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

Lynn, Linda and the dogs made it back, Christmas afternoon and I think we've been running every since.  For some reason they seem to make the routine around here liven up......LOL

I'd like to say the donkeys were thrilled to see them, actually Buddy and some of our donkeys warmed up to them quicker than their 3 donkeys.  But after a couple of days, when ALL the donkeys found out they were cookie carriers and also they were back in the RV, it was back to business as usual.  That means the donkeys spend time at the door of the RV and Lynn spends time either hanging out the door or sitting on the step, being part of the herd.  

Before they left last year, they said we were going on vacation this year.  We thought about it all summer and never really came up with the perfect place to go.  In the winter it cuts out a large portion of the country, that can get nasty.  We talked about going to the Winter Dirt Nationals in Volusia, Florida, driving which would probably take about 3 days one way, do the races and drive back.  One of us thought that would be a lot fun..............one of us had excuses and dragged feet............LOL The foot dragger came up with an alternative........the Wild West Shootout up by Phoenix.  

Years ago, this "winter" race event was held at the defunct dirt track in Tucson in January.  Drivers from all over the U.S and Canada and maybe Mexico come out for it.  When it was in Tucson, they actually let the Hornets run and if you brought a car to race you got in the back gate free.  I had the Kia and had retired the Toyota, but John dragged it out of the weeds, since he would get in free if he raced it.  We raced 6 days out of 10, you talk about 2 tired people........!!! LOL  Luckily we brought them home each night in one piece, so John didn't have to work on them.  We did really good, John even did good in the underpowered Tojo, 1st time we ever really made money racing, I think............LOL

But I guess they don't need a class to give the big boys to have time to work on their cars anymore, so they don't have our Hornet class race.  Oh! well, it was fun while it lasted. 

It's still 6 race dates out of 10 days, so we're trying to figure out what to do between races.  We've been trying to find something interesting to do in the area, but so far haven't come up with much.  One of us is even talking about coming home in between race days.............WHAT?  That would almost defeat the whole purpose of a vacation...........!!!   LOL 

Dr. Jeremy came out today to x-ray Rosie's right front foot.  She's been gimping around for about a month and the general consensus was she had an abscess that just wouldn't pop.  Unfortunately the problem is she has got rotation in that foot from being chronically foundered for years.  She's always limped a little sometimes worse than others, but had never limped as much or as long as this time.  She's always been overweight and we couldn't get her thin, although we keep trying.  It might take awhile to figure out what is the best plan for her, but hopefully we can get her more comfortable. 

This is a Christmas greeting we got from Falena and Selena's family.  The girl's are now called Momma and Squeaky, although we don't know for sure if Momma is the mother of Squeaky.  That's the names they were given in the foster home they were in for about 3 years before they were adopted.  They got a great home with a family that already had a horse,  But from what Tim said, the girls have pretty much taken over the top slot........!!!  LOL  At least with Tim his wife rides, but they wanted a donkey as a companion for the horse, took the girls and Tim has been smitten every since.  I've always contended we take over horse people like that.  People want a donkey as company for their horse and the next thing you know they want more donkeys......!!!   LOL 

YUM, YUM, YUM.............!!!

Everyone has favorite food list and one of the goodies at the top of my list is avocados.....!!!  I've always said the perfect place to live would be a place you could have citrus, mango and avocado trees in your yard.  Years ago we lived in California for a little while and the house we rented had one of each,  grapefruit, navel orange and lemon trees in the yard.  They were so good and it was such fun to go out and grab an orange off the tree, or have fresh grapefruit for breakfast.  

Anyway Doug had been in California for about a month.  He was out there earlier this year and visited with a friend that has avocado trees in his yard.  At that time I guess they were not expecting much of a crop this year, weather wise.  

Doug came in this morning and look what he brought..........!!!!

