HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Yesterday John left a rather large can of assorted screws in the golf cart.  He & Steve,  a volunteer had been working on the well house, trying to cover all the wood, so the donkeys can't eat it.  It has started looking some what like a large piece of Swiss cheese, Cheyenne in particular seems to love the taste of siding. 

John comes in yelling & screaming about damn donkeys etc.  It seems the little darlings had discovered his can of screws.  Donkeys are worse than cats when it comes to finding something that wasn't there the last time they looked.  By the time he found it the plastic can was pretty much flattened, & the screws were strewn in a pattern like someone had the edge of the can in their mouth, & preceded to fling it around until the "neat" rattling sound quit.  I thought it was funny, but then again I didn't have to sift thru the dirt & gravel, looking for screws.  LOL  

We had some visitors today, one couple had been here last year they said, their friends were visiting from Pennsylvania.  Judging from the horrible weather on the east coast, they said they are glad they aren't home.  Hopefully it will be better by the time they leave, although I think they are flying home this week-end, not much time to fix things.  

Looks like Gus & his "bud" Quilla will be going up to Claire's next week for the winter.  Claire said her pasture is brown & has quit growing, so they should be OK.  Courtney is coming this week to do a "final" trim on Gus & work on Jenny.  Gus is still walking around like his feet don't bother him, but they are getting long enough she should be able to trim a little off without doing anything drastic.  

Jenny's foot is going thru some more changes, it seems like everyday it looks different, sometimes good & other times not so good.  Today was a not so good day visually.  But it doesn't seem to bother her much if at all, she goes everywhere, & "insists" on getting out of her pen.  The people today were a little late for their tour.  As usual the donkeys stayed in their pens after breakfast, so as the morning moved along they started letting us know that it was time for them to be out.  By the time the people got here & we did the tour, Jenny was more than ready to get out.  What that means is you better watch her & yourself, or you will probably get knocked somewhere you don't want to be.  She uses that big old head as a weapon.  Pepper does the same thing, but he's a little easier to handle. 

Speaking of Steve the volunteer, Tula took a treat from him yesterday.  That makes about 5 times in 8 years or so, that she has taken a treat from someone.  I think all the others were women.  Steve said maybe she is coming around, until I burst his bubble by telling him how long she has been here. 

PERHAPS THE AGE OF MIRACLES IS NOT DEAD....!

When they checked my eyes Friday, I checked out at 20/20.  That's not really a far stretch, I've usually tested with good eye sight, just very very far sighted & a lazy eye that goes where it wants to, which glasses have "fixed" since I was 18 months old.  

When I told the doctor I couldn't see out of my glasses, he wasn't surprised.  I also told him my depth perception was really messed up.  Again he wasn't surprised........!!!!   Hmmmm, "me" thinks he knew a lot more about what was going on than I did......!!! 

I asked him if this was going to be permanent, he said if my eyes continue to work together & the weak eye strengthens, so the other one doesn't over ride it, that it will be permanent, so good bye tri-focals.   In fact he told me to go to the drug store & get a pair of 2.50 reading glasses, which seem to work just fine for now.   

Let me say this has been quite a shock, I didn't realize I had so many wrinkles, let alone bags under my eyes.  YIKES, maybe ignorance is bliss...........!!!!  LOL  No wonder when people find out I drive a race car, they usually react the same way, an incredulous "you drive a race car?"  I look like I ought to be sitting in a rocking chair, with my shawl, complaining because it's cold..........!!!! LOL

My next appointment is in 10 days, & I am going to ask Dr. Kuzman if this is a miracle or does he do things like this every day.  It might not be a miracle to him, but it certainly is to me. 

Everyone seems to be doing good right now.  It's really cooling off at night, as low as 30 degrees, so the fly population is getting smaller & smaller.  We have some little buddies that are doing their best to help with eradicating the flies.  

