a vet clinic.  Her wounds weren't septic, which was a big worry, but she isn't in condition to be traveling long distance.  They will evaluate her next week to see if she has healed enough to haul. 

The jack was suppose to be gelded yesterday morning and if everything goes as planned, it sounds like we might be getting him too.............!!!  SIGH!  They are bonded, have been together long enough for her to be pregnant, unless she is barren.  She is suppose to be 4 years old, so unless something is wrong with either reproductive system, I'm sure she is. 

This would be a good place for her to recuperate, lots of land to roam around on, lots of donkeys to interact with or ignore, her choice.  Our dogs are in a pen because they have teased the donkeys and the donkeys have teased them to the point that someone would get hurt if they could get to each other.  Besides Anubis the female is a runner, at least she was when she was younger.  She's 10 years old now, so maybe running wouldn't be as much fun as it use to be.  But she might not be quick enough to escape a determined donkey.  So Molly could see the dogs and actually the neighbor's dog spends most of his time over here roaming around.  He has learned to give the donkeys a wide berth, so he wouldn't be a problem.  It might take her a long time to gain her confidence back after being attacked like that. 

Heard from the foster home where Ruthie is staying as a companion for Marcy.  After a rather rocky start Diane said they are hanging together and seem to enjoy each others company........ except at feeding time or when treats are involved.  Diane needs to become head jenny, she's not an aggressive type of person and has been letting them get away with being pushy and snarky.  Obviously they haven't figured out who is in charge, and since Diane hasn't stepped up to the plate and said "I am", the pecking order is still up for grabs. 

TIME FOR GUS AND QUILLA TO COME BACK

 ISLAND DONKEYS

Claire has been getting some rain and her pasture is perking up nicely.  So we'll probably go up next week and pick up the boys.  I asked her if she wanted to keep Quilla, since Vashka really likes him, and Quilla isn't herd bound to donkeys.  He was a horse companion for 9 years, so is very comfortable with horses.  We'll see how it goes.  

We also have a woman interested in Ruthie and the boys.  She has 27 acres of horse property up by Flagstaff and has horses and sheep.  Of course Ruthie has gone into a foster home, and it's actually starting to work out.  So I'm going to have to make a decision about what is best for Ruthie, to leave her in a foster home, that might or might not work out long term.  Or put her into a forever home that would like to adopt 3 donkeys.  I'm leaning towards the forever home, but so far no decision.  The woman is planning on coming down for a visit later this month, so we'll stay flexible and see how it goes.  

We also have a friend that will probably be moving out here in his RV for awhile.  He will be good help with the donkeys and maybe we'll have a chance to go someplace other than in between morning and afternoon feeding times.  If we do deliver the donkeys up to Flagstaff, if he was here to feed morning and evening it wouldn't be quite as hectic a trip.

When I went out this morning to ask John if everyone was in their pens, he said "no, the fornicators are over in Burroland"..............more information than I really needed, but guess it's spring..!!  LOL  There was quite a group involved, Tula, Frijolita, Daisy, Boaz, Pancho, Ruger, Wister, and all 4 of the minis.  John said Wister and Ruger actually came over to the pen area and Ruger, went in the pen, but Wister turned around and went back to the party.......!!!  Boaz and Pancho were fighting some of the girls were mounting some of the other girls, it was one big swap party I guess......!!  I was just getting ready to go over with a whip and run them back over here, when they all came over at once and went in their pens like no big deal.......!!!!   Grrrrr......!!! 

DOWN TIME IS GOOD

Right now things are going really good.  Makes me wonder what is in the future.....?  Nobody is having to be doctored, flies aren't too bad yet, although I released my first batch of predator wasps a couple of days ago.  I had to hold them an extra day because of a cold weather forecast, that actually got down to 25*.  Didn't think the little buddies would appreciate getting thrown out in temperatures like that.  John says he sees them in the big poo pile, year round, so I assume it stays fairly warm. 

This morning when John went out to start chores, most of the donkeys were either in their pens or in a close proximity, which is unusual.  Usually they are off doing their own thing, until John shows up with carrots and escorts them to their pen.  I'd like to think they are turning over a new leaf of cooperation.............but I doubt it........!!!!  LOL

Heard from Claire a few days ago.  Gus and Quilla went up to stay with her until the grass starts growing, and we'll go bring them back here, so Gus doesn't founder. 