Looks like after a lousy start to the season, they really got with the program and grew some really nice avocados.  I'll share when Lynn gets back, he likes them, Linda.......not so much, I'm sure her share will get eaten.......!!!  LOL

During WWII my grandparents, great grandparents, uncles etc, all headed for Portland Oregon to work in the shipyards, like a bunch of Okies.  Well actually this side of the family was from Kansas/Missouri mostly......!!!  Anyway they got out there, everybody old enough to work, got a job building ships and Mother and I at the tender age of a year ended up out there with them for awhile.  I don't know if they had ever seen an avocado coming from the Midwest, but somehow they discovered them.  My grandfather said, the whole bunch decided they liked them, when they found out they cost a dollar apiece.  At that time, a dollar was real money, so he could have been right....!!!  LOL  Anyway it started a "we love avocado" campaign that has lasted all these years, although I'm the only one left that knows how it started.   

In the 60's Grandma Bonnie (she was a welder in the shipyard) and I drove down to Florida from Missouri to bring John home from temporary duty at Homestead AFB.  While John worked the last few days of his TDY, grandma and I ran around being tourists in sunny southern Florida in the winter. There were places all along the roads selling all sorts of fruits and vegetables and one thing they were selling that caught our eyes was..........yep.........avocados.....!!!  They weren't the Hass like California has, they didn't have as much oil or flavor, but we weren't that picky, especially when you could buy them 10 for a $1.00.  Grandma rode in the back seat of the Oldsmobile all the way from Florida to Missouri, with a box on either side of her, filled with avocado, 6 dozen to be exact and a banana tree between her legs.  We made fun of her all the way, but we helped eat them when we got home.  When she died in 1972, she still had that banana tree in a large pot, although I don't remember it ever having bananas on it.  

Poor Rosie, is still gimping around on 3 legs.  I haven't brought Dr. Jeremy up to date, with the week-end and the holiday, I'm sure he's got enough other calls to keep up with, since there is very little you can do for an abscess except "observe" it anyway.  I'm not a fan of soaking a foot to hopefully get the abscess to pop, although if she was a little more cooperative I might have tried it.  Rosie is one of the most reactive donkeys we've ever had, it's nothing to see the whites of her eyes on a regular basis.  She seems to think if you want to do something with her, it's going to be "horrible" and she wants no part of it.   

I got a call yesterday that will probably raise our donkey count by one, a 31 year old gelding named Poco.  His mom is 87 years old and says it's getting too difficult for her to take care of him.  He's actually been by himself donkey wise for about 19 years.  I guess she got him as a companion for a horse and sold the horse.  

Our problem right now is, we don't have an empty pen, nor do we have corral panels to make another pen.  We've been trying to find some used corral panels with no luck.  And a problem with used ones is they end up being rusted, bent with broken welds etc.  So I guess I'm going to bite the bullet and buy some new ones.  There's a place in Texas that runs a circuit throughout the southwest delivering panels and gates along their route.  I'll get in touch with them this week and see when they are coming thru our area again.  Then we'll have to figure out where to put another pen.  

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas tomorrow, I'm going to do something I haven't done for a long time, actually cook a turkey with all the fixings.  John will be thrilled, he doesn't mind going out to eat, except there aren't any leftovers and I think that is his favorite part of the meal and they also never bring him a drumstick to gnaw on.......!!!   LOL

BLACKJACK WISHES EVERYONE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

UPDATE

Dr. Jeremy got out and check Rosie out.  Abscesses are so hard to figure out and donkeys are so stoic it is almost impossible to get them to react to hoof testers.  He found a soft spot at the coronet, and thinks it might blow on it's own pretty soon.  

He also said to give her bute, which I had been told years ago bute makes it last longer.  Don't know if the rules have changed or if I was given erroneous information.  What he said makes sense, the more comfortable she is, the more inclined she will be to move around, which will hopefully help the abscess to move on out.  

So we'll give her a couple of days and he said he'd come back out if it didn't pop. 