In the fall every year the Praying Mantis' get on the fly traps & stay there for days eating flies.  I just wish they were bigger so they could eat more flies.......!!!  I checked the other day & out of 5 traps, 4 of them had a little buddy, "shopping".  They are all the exact same size, not sure what that means, no little ones or bigger ones. 

30 degrees this morning..........!!!!!  YIKES!  I know people in most of the country probably think 30 doesn't sound too bad, but this is Arizona you know..........!!!!  LOL 

The sun is up & by 9am, we'll be shedding jackets & looking forward to a gorgeous fall day.

HAPPY MULE APPRECIATION DAY, TOMORROW

The 26th of October is Mule Appreciation Day, as we found out when we were trying to figure out when Donkey Appreciation Day is.  What we found out is, there is no special day for donkeys.  I find that sad, considering there are special days for just about everything else.  

These are pictures of crotchety old Jack.  He's blind in one eye, doesn't hear very good, & doesn't have enough teeth to make a difference.  His owner of 17 years was going to shoot him because when he went blind in the one eye, he got real spooky & the guy couldn't trust him.  He's still spooky, but we've learned not to come up on his left side, & to make as much noise as possible when we do come up to him.   

 

I had my other cataract removed today, & will have to go into Tucson tomorrow for a follow up appointment.  So far I am quite pleased with both eyes, although so far my glasses are pretty blurry.  They said I can't get new glasses for 3 or 4 weeks until my eyes stabilize .............. hmmmm ...........  this might get interesting.  Unless my vision gets clearer, I don't think I could drive, & I'm sure I'll find a lot of other things that I can't do.  I guess this is one of those things that will be great when it's over, but in the meantime, WHAT A PAIN.........!!!!!

Today John had to take me in at "O dark thirty" for the surgery.  He threw me out & headed back home to take care of the animals.  Our nephew waited for me & took me to his house, until John could get back into town to bring me home.  It's great living out in the boonies, until you need to do something in town that interferes with chores.  John had to leave the "fur" kids in their pens & we didn't get home until about 2pm to let them out.  You talk about a grumpy bunch of critters.........!!!!!   They made sure we knew how unhappy they were.

Seems like right now I'm doctoring more than usual.  Of course Jenny's re-sectioned foot is a daily treatment.  Right now, Buddy Brat has a little tumor on his sheath...........Equaide.  Cisco has some kind of crud in his ear.  The vet "thinks" it might be mites or something.  Suggested Animax which seems to be making a difference.  He also said something about getting ear mite treatment for cats & trying that.  But so far the Animax seems to be working.  Of course I still have to keep Thuja Zinc Oxide on Cisco's sheath to keep the flies from landing on it, which makes him get on the ground & scratch himself bloody.  Zinc Oxide on Gus & Quilla's front legs, when the stable flies have chewed off what hair they have & tried to make a bloody mess out of their legs.  Boaz came back from his weed control gig, with a few habronema larvae on his face in a couple of spots.  I sent 3 fly masks with them, they lost them, & Karla said she found areas of her 5 acres she had never seen before, but didn't find the masks.  Boaz doesn't seem to have a healthy immune system, so as soon as the barrier wasn't there, the flies took advantage of the situation.   

Looks like Chantilly will be going to a new home soon, we will do a home study next week.  Lilly lost her companion a few weeks ago, & is very lonely.  Her Mom & Dad came out & zeroed in on Chantilly.  They seemed like very caring people & it should be a great home for a shy little sweet girl.  

Here's the old man, Pepper.  Right now it's hard to believe a couple of months ago, he was down, disorientated, confused & we were talking about euthanizing him.  He's pretty much like the Energizer Bunny I guess, or a Timex watch, at least I think it was a Timex, "takes a licking & keeps on ticking" according to John Cameron Swazee in the 1950's.  

We brought Boaz & BlackJack home this afternoon from their weed control gig.  They haven't lost any weight I'm sorry to say.  Karla has been brushing them, so they both look nice & shiny.  

I sent 3 fly masks with them & they've been gone for a couple of weeks.  Karla said she has walked all over the 5 acres & can't find them, in fact she made another sweep right before we got there to pick them up, no masks.......!!!!  