 She took a picture of Quilla right after they got there and he really looked Cushings.  She had him checked and his numbers were 353, should be between 6 and 35, if that lab uses the same test my vet's lab uses.  So she's starting him on Pergolide.  He's never been overly energetic, but she thought he was a little too lethargic.

This is a picture Claire took of Gus and Quilla attempting to nibble a little bit of grass.  It's still pretty short, so all they are doing is nipping off teeney little pieces of grass, probably one blade at a time.  Gives them something to do, without a lot of results.  Quilla's coat looks rough, as in longer than Gus' and he is also pretty sway back, another symptom of Cushings.  Of course a lot of donkeys are sway backed from being worked too young or maybe overworked.  Quilla was a roping donkey and then spent 9 years in a dysfunctional home.  I don't remember him being sway backed when he got here and don't think he's ever been trained for any type of work, although he leads very well.  

Heard from Diane about Ruthie and, Marcy and Hank the horse, and their bonding process.  So far Hank and Ruthie are getting along just fine.  Diane said one time she will go out and Marcy has ears back, next time she goes out Ruthie has ears back.  Hank's just happy to have a herd I guess, even if they are long ears, he thinks Ruthie is wonderful.  They are still giving it a try to see if the girls will finally bond.  I think the problem might be, they can't figure out who is in charge.  Diane said most of the trouble is at feeding time, they will NOT eat together and I guess Ruthie is in charge at feeding time from what Diane says. 

HAY DAY TODAY.......!!!

 One of BlackJack's relatives, look at those ears......!!! 

Today we got hay delivered.  I was really surprised it only went up about 60 cents a bale.  This time of year can really sock it to you, in price sometimes.  A truckload is lasting us about 5 months.  Amy that cleans pens, gets hay to feed her critters, so if that wasn't happening I guess a load would last us about a year.   Chris doesn't mind driving her squeeze out here to unload a split load, which is 1 trailer, out of 2 trailers, so that works out great.

Haven't heard from Diane on how Ruthie did without the boys, last night, so I assume no news is good news. I think I heard Wister bray a couple of times last night.  He hardly ever brays, so we aren't sure it was him, but it wasn't a bray we recognize.  This morning he was busy playing with Pancho before John went out, and later on he was playing with Ruger, so I don't think he is too traumatized.  Ruger might be a little shocked though, last night John saw Wister attempting to nurse on Ruger.  John said Ruger took off in a hurry........LOL

THE GRAND EXPERIMENT

Well we'll see how this works out.  Some of you might remember that Wister and Ruger are both overly attached to Ruthie, their mom.  Diane and Steve, whom Miss Daisy belonged to said they would like to foster a donkey as a friend for Miss Daisy's mom, Marcy.  Since we haven't managed to find a home for the 3 donkeys together, I got the brilliant idea of seeing how Ruthie would adjust to being away from the boys, even though she has never shown much interest in the jennies around here.  And also seeing how the boys adjust to her not being with them.  Since it's a foster and they live fairly close, if it doesn't work out, it won't be a crisis to go get her.  

Today was the day.  This morning after she got done eating her hay, we loaded her up and away we went.  She hopped out of the trailer, looked around and didn't seem overly upset by this change in her lifestyle.  

 This is Ruthie with Hank.  Hank was really fascinated with her, didn't want her out of his sight........she..........not so much, she basically ignored all his attention getting antics, of which he had many.

 Marcy wasn't sure she wanted to interact with Ruthie, but after being a little stand offish, they touched noses thru a fence that will separate them for a couple of days.  Neither of them showed willingness to be passive, so not sure who will end up in charge.  They will have to figure it out. 

On the way home we had to wait for a train to pass by.  Once it was gone, there was a train work truck on the other side of it, ready to get off the tracks and on the road.  I've never seen one change it's mode before.  There is a set of little wheels in front of the front wheels, where the man is standing.  The little wheels are the ones that pull the truck along on the tracks.  We got to sit there and wait while they  pulled up the little wheels, then drove off on the road.  It's interesting to see how things work, especially something you never thought about.  When I was a kid I remember seeing little work carts going down the train tracks, with two guys pushing handles up and down to make it move.  This looks a lot easier.......!!! LOL

ODD COUPLE

 This morning before we went out for chores, the dogs were barking like they do, when the donkeys are running or playing.  Looked out and low and behold, it was Pancho and BlackJack........!!!  For one thing BlackJack doesn't usually play, it takes too much effort and for another, Pancho usually plays with Ruger or Wister.  I came in to get the camera to record this unusual occurance and of course as soon as they heard the door open, they quit.  I thought perhaps Pancho was the instigator, but BJ was going after him, if he quit.  At one time Pancho had hold of BJ's rather large jaw and was hanging on for all he was worth. 