WAITING FOR DR JEREMY THIS AFTERNOON

Poor Rosie, has been gimping around for almost a month, not bad, just about the time I'd think she was better she'd start limping again.  Tyler and Dr. Jeremy were here the 2nd of Dec and agreed it seemed to be an abscess.  

The last 3 days she's been down more than she's been up and 3 legged lame when she is up.  She's not even that interested in eating, which for her is very unusual.  In fact yesterday morning when Vic was here to pick up poo, he came in to tell us one of the donkeys was in trouble, down and bloated.  I had to tell him she wasn't bloated, just fat, when laying on her side there's a lot of her sticking up in the air.  

I talked to Dr Jeremy yesterday and he said if she wasn't better today, he'd come out.  Abscesses can be very difficult to find and you can cause more harm than good, digging around trying to find it.  But it is  difficult to see them so miserable and you can't give them bute as it will just prolong the process.  Just because he comes out doesn't mean he'll be able to find it, depending on where it is in her foot.  But I have my fingers crossed for an easy fix.  

Sambo, the black cat we trapped and took to the vet for corrective surgery weeks ago, has started hanging around to check out the cat food on the back porch, we put out for our indoor/outdoor cat Julius.  Glad to know he is OK and got over his surgery.  When we opened the trap to let him out, he was moving so fast I didn't know if we'd ever see him again or not.  

Still haven't seen the orange tomcat, we called Midas.  We had planned on trapping him, but I guess he decided he'd move on to safer places.  

Speaking of Julius our indoor/outdoor cat, he was born here to a feral female and is in fact a brother to 2 of our indoor cats.  He was never interested in coming in the house until his mom, Hobo disappeared.  So he basically goes in and out at will.  I have recently found a problem with this arrangement.  Nigel sleeps on our bed most of the time, he is very sweet tempered and will move........usually.......if you insist.

Sometimes Julius is in when we go to bed and usually is on our bed, which is fine, the more the merrier.  Nigel doesn't care if Julius is up there or not.  BUT.........I am not allowed to move my feet, I'm not even allowed to move a toe, if it makes noise, or it gets attacked.  He doesn't attack like a house cat, more play than serious.  HE'S SERIOUS........which means blood gets drawn thru the sheet and comforter.  Of course he goes sailing thru the air and seems to think he needs to go out immediately if I'm going to treat him like that, while I'm trying to figure out how many punctures I have to deal with.  Needless to say, it makes relaxing to go to sleep a little awkward.  

What really gets me is he's never done it to John, although John does have to contend with Sunny, laying between his legs, which means he can't move.  But if he does move at least Sunny doesn't become a wildcat...!!!  Nigel sleeps between us, which isn't bad, except because he's laying on the covers, I end up with none on the edge of the bed..........SIGH....!!!  

Heard from Linda yesterday and I guess they will be headed back to Arizona early next week from the Christmas tree lot.  Hopefully our weather will improve between now and then.  She said their weather has been colder than it usually is, so I'm sure they would appreciate a little warmth and sunshine.  I know I would, it's been below 70 degrees the last few days and that is the cut off for comfort in the desert, as far as I am concerned.........whine, whine, whine...........!!! 

I'm pretty sure the donkeys will be happy to have them back.  She asked if I thought they would remember the people that live in that RV that have cookies.  If I was making a bet, I would bet the donkeys will be up front and climbing the steps the morning after they get here.  LOL

When Mindy was here you might remember she brought 2 big containers of animal crackers, 10 pounds of them.  With just the 2 of us here I guess Linda figured we hadn't used many of them.  I had to tell her they were all gone and had been for quite sometime, when she asked how many were left. 

MUST HAVE BEEN A GOOD SUMMER

I guess John finally decided that summer was over and he could bring in the fly masks from the shelters.  So that's what he did this morning.  Actually it was a pretty good year, the larger pile on the right are the ones that can be washed and used again next year.  The smaller pile on the left are the throw aways.  