Got home, the boys came out of the trailer happy as clams, & Ruthie went over to Boaz right away.  Then everyone started running, not sure why.  Boaz usually chases the girls, especially Frijolita, who is afraid of him.  But he was just standing, watching the show.  Maybe the girls were trying to impress the boys, who knows..........!!!!

I was hoping our new banner would show up better & you can't hardly see little Buddy Brat peeking around the right side of the banner.  I would imagine he was looking for more people to come by to pet & feed him timothy pellets.  It didn't take him & Pepsi very long to figure out the "drill", people come by, gush & make over them, do some petting, feed some pellets, maybe do some more petting.  Pepsi even ended up with lipstick on his nose......!!!!  

He also turn into a "attention" monster.   He decided that all the attention should be his, & let Buddy know this was HIS show & Buddy could stand over there & be quiet.  Of course we let Pepsi know that his behavior was unacceptable & made sure Buddy got his share of attention.

This morning was crisis management as usual, when we have to haul donkeys someplace early.  Lysa was coming to clean pens this morning, but we needed to feed before we left.  We finally decided that we'd load the boys, & John haul them to the Rummage Sale, while I fed.  I followed later in the van.

Let me say that donkeys have a way of ruining the "best laid plans of mice & men".  Buddy went in the trailer like a veteran.  Pepsi hasn't been in a trailer for almost 6 years, & decided he wasn't going.  We figured he's a mini, how much trouble can he be?  Quite a bit, actually.......!!!!!  We found out you can get 3 legs off the ground & still not get him in the trailer.  We also found out that he is a kicker under the right circumstances, & this seemed to be them.  He doesn't just kick once, he kicks like a machine gun.  Good Grief............!!!!  We finally got the front feet in the trailer, I looped a rope around one hind foot, & managed to get it on the trailer floor more or less.  Then John literally dragged him into the trailer by 2 ropes, one on either side of the trailer.  The one leg on the ground he wasn't willing to lift, until the last instant & it got scraped up a little.  

When he got there, John said he hopped out of the trailer, walked like a little trooper to the pen, John opened it, & "NOPE, not going in there".  John said 2 guys saw the problem, came over & literally picked him up & threw him in the pen.  I asked if John told them he might kicked, said he didn't have a chance, Pepsi was already in the pen.   Thank goodness he isn't a mammoth..........LOL

We wondered how it would go when we got ready to come home.  Just about like it went in the morning, until 2 women & a man helped.  They even knew what they were doing, so it went pretty good.  John said when he got them home & opened the back of the trailer, there was no problem with them getting out, guess there's "no place like home"............!!!!  

We're taking Cisco to an equine dentist tomorrow.  He's been acting a little off lately & eating real slow.  I checked his mouth & didn't find anything, but I'd like someone that knows what they're doing look.  Yesterday afternoon I noticed a bunch of flies, around one of his ears.  I got a flashlight & looked inside........YUCK!  He had a big raw strip about an inch wide that is about 5 inches long.  At the bottom of it is a place that was gooey & slimy.  I've never seen anything like that.  So far I've sprayed the inside of his ear 3 times with Vetericyn.  The difference is amazing, the gooey spot is dry & the red raw strip is scabbed over.  Thank goodness he is very docile, spraying liquid into their ears usually isn't a real big hit.  He lets us know he isn't thrilled, but at least he doesn't try to hurt us..........!!! 

GLAD I'M NOT A FLY WITH LOTS OF EYES......!!!