 Resting up for round two

If you will notice, this cholla has some bright spots on the one upright twig.  I don't know how they do it, but right now quite a few of the donkeys are eating cholla.  Adding it to their usual diet of greasewood i.e. creosote bush, and prickly pear cactus.  When we first starting getting donkeys the vet told us nothing eats greasewood.  She should see what our one time abundant greasewood, looks like these days.  The bushes will struggle to survive, putting out fewer and fewer leaves until they just finally give up and die.  We love the smell of the greasewood after it rains, smells like the desert.  

I think this is Ruthie chowing down on a tasty cholla.......!!!! 

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. 

BACK IN THE GROOVE

Didn't take Ruthie and the boys long to get back in the routine.  Yesterday morning when everyone came in, I looked out and here came John looking like the Pied Piper, with Ruthie and the boys right in his hip pocket.  I wish I had the camera, but of course as usual when a Kodak moment occurs I wasn't prepared.  

So this morning, I had the camera with me when I went out.  Of course they were over in Burroland rather than dogging John's heels.  They had been ignoring John, but when I came out they thought I might have a goodie, so here they came.  

The cold nights are slowing the flies down, but they certainly aren't gone.  John has been taking the fly masks off at night now and that's working out OK.  The mornings are cold enough the flies don't get moving very early.  

We will be taking Reba the red mule into Benson today to get her teeth checked.  She is about 31 years old and lately has been a little reluctant to take horse treats.  They are hard as concrete, but before she thought they were great.  So we'll take her to Dr. Debra to have a look.  Hope she doesn't have to have any teeth pulled, that's almost as traumatic as gelding for me.  And I'm sure they don't enjoy it either. 

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. 

FUN MORNING.......!!!

  GOOD KENYA OWNER - ALL DONKEYS SHOULD BE SO LUCKY

 John noticed last night at feeding time that Rosie had blood on one of her front legs.  I had noticed earlier that her legs looked like they might be interesting to the flies.  But the place he saw was where she had bit it, either because of flies or because it hurt or itched or something.  To late to do anything then, so I decided we'd work on her this morning.  

She will let John put her fly mask on and will allow him to pet her, BUT if you want to do anything more than that, she has to go into the squeeze.  Got her in the squeeze and we had to go thru the "you're not touching my leg and if you do you are going to have to move a 1/2 inch at a time."  We're talking about from 3 inches above her knee to the coronet right above her hoof.  And all this time John is shoveling animal crackers in her mouth, while I try to not get an arm caught in the corral panel.  What is really irritating about her is, she isn't the least bit afraid of us and acts like she has actually been messed with.  But at this time in her life she has decided she isn't interested in cross species relationships with people.  We had to come to an agreement about biting again, just because I am messing with her leg does not give her the right or use that opportunity to grab my hand or arm with her teeth........!!! LOL  I popped her nose about 6 times before she gave up.  So back to getting her to let me touch her leg, ALL OVER.........!!!   Once she decides to let you do something, she stands perfectly still.  

Not sure what she's got, it's dry scabs, although there is dirt mixed in with it, so I assume it has oozed at sometime.  For today, I wrapped the worst one with zinc oxide, brown gauze, tape and covered with Elasticon tape.  The reason for that is I think she will try to take the whole thing off, just a feeling.  I hope the zinc oxide will help clean off the dirt and scabs, so I can get some idea of what I'm dealing with.  It doesn't look like what Quilla gets which ends up as little bloody circles, or what Cisco gets, which oozes a horrible sticky serum. Boy I wish I lived close to a vet school.......!!! 

The other one isn't near as bad, so I went ahead and put some Animax on it & left off the Elasticon to see if she will leave it alone and that would be enough bandaged.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she comes in tonight with both bandages off and looking quite proud of herself.....!!! LOL

Moving Ruthie in with the boys is going pretty good.  She gets cranky with Ruger when the mush runs out, guess she doesn't remember he's her little boy too.  

Racing tonight, so we'll feed early

We'll get to do it all over again tomorrow morning. 