Usually by the end of the season, most of them are pretty raggedy, although some of the girls like Tula and Gigi ended the fly season with the same fly mask they started with in the spring.  The boys are usually the ones that end up using 3 or 4 fly masks a year.  They seem to think fly masks are also toys to be pulled off some else's head, if they get a chance.  

Last night we went to a talk at Dr. Jeremy's place, on what to do in case of an emergency.  He's been giving these talks on different subjects every 3 months or so, and they are really informative. A good way to learn, what you thought you knew and probably don't.......LOL

I was really impressed with his horse.  Dr. Jeremy brought him into a large brightly lit area on concrete with about 40 people, out of a dark field, so we could find a digital pulse under his jaw.  So not only did he go from dark to light, but he got to contend with a bunch of people squeezing his jaw, when it was time for his supper.  He graciously allowed us to poke and prod him for quite sometime, he was a very good boy.............for a horse........!!!  LOL  I'm not sure one of my more cooperative donkeys would have behaved as well although I'd like to think they would.

I guess Don Juan had enough of Smokey Joe's nonsense this morning.  For some reason Joe thinks he is in charge, that he should get all the cookies, all the petting, all the attention, etc.  If Don even acts like he might like to be petted Joe puts him in his place.  When humans are out there, such behavior isn't allowed, the humans are in charge of discipline, at least we like to think we are. 

We didn't hear anything, but when I went in to fill water buckets in their pen, Joe had a bloody upper lip, like someone had enough of his nonsense.  I don't think it will phase him long term, he is pretty full of himself......!!!

I did find something I will watch for a few days to see if I can figure it out.  Joe "LOVES" really "LOVES" to have his butt scratched.  When you go in to fill water buckets he backs up to you until you get the hint and will stand there to be scratched as long as it takes to fill up the buckets.  When I say he likes his butt scratched, that isn't exactly accurate, he likes "ground zero" scratched, although I think I might be the only one that makes his day by doing it right by his standards.......!!!

I noticed this morning that there is an area like a growth on the edge of the opening.  I put some zinc oxide on it and will check it tonight to see if I can figure out what it is.  If not I'll have Dr. Jeremy come out to check it.  Joe is one of the 3 here while their family has a new house built.  One thing about Joe, he doesn't mind at all if you poke and prod it........!!!   LOL

GUESS WINTER HAS ARRIVED........!!

  Wouldn't this be fun to have in your Christmas stocking?

Fire every night in the wood stove, and putting on sweats in the morning to go out and break ice in the water buckets........  Yep, must be winter.......!!!  The sun is shining today, and it's 73 degrees on the thermometer, but the wind is blowing.  I know I'm whining, just watching the weather on TV every day makes me realize how nice we have it compared to other parts of the country.

I remember getting up at 6am in Missouri in the dead of winter to take care of my horse Ringo, and my 7 chickens and 2 ducks, busting ice, wading thru snow and my pant legs freezing stiff.  Yes, that's all a distant memory and I like it that way..........LOL

Not much to write about, Lynn and Linda are so busy selling Christmas trees in California, I haven't heard from Linda in a couple of days. 

All the donkeys have gotten use to the new routine, which is pretty casual compared to when others are here doing chores.  John wanders out about 7:30 and since it's cold the donkeys are all in their favorite places to warm up and not interested in round-up.  I don't even go out until after 8am because until the sun gets up and starts warming, I know John probably is busy breaking ice waiting for the donkeys to show up...........like that's going to happen.  I don't mind missing the ice breaking, unfortunately he breaks it, fishes out the ice with a net and by the time I get all the feed mixed, the buckets are freezing over again.  So I do get to break ice after the feed buckets are ready.  So we're wandering around out there until 9am or so and it's usually after 11am before John starts letting them out.  