JEFF, BRIANNA, ZEKE, TERESA & MIKE IN TOMBSTONE

The first eye went so well, they are doing the other one next Thursday........!!!!!  Seems rather quick, but I can't get new glasses until they are both done & healed.  So the sooner the better I guess.  Just wish it was later in the day, or we lived closer to Tucson........... Or they did house calls.  That's not going to happen, they have their cataract surgery down to a well ran assembly line.  And they still manage to make you feel like you're the only one they are interested in.  At least until you go into the twilight zone, after that who knows what happened.......LOL

Tomorrow morning we are taking either the 4 little minis, or Buddy Brat & Pepsi down to Sierra Vista for the Care for the Horses Rummage Sale.  Ann has been having this for a few years & it has become quite a happening, they usually do really well not only with donated items, but make money to continue their good work.  We've taken donkeys down before, for the people to pet if they want.  I think last time it was BlackJack & Chester.

Speaking of BlackJack we are going to bring him & Boaz home Monday.  Karla called & said the weeds are pretty much gone, so the boys have done their job & it's time to come home.  They might be disappointed when they get here, the donkeys that weren't picked for weed control, have made sure no weeds survived here, so there isn't much to browse on.  

Still working on Jenny's foot with the proud flesh, & it seems to be doing pretty good.  Proud flesh can grow into a monster almost overnight, but can take a long time to control & get rid of.  

Last night I used a rag to clean off some of the stuff the Equaide had destroyed.  One rather large piece about the size of  a half dollar, (if anyone remembers what they looked like) came loose real easy..............and started bleeding all down the front of her foot.  At least it wasn't a sprayer, but it didn't want to quit.  Equaide is great stuff, BUT, it doesn't stop bleeding like Wonder Dust.  Sigh......!!!  So for a couple of days I guess we'll use plan B, Wonder Dust.  Hopefully if I don't mess with it for awhile it will stop being such a problem.

I've been putting off having Courtney come out because Jenny's foot is compromised right now & her other feet seem to be doing OK, in boots.  The other one she comes out for is Gus.  For the last 2 or 3 weeks, he has been walking pretty normal & willing to walk fast, chases John down for treats when it's time to go in the pens.  It seems like usually he gets ouchy after a trim, so I've been putting it off.  But, I'm sure if his feet get a little too much growth, he'll slow down & not be as comfortable. 

Ed Shieffelin Monument

 Tombstone, Arizona

Another picture from the Mike & Zeke Walk-a-thon last Friday.  

All the feedback sounds like everyone had a great time & are already planning for next year.  Mike & Teresa want this to become an annual event to raise money for good causes, & the interest to have it continue seems to be high.  So mark your calendar for next year in October to join in the fun.

I managed to hang onto my 5th place finish for end of the year points with the race car, Saturday night.  I stayed out of trouble, well for the most part.  The car started over heating the last few laps & when I pulled into the pits, John wanted to know who I ran into with the front of the car, that was now squashed against the radiator, which is why it was getting hot, couldn't get enough air to cool the motor.  

I have no idea who I hit, I was too busy trying to stay out of trouble.  Guess I didn't try hard enough............. !!!!!  LOL  Someone usually puts videos of the races on U-tube, so maybe we will get a chance to answer John's curiosity.  

I've been using Equaide on Jenny's foot for the proud flesh.  Sunday I was really impressed with how much of the proud flesh literally crumbled off her hoof.  Monday morning a lot more came off.  Although I still don't have a scapel, John does have a real sharp box knife.  I decided to try to clean it up & get rid of some of the cracks & crevices, get it a little smoother & more even.  I was doing great, it was looking nice & smooth, except for a rough spot over to the side.  Took a swipe at it with the box knife, & blood started spurting out like if you have a small hole in a garden hose.  

Pressure will usually stop it, but your victim has to be willing to stand still & quit wiggling, which Jenny usually isn't willing to do.  After a few minutes of wrestling with her, I had Lysa go get the Wonder Dust. It works great, as a blood coagulate, & it didn't take long for it to do the job.  This morning John cleaned it up & used the Equaide again.  

The reason John was doctoring this morning is, I was in getting a new lens put in one eye, so he & Lysa were doing chores.  They said it might take a week for the eye to stabilize, without some blurring.  So far I've noticed that colors are much brighter & everything looks very clean with sharp edges.  I've also noticed a halo around lights at night, hopefully that won't be permanent. 