WORMING DAY........!!!

 

Not exactly the type of face that presented itself for worming this morning.  Although Rosie and Gigi surprised me.  I figured they had never been wormed, but judging by the way they grabbed the wormer tube and hung on, I think they knew what was going on.  Thank goodness they were getting the apple flavored instead of the "ugh" flavored cheap stuff.  When our Tractor Supply opened a few months ago, they had a lot of specials.  One was good tasting wormer at more than half price off, so I got all they would let me buy.  Unfortunately their limit didn't cover the amount of animals and mules we have.  So I had to pick and choose who got the good stuff.  The others got double cookies afterwards.  

I have heard that mules are a conflicted animal from birth, they aren't horses and they aren't donkeys, so they have an internal battle all their lives.  We knew Rusty was going to be a pain, he always is, but when we walked in the mule pen, Reba almost knocked John down getting out.  Unfortunately for her, she only ended up in Tula's pen next door.  John really needs to stay light on his feet and pay attention to his surroundings or he's going to look like road kill one of these days.  Reba's big enough to make a dent......!!! LOL 

Justin is always a little pain in the butt, we have to chase him around the pen about 5 or 6 times, then he hides his head in the corner and I put the halter on him. 

Penny had to go into the squeeze, and while she was there I had to adjust her legging.  It is almost impossible to wrap a leg above and below the knee with a polo wrap effectively and she has fly damage above the knee unfortunately.  She doesn't mind the polo wraps thank goodness, putting them on with her on one side of a corral panel and me on the other, is a good way to break a hand or wrist if she decides to freak out and act stupid.  But she stood still, although afterwards refused to take an animal cracker from me.  Guess she wants to keep her independence.  No problem with Coquette, we couldn't hardly work with Penny in the squeeze, because of Coquette outside the squeeze.  I ask her if she was a nurse.  She had already had her wormer and really thought she should continue getting cookies.......!!

Starting tonight Ruthie is going to be eating with her boys, Ruger and Wister.  She is not holding her weight being with Frijolita at feeding time.  I thought they both ate at about the same speed, but guess not.  Frijolita is a real "Hoover" when it comes to food. 

BOY DID I HAVE FUN LAST NIGHT

John took this picture of the pretty little pristine car when we got to the track yesterday afternoon.

 I won the main event, BUT the car isn't quite as pretty as it was.....!! LOL  Somebody tried to tear my door off.   We don't race for another month, so John will have time to plan his attack.  He's got a lot of "straightening" to do, unfortunately.   He actually likes to do that sort of stuff.  When we were dating I had the front of my 1950 Chevy pretty well mangled by a 1963 Ford Galaxie.  So John went to the junk yard, got the parts and put it back together, so I wouldn't be without wheels.  My kind of guy...........LOL

See why I need to have a black bumper.....!!!! LOL  A white bumper gathers too much paint from the other cars, if I happen to "accidentally"  bump them. 

After I won and drove under the flag stand to get my trophy, John ran all the way over from the pit bleachers, way on the other side of the track, which is a 3/8's mile track.  It's a wonder he didn't have a heart attack. 

I'll finish this later, our poo picker-upper didn't come today, so John is picking up.  Unfortunately on race nights they are in the pens about 12 hours, which means there is a lot of poo.  He just came in and said he did Boaz and the mule's pen and had to dump the bucket.  We usually get 2 buckets.  Since there are 17 pens, this might be a record.  So I better go help.

It's later and I'm back, and we managed to only have 4 buckets, don't know if that is a record or not.  It's been awhile since I picked up poo and my back said, it wasn't interested in continuing this past time.  I've noticed as I "mature" my body does not appreciate having to do something out of my daily routine.  Actually there's a lot of things it doesn't appreciate......!!! LOL

When we got home about 2am the donkeys were all more than ready to get out of their pens.  A lot of them let John know they had been in pens long enough and wanted OUT.  We've tried to explain to them about how some equine stay in stalls or small pens all the time, but I don't think they care, they just wanted OUT. 

Quilla and Ruger were play fighting this morning, first one would chase and bite neck, then the other one would take a turn.  They played for a long time, until John went out to do round up, that was more important, since they were fed early yesterday.  Quilla seems to be a very good "uncle" for Ruger and Wister, he puts up with their nonsense and seems to enjoy it.  Ruger doesn't always hang out with Ruthie and Wister, but he does spend a lot of time with them, which is why I think they would make a good trio, if I could find a forever home for them. 