Just had to take time out to talk to Linda on the phone.  She called to see why there hadn't been any updates on the blog?  I had to tell her it's been so boring around here, there wasn't anything to write about........!!  I did tell her about two of her "fur" kids, Leo and Turbo, digging a trench at the gate of their pens, while they wait impatiently for their hay.  John even put a stall mat in front of Leo's gate, so he moved down to the end of the mat to dig......!!!  Parents always like to hear about their kids misbehavior when they are away............LOL

Linda had seen the picture of Pepsi in the blog the other day and she said it didn't look like him.  I have to agree.

Pepsi a few years ago, between being svelte and looking like he's pregnant today.....!!

 

DONKEYS ALWAYS SURPRISE ME.......!!

This morning after the donkeys went in their pens for breakfast the wind started blowing.  I might add it was and still is cold, to go with the wind.  The thermometer says it's 61 degrees, but I don't believe it even thought the sun is shining brightly.  

John went to a friend's to work on race cars, so I let the donkeys out when they were done eating.  By this time the wind is really blowing, I didn't think much about it except how miserable it was.  Usually when the donkeys come out, they head for Burroland as quick as they can.  Today they come out, the heads go down and they start gleaning the ground.  Took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on.  This time of year the leaves are drying up on the mesquite trees I guess.......but still in the trees.  The wind is knocking them loose and they are falling on the ground.  The donkeys must have been watching from their pens while they waited for someone to let them out, just waiting for their opportunity.  Amazing animals if you watch them and their behavior.  So they are all out there having a great time picking up tiny little mesquite leaves.

Pepsi one of the minis has really put on weight.  He's been eating with Justin and Lynn, so we had no way of controlling his food intake.  John figured out how to split their pen, so he eats by himself.  This morning when I let them out, I noticed his bunk was polished and Lynn and Justin's wasn't..........Hmmmmm..........more information to figure out, like he's probably been eating the lion's share of the hay and mush.  That's funny, because every since he came here, we've had 2 feeding areas for the 3 donkeys, because Lynn refused to let him eat with her and Justin.  So now I find out he's the "clean up" man.  

This is Pepsi after we got the weight off him when he came here almost 10 years ago and before his recent weight gain.  Now he looks like he's pregnant.......!!!   LOL 

 
I think fly season is officially over, we will have a few flies all winter, but not bad enough for masks.  I'll gather them up, and see if any are still usable for next year, then get in touch with Colorful Equine for my annual order.  

 

.GOOD GRIEF, IT'S TRYING TO RAIN.............!!!

Not doing a very good job at it, just sprinkling.  It's been dreary all day and just barely in the 60's, which doesn't bode well for desert rats.  We really like our sunshine and to add sprinkles to it, just makes for a yucky day.  

I know the donkeys when they come in for supper are going to be cranky, they really hate to get wet.  Although they will stand out in the rain with a perfectly good shelter right beside them.  We've learned not not try to touch them when they are wet, except underneath their chin/jaw, where it is dry.  I don't think it's going to really rain, although we really could use it.  

Last week-end was a little different, our great grandson Hunter came out for the week-end.  He has never been out to spend the week-end with just grandma and grandpa, so as a city boy, I think it was quite an experience for him.  

We picked him up in Tucson Friday after school.  He got to help feed and water donkeys, the vet and farrier were out to do teeth, feet, and do some x-rays.  He wasn't too sure about climbing trees, but finally got it figured out.  Saturday we took the bronco down to the annual Cascabel Christmas Fair farther down river.  Riding in the bronco is fun, it's almost like a carnival ride.....!!!  LOL  

 

 He must be practicing to stand at attention

 

 First he rode with Grandpa, then he wanted to ride with Grandma

Of course the golf cart was a big hit

Some of the donkeys didn't have a problem with him.  Some of the others seemed to think he was here to eat them and didn't want anything to do with him.  In fact they were quite adamant about the fact he didn't belong here, and they didn't want him anywhere near them