 

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

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

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

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

Poor Jenny, she might think this is what her "health" care is coming to.  I've been watching a "glob" on her hoof where the abscess blew a few weeks ago.  When the vet was here she didn't say much about it, just that it needs to grow out.  

A few days ago it looked to me like it might be getting bigger & of course every few days it would bleed like crazy.  A couple of days ago, I poked it with a knife & Jenny didn't react..................Hmmmmmm..........possible proud flesh? 

Never give someone with a little bit of knowledge, tools with which to do something.  First I pulled & pushed on it.  No reaction, then I cut at the base with scissors, just a little bit.  No reaction to that.............so, it's time to either press on or back off.  I've had a scalpel for years, have no idea why I bought it, but it's been up in the cabinet, still sealed, just waiting for an opportunity to do it's thing, I guess.  

I've watched vet's remove proud flesh, so I know what happens, as soon as you start cutting, blood gushes.   Couldn't ask John  to help, blood makes him queasy, so it was just Jenny & I.  She was eating her hay, & since there are no nerves in proud flesh, it doesn't hurt when you cut into it.  Just took a second or two to cut off whatever was outside the hoof wall, took a lot longer to slow down the bleeding.  I finally covered it with Wonder Dust a caustic product I hate, but it does a good job of taking care of proud flesh & she didn't even act like anything had happened.  I'll watch it closely, hopefully it will go away, without a bunch of drama.  

Heard from Boaz & BlackJack's weed control boss today.  She said about another week & they should have most of the weeds eaten down, so we'll go get them the 22nd. 

Went down to Tombstone as planned to do some further planning with Teresa this afternoon.  I think Teresa knows everyone in town, as we walked up the street, she kept stopping to introduce me to someone.  She started to introduce me to one dirty looking "miner", & then said "oh you guys already know each other".  HUH?  Didn't look like anyone I knew, until he started talking about how well the donkeys were getting along.  He is Thelma's "Dad", but I had never seen him "dressed" for Tombstone before.  

He said they are getting along just fine, Eeyore is smitten with her & follows her everywhere.  They call her Roo, I think he said the name is from the movie with Eeyore in it, but I'm not sure.  To say I have been out of the movies for years & years is an understatement............!!!!  LOL  Especially cartoons, although I guess they don't call them cartoons anymore.  There I go, dating myself again.  

Where the donkeys, probably Cisco & Buddy Brat, will be on display is inside the wooden fence where they have the big shootout shows 3 times a day for half an hour.  Lots of shooting & screaming & shooting........!!!!  Teresa was worried about the loud noise.  Cisco had a guy shoot a rifle over his back in the Gundown movie a couple of years ago & didn't even flinch.  

When I got home I told John we were going to have to shoot off a gun probably the 16 gauge shotgun.  So after we got everyone in their pens, John first shot in between the 2 sets of pens.  The only one that freaked was Ruthie, she wasn't impressed at all.  Frijolita looked around like she was interested in what made the noise ears up & curious.  Unfortunately Frijolita does not "enjoy" people for the sake of people, only if they have treats.  Otherwise she would stand in the corner & just stare at them, wondering where the treats were. 

Then he went down by the minis, Cisco & Buddy.  As I thought, Cisco didn't even wiggle, Buddy kinda looked around, but no big deal.  

Then we went down by Chantilly, she's the only one in that row of pens that would even be a possibility to go.  Rusty & Jack are mules, Tula is wild as a March hare, & Gus is just getting over 3 different bacterial infections, so he's not going out where there might be some other kind of bacteria for him to catch.....!!!  I'd love to take him, he absolutely loves people, especially children, a perfect ambassador for donkeys,  but don't want to take a chance on him picking up something new.  

Wasn't no big deal for Chantilly either, but she can get a little nippy, especially if she thinks people should have treats & they don't.  She's such a pretty girl, & is looking for a Forever Home, but we'll probably leave her home. 

