2014 IS ALMOST OVER........!!!

We have one of these, named Snooky.  So far he hasn't figured out how to get the roll off the holder, but he can sure cover the floor with little fluffy pieces of toilet paper.

I can't believe we are still putting fly masks on, the donkeys that have immune issues.  The few flies left after our 20+ degree mornings, have no problem finding those and if we don't put the masks on, they end up with goopy eyes.  

The last few days have gone so smoothly, it's almost boring, no major crisis' or minor catastrophes, "knock on wood".  I don't mind the crisis', but I appreciate it when the donkeys with issues are having good days. 

Penny goes in this week to have Dr. Debra evaluate her teeth and see if there is anything else that can be done to make her mouth better.  I'm sure Penny isn't going to appreciate this attention.  Last time it took almost an hour to pull a bad tooth, and I'm sure she remembers the experience very well.  It also looks like one of us will be hauling her, rather than the usual both of us.  Our appointment is at 9am in town about 13 miles away.  We try to get appointments between 11am and 2pm, but that isn't always possible.  With 24 animals to feed and take care of, especially this time of year when they don't want to move until the sun is up and warm, early doesn't work for us.  So I guess one will haul and one will round up and feed, haven't decided who does what yet though. 

GETTING COLDER......!!!

 CUTE BABY WITH MOMMA

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

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

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

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

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

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

 HOW CUTE IS THIS?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NINA

BENNY BEING A HAM, WITH A TOUR

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

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

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

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. 

THEY'RE BACK........!!!!

We just got home from picking up Ruthie, Ruger and Wister from their 2 month gig of weed control.  I got in touch with Karla last week, and she said they had just about eaten everything, so it was time for them to come home.  

We drove up, went in,  and here they come.  Opened the back gate on the trailer and Wister went right in, Ruger was a little reluctant but he finally went in and Ruthie hopped right in.  Don't think it took 10 minutes. 

They look good, Karla didn't have a lot of mesquite beans, so they've been mostly eating desert weeds and grasses, just what donkeys should be eating.  She has a woman that lives with her that really hated to see Ruger go, guess he was her favorite.  

Got home with them, opened the back gate and turned them loose.  Hope we don't regret not putting in their pen for a day or two, so they know where they belong..........LOL  They came out on the run and have been running around every since, with Justin running behind them.  I'm not sure what his plan is, but he's hanging right in with them.  Of course the dogs are barking non stop.  They always get so excited when "new" donkeys arrive and seem to think they need to bark when they move.  Since the three have been running around trying to see everything ever since they hit the ground, the dogs are starting to really get irritating.  

Anubis is doing just fine after having her 2 teeth pulled yesterday and her teeth cleaned.  Would you believe it costs more to get a dog's teeth cleaned than a person's?  She couldn't have anything to eat until this morning, which really didn't go over very well.  Since she couldn't eat Nicki didn't get to eat last night either, they both thought we had lost our minds.  I don't understand why they can't eat after surgery or in this case teeth cleaning.  Shouldn't matter if they throw up after it's over, but we followed the rules.  We are soaking her kibbles for a couple of days just to make it easier for her to chew, although like most dogs she's a gulper, rather than a chewer. 

I'll try to get a picture of mom and the 2 boys tomorrow.  We have some people coming out next Sunday to visit with the 3 of them.  They have 10 acres and are interested in having donkeys.  These 3 would be very good for people that have never been around donkeys.  They are very friendly and are curious enough to be a lot of fun to watch.  Hopefully the people will be a good fit and we can get these 3 a good forever home. 

NOT THE NIGHT I HAD PLANNED

I guess things have been going too good, it was time for a bump in the road of racing.  Finished 2nd in the heat race.  Went to staging to go out for the main event.  Hit the start button and absolutely nothing, no clicking, no groaning, I double checked to make sure I even had the switch on.  Yelled at a friend in the line up to push me, which he did.  It started, but would not actually run.  I got out in the racing area and it just wouldn't go, so I had to be pushed into the pits without starting the race.  

John was ready to have a fit, in fact I think he had at least one..........LOL  He had been watching the alternator and had actually disconnected it, but there should have been enough power in the battery without it.  So he took the battery off the winch, put it in my car and it started right up.  In fact the race was still running and my car was sitting in the pits, purring like a kitten........!!  That is about the 3rd battery John has put in this year, so he's thinking that although the battery was dead, there might be something electrical in the car that is the real problem.  Oh! goody I'm glad I'm just the driver, the idea of chasing electrical problems, makes my head hurt.....!!!