HAPPY OR SAD..........?????

We had a man up in the Showlow area call and was interested in a donkey or two.  After talking to him for awhile, he was interested in the little herd of three, Ruthie and her two boys Wister and Ruger.  It sounded like it might be a good fit, although the 300 mile distance made doing a home study and delivery problematic, at least for us.  Kathy at Longhopes Donkey Shelter said to have him send pictures of the barn, fencing, hay, feeding area, watering area, pictures of his other equine and their feet.  Leave it to Kathy to come up with a good idea.  She said that's what they ask for at Longhopes when it's a long way away.

He was also looking at a couple of young ones and this morning e-mailed to say they are going with the young ones.  They won't even get them until May, so I assume they are really young.  I'm sure that will work out good for him and I really wasn't looking forward to putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, so it's a win, win situation.  And we will keep looking for a 3 donkey home for them.  

Steven is here today to help John put up a shelter in Wister and Ruger's pen.  We already have two shelters built like the one they are building.  John came in awhile ago to have me look at the first "bow" of PVC to see if it was OK.  Nooooooo............!  It was about a foot taller than the other two shelters.  He said the PVC was the same length, but he forgot, that pen is only 12 feet wide.  The other shelters are about 14 foot wide, so it makes them shorter.  So they are out there trying to figure out how to make it shorter.  It will have to be cut off, but how much?  I told Steve he is suppose to be the voice of reason, but he said he's not getting involved in management he's just labor........!!! LOL  

The next big project will be to replace the chain length fence between the dog pen and 2 of the donkey pens.  The donkeys have used the fence as a butt scratcher, and it's about to fall down.  The problem there is it will have to be replaced in one day between morning feeding and evening feeding.  Should be interesting, I've noticed as we get older, it takes much longer to finish things.......!!!  

I think for all practical purposes, winter is over.  We have lizards, bugs and hummingbirds are coming thru, trees other than mesquite are leafing out.  It's suppose to be in the 80's today.  Of course yesterday morning was 32 degrees and John had a little ice on his bird bath, so who knows.  I know one thing we are very dry and it's probably going to be a very hot summer.......!!!  :-(

GETTING WARMER.....!!!

THE ONLY SAVING GRACE WITH THIS SITUATION IS, THEY WILL HAVE EACH OTHER TO PLAY WITH AND GIVE MOM A BREAK......!!!

 I think we missed spring, either that or all the trees and flowers that are blooming are in for a rude shock if it gets cold again.  This time of year it's about a 50/50 chance.  I'm a spring type of gal, not in any hurry for summer and all that entails, wrapping legs and fighting skin problems.

Rosie and Gigi are getting into the routine of eating "in" the pen if they want to get "out" of the pen.   Gigi is getting along pretty good.  Since she's been going out, I've been giving her bute again.  I doubt that she's ever moved around as much as she is now.  

Rosie is looking less massive I think.  She's got a long ways to go, but it looks like she's headed in the right direction.  She would rather go out of the pen than eat, which is a good sign that she isn't really a food whore.  I would guess there was hay in front of her all the time and there wasn't anything to entertain her, so she ate.  

Yesterday I looked out at the driveway and saw 2 donkeys trying to control each other.  It turned out to be Ruger and Pepper, talk about the ying and yang, Pepper won't see 35 again and Ruger is 3 years old.  What started that I'll never know, but Pepper was trying to give as much as he was getting.  OLD FOOL......!!!!  Ruger started walking down the driveway and Pepper was stalking him.  Pepper broke off to stand under a tree in the shade when Ruger got quite some distance, then Ruger turned around to keep it going.  That's when I went out and told Ruger to find something else to do.  Pepper obviously doesn't remember how he got his hip broke.......!!!  I don't know what keeps him going, but it we could bottle it, we'd be rich........!!! LOL

I wish I could find a good home that wants 3 donkeys.  Good luck with that, most calls I get only want one and lately only minis.  Ruthie, Ruger and Wister hang out together and Ruger has finally learned how to play with Wister.  It would really be nice if they could all go to a home together, Ruthie seems to hang onto her boys and she doesn't interact with the other donkeys at all, so it would be a win, win for all 3 of them.  Now to find that perfect home..........!!!!! 

MOLLY AND JACK WILL BE LEAVING THURSDAY

The woman that came out to see them never got back in touch with me, so I assume she isn't interested.  Thursday we'll haul them to Terry for fostering and possible adoption, IF, they behave themselves.  Actually Terry has told me about some of her other animals and it sounds like they'll fit right in.......!! LOL

Terry use to come out and groom every week, before she got so many animals of her own.  She also took Rusty as a friend for her old mule Zeke.  Zeke hated Rusty guess he saw him as a competitor, so Rusty came back.  She even took Tula one time to see if she could get Tula more people friendly.  Didn't work, and while Tula was there she turned Terry's 2 donkeys wild.  For some reason all the other donkeys see Tula as the head jenny, doesn't matter where she is. 

It will be a great place for Little Jack Horner and Miss Molly Brown and they will get more attention than they would here.  Now if we could just find homes for Ruthie, Wister and Ruger.  They are about the only ones we have adoptable, unless someone might be willing to take on a project.  

This is Boaz's knee as of this morning.

This is Gigi this morning, when we doctored her bed sore.  Tyler thinks she is improving much faster than he expected, especially on the right front, that has the elongated shoe.  Tyler and Nancy were talking about doing a tendonectomy if she couldn't walk on that foot flat.  But she seems to be able to use it very well.  She's spending more time up and less time down, and I am giving her less bute each day.  Once she is off the bute, we will start letting them out of the pen.  Can't wait for the fun of trying to get Rosie back in the pen, she is the "squirrelist" donkey we have ever had, yet she will come up and get right in your face. 

GIGI MIGHT BE FAMOUS SOMEDAY

 Tyler came by today to take a video of Gigi and how she is walking.  He is going to a farrier symposium this week and I have a feeling he is going to "present" her even though this adventure is just starting. 

I wasn't here, but John said Tyler was quite impressed with how well she is walking.  Yesterday she was trying to run and kick at the same time.  (John wanted her to go in a direction she saw no need to go)  She is getting easier to work with, she has a bedsore on her right hip that has to be doctored & bandaged almost daily.  When we first started she was doing a lot of kicking, not necessarily at us, but she wanted us to leave her alone.  Animal crackers make everything better. 

This is the brothers, Wister, and Ruger

Unfortunately the brothers aren't bonding like I wanted.  Wister is more than willing, but Ruger is pretty much a loner.  Even putting them in a pen to eat, hasn't led to a relationship.  Ruger actually spends most of his time by himself and the people that adopted him, said he went off and did his thing, rather than hanging around with Pancho.  So when I get some time, I am going to go thru my list of people looking for horse companions and see if anything looks interesting.  Ruthie seems to raise weird children.........!!! LOL  Wister still runs to her when John lets them out of the pens and tries to nurse.  And she's just about as bad, sometimes John has to put a halter on her to get her to go in the pen she shares with Boaz, because she doesn't want to leave Wister's pen area.  She is also a loner except for her babies, so I guess it's a family thing.   She has nothing to do with the other jennies. 

GOT MY COMPUTER BACK.....!!!

Well, Wednesday I was on the internet and the monitor went black, instantly.  OK, no problem John was going to town, bring me back a monitor.  Hmmmm.............still nothing.  John worked electronics for over 30 years, so he knows about all that wiggle the wires and make sure everything is plugged in.  Nothing........!!!

I took it to a local guy yesterday and he said he'd look at it last night.  This morning I called and he said he hooked it up last night and it worked fine..........!!! He said he'd look at it some more and he'd get in touch with me Monday..............!!!!!   WHAT..........?????   He didn't understand, e-mails were building up even as we spoke.  I told him I really needed to have it before Monday.  So being the nice guy he was he brought it out this morning and sure enough, plugged it in and it's working just fine.  Grrrr.........!! I hate electronics.....!!!  Anyway, it is now working, hopefully it will continue.

Yesterday Courtney came out to do some trimming and Martha came out to see if she could make Gigi more comfortable.  Actually Gigi is doing pretty good I think.  She's not laying down as much and seems to be able to get around easier than before.  Of course she doesn't have 3 pounds of hoof material hanging on the front of her feet anymore either.  She wasn't too sure about all this rubbing and massaging, although she did finally start leaning into Martha a little bit.  

After Martha got through with Gigi we started walking around visiting with the donkeys.  Martha and Pepper have a history, she's massaged him before.  She was quite impressed with how much weight he has gained since the last time she saw him.  She did a little hands on with him and then started to walk off..........not going to happen.  Pepper got right behind her wherever she went, until she did a little more work.  He is such an interesting old character.

Courtney was doing her trimming and we put Ruthie in with Frijolita because she was in the way when Courtney was trimming her two youngsters, Wister and Ruger.  When Courtney went in to do Frijolita, Ruthie wouldn't get out of the way, she was right in Courtney's hip pocket.  Finally Courtney picked up a foot and started up the power tools to get rid of her.  Ruthie just stood there like a statue.  I don't think we've ever had her trimmed before and I seriously doubt if she's been trimmed in the past if it was done with power tools.  They can be such amazing animals, especially if you think you know what they are thinking.  Many times you will be wrong.   LOL 

JUST WHAT WE NEED, TWO MORE DONKEYS.....

Well unfortunately they were going to get shot and buried with a backhoe.  I guess there are worse things, but a couple of different people got involved, called us, and even though we're over our "self imposed" limit, this is what we do.

Right now our extra panels are loaned out, so we absolutely do not have another pen, which is a problem.  We're going to "try" feeding Ruthie and Boaz outside the pens and put the new girls in their pen.  We also have a friend that has some panels we can borrow, so we'll see how it goes.  

One of the girls is around 11 and the other one is older.  The older one has fat pones and a bubble butt from being fed alfalfa and too much of it.  The younger one has got some really nasty feet that will take some of Tyler's expertise probably.  

They are both wild as March hares, this video is as close as I could get and you can see they weren't thrilled at all......!!! 

They belonged to the man's father who died last year, and he's been taking care of them, unfortunately feeding them alfalfa and too much of it.  

So wish us luck for tomorrow, Doug our go to guy is going with us, and the neighbor who was going to be executioner and owns the backhoe will be there too.  He is very relieved we're going to take them, because he didn't want to do it.  I don't think the caretaker wanted it either, but he didn't know what else to do with them.  Hopefully between us all we can get them in the trailer.  They are going to get them in a smaller area by a gate tonight, so we won't have to chase them all over the place. 

2013 IS JUST ABOUT OVER......!!!

This year has gone by so quickly, but I guess it's time to get ready for a new one.  This year has been a good one, no big crisis'.  I just wish we could get our numbers down, unfortunately most of the donkeys and mules we have left aren't really adoptable for the most part.  The brothers Ruger and Wister are adoptable and actually are starting to hang out together, which is what I was hoping for.  

Their mother Ruthie would be adoptable, but we don't have anyone to go out with her.  It would be nice if Boaz could go with her.  But I'm afraid his knee would be a deal breaker for someone wanting to adopt.  

This is what his leg looked like this morning when I was changing bandages.  I've been using the balm and powder from Source One Naturals and it's looking less angry and seems to be drier, so I'll continue using it for awhile.  I sometimes think medications work and then seem to lose their effectiveness. 

Boaz and Ruthie have been together for at least 4 or 5 years and would be a good pair.  But that probably isn't going to happen for the above reason.  

Of course there is also Jack and Molly the mini mules.  They will take a special home that really wants them.  They've settled down a lot and really are a lot of fun to be around, but when it's all said and done they are MULES.  

Coquette would be very adoptable, she has been worked with and likes people.  BUT, she and Penny are totally and completely bonded, at least from Coquette's point of view.  Last night starting at about 1am, Coquette had lost Penny.  She kept calling and yelling, John finally got up, went out in the cold to make sure nothing was seriously wrong.  She was standing out in the pen area, yelling, no one else in sight.  It went on until about 4am, when we assume she finally found Penny, because they came in together for breakfast.  They like to hang with Pepper for some odd reason.  We think, Coquette was busy doing something, when Penny and Pepper went someplace else and Coquette didn't get the memo.  Penny would be a hard sell, and we won't separate them.

This morning we looked out the kitchen window and saw Buddy Brat and Cisco play fighting.  Not that unusual, except Cisco  was a roping donkey in a school that taught roping and was loaned out for the students to take home and practice on.  Needless to say his legs are shot.  He usually moves at a slow steady pace rather than grabbing neck and pushing and shoving.  I had wondered who had been slobbering on Buddy's neck, now I think I know.  He is on CosequinASU, which is an outstanding joint supplement and it seems to be working for him.  This is what makes rescue worthwhile, when they once again act like donkeys.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE...!!