There is one tiny little glitch we hadn't planned on.  We have to be down to Fairbank for the start at 9am, which means we will have to start feeding about 5am probably.  The donkeys will not have time to finish eating, so we can let them out.  Lysa usually comes on Friday, which would work out just fine, she'd come, clean pens, & let everyone out before she left.  BUT, she told John today her & the family are planning on going to the Grand Canyon for the week-end & plan on leaving either Thur or Fri.........!!!!  I think we'll probably feed as planned, drive down to get there at  9am as planned, set the donkeys up as planned, but then one of us will come back home & let the donkeys out.  It won't take that long, but I hate to miss anything.  I had planned on going back & forth between walking with Zeke & Mike, & sitting at the table with the donkeys.  But with the change in plans, we'll just have to see how it works out. 

HEADED TO TOMBSTONE

I'm going down to Tombstone this morning to meet with Teresa & finalize some of the loose ends for Zeke & Mike's Walk-a-thon, this Friday Oct 12 from Fairbank, AZ to Tombstone, AZ.  

It should be a lot of fun, Wicked Good Saddle Club & riders from the J-6 Equestrian Center, are bringing their horses & walking the route with Mike & Zeke.

If you aren't doing anything Friday between 9am & 2pm, come join us for a little exercise & meet some wonderful people in the "Town too tough to die".

Check out Teresa's Facebook page for more information:

PASS THE WORD ON THIS PERSON

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/10/04/news/2-horses-suffer-amid-abuse-awareness-effort.html

VET WAS OUT THIS MORNING

This is what Jenny's foot looks like when it bleeds

I figured Dr. Megan might as well come out & see what she thinks of Jenny's foot & see if there is something else we should be doing.  I sure like having a mobile vet in the neighborhood again...........!!!!

She was pleased with the hoof growth at the coronet, it is coming in smooth & hard.  Of course right below it is where the abscess popped a few weeks ago & it is squishy & icky.  But like she said & I had already thought of, if it's open that a good thing, as long as there is any foreign "stuff" in there.  She said to continue giving her SMZ & soaking a couple of times a week.  So I guess I wouldn't have needed her to come out, except she did take x-rays to compare with the ones taken up at Gilbert, when Jenny was up there in April.  It will be good to know what's going on in there for sure..........as long as it's improvement, don't want to hear anything else.  

All in all a good experience & Jenny actually was a good girl, raised her foot when needed & didn't try to lean on the Vet. Wasn't real happy with the x-ray business, but I have seen her worse.  According to the clinic at Gilbert she not only kicked but actually landed a good one on one of the techs.  I've never seen her kick, although she will lean on you or use her head to slam you up against a wall or corral panel, if given the opportunity. 

Dr. Megan said the bleeding is probably because there is so much blood in the area of the new granulation tissue, that it doesn't take much to make it bleed like crazy.  At least I think that's what she said, I need to get a tape recorder, I sometimes think I forget more than I remember, when someone tells me something........!!!

We only have one more night of racing the 13th of October.  Unfortunately last Saturday night I blew another motor.  We're beginning to think Kia Sephias don't have the endurance a Toyota Tercel has......although it is faster...!!!! LOL  So John went to the guy that had borrowed the Toyota & got it back.  That was the deal originally, he could borrow it, but if I needed it to race for points I'd take it back.  He had wrecked it a few weeks ago, & it was sitting in a shop with money owed on it, so he didn't fight too hard.  He had painted it blue & yellow (UGH), so John is busy getting it ready to paint.  Stopped on the way home from picking it up & got about a dozen cans of spray paint...........!!! LOL

BEFORE

AFTER, I hope......Hard to believe it's the same car....!  This is from last year. 

He is going to "try" rebuilding one of the Kia motors.  He's a Chevy man, could rebuild a Chevy with his eyes closed I think...........BUT..........according to him, there is a lot of difference between a Chevy & a 4 cylinder overhead cam motor.  I'm sure he'll figure it out, & there's some guys around that should be able to help him, if he gets stuck.