Needless to say I'm no longer in 2nd place for end of year points, but we have one more race for points the 15th of this month and I'm only 1 point out of 2nd place, so there's still a chance.  

I am absolutely amazed at how many people came over to see what happened, the guy in 1st for points drove to our pits when he came off the track, and most of the other drivers came by, not to mention pit crews.  I guess the race was a crash fest, everyone said I was lucky I missed it.  Can't wait to see the video.........!!! 

There's a young guy in his 20's, who's main goal this year was to beat me, well he won that race.  I congratulated him and he said it didn't count because he didn't beat me.  He's definitely focused, well he'll get 3 more chances.  He always teases me about how he can't get mad at me when I beat him, because it would be like getting mad at his grandma.......!!!  LOL

As usual when we get home after the races the donkeys start yelling and screaming when I get out to open the gate.  They know when they have been mistreated and as far as they are concerned, staying in their pens that long is not acceptable.  Of course as soon as John lets them out, all is forgiven.  

This morning I noticed a praying mantis had managed to get trapped in the stable fly trap.  The only way to get her out, (she was full of eggs looked like) was to take the top off, which defeats the whole trap idea.  You take the top off and the flies are all going to fly away.  John said he'd try and he managed to get the praying mantis out, but lost about 2/3's of the flies. 

Courtney came out this afternoon to trim donkey feet.  She was really impressed with how good everyone's feet are doing, even the ones with a lot of issues.  I guess all the rain we had this summer maybe had something to do with it. Even old Pepper was impressive, he managed to stand on 3 feet while she worked, by himself.  Usually he leans on her and John or I help hold him up, while she works as quick as possible.  We don't want him to fall.  But he did just fine.

We got little rain squalls today.  You might know we had Daisy's sponsor and 2 of her friends out for a visit and it sprinkled on us 3 or 4 times, while we were trying to find donkeys.  Ended up standing in the machinery shed for a few minutes, for the heaviest "sprinkle", the rest of the time we just pressed on.  One of the women planned ahead and brought an umbrella.  

Tomorrow morning we have to take Anubis the dog in early to the vet to have those 2 teeth removed.  Later in the week we will be taking Reba the big red mule down to Sierra Vista to have her teeth looked at.  She is about 31 years old and seems to be having some chewing problems.  So we'll have it looked at.  She probably has some hooks on her teeth that need to be rasped off. 

THERE'S A PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR DECEPTION.......

After getting chewed out by my vet about "no animals have ever refused to eat the Neoplasene" I'm giving it another go, although my heart isn't in it.  I asked her if she had ever tasted it and she hasn't....!!!  Aha, could be why she has no qualms about ordering it..........LOL  

So the last few days I have been chumming little Pepsi with a mixture of oats and pellets, believe me he thinks his ship has finally come in.  I added a little molasses last night and his body language said, "bring it on" as he dove into it.  Usually the minis get about a 1/4 cup or less of timothy hay pellets mixed with a large spoon of soaked beet pulp and Lakin Lite a local bermuda/alfalfa hay pellet.  So he's getting a 1/4 cup of oats, 1/4 cup senior, 1/2 cup of timothy pellets and a spoon of mush.  This morning I added about a tablespoon of molasses WITH a tiny dab of the offending product and he ate it........!!!  As tiny as that dab was I could have ate it, if I didn't hate molasses.......LOL  So I will up the ante until I get to 1cc of the nasty stuff twice a day or he refuses to accept anymore at a lesser amount.  The place below his eye never broke open or became a wound, which is a sign of no cancer cells, so we'll just do what we can and hope for the best.  

Had a good night at the races last night, finished 3rd in the heat race and won the main event.  It's always a good night when you win.  Thankfully the car suffered no major damage, John's just going to wash it on the trailer and it will be ready for battle again tonight.  They have a big 2 night show for the modifieds and "allow" us to participate.  These back to back nights are very tiring for old people.......!!! LOL

. 

They had the drivers bring candy for the kids that were dressed up for Halloween.  Our grandson and his wife brought Kyler out after he hit his neighbor's up for candy.  

They didn't have Hunter for Halloween, he's with his Mother in Phoenix, so I don't know what he had for a costume.   Kyler's lion outfit was really cute and he seemed to have plenty of candy by the time he got to Grandma's car and candy.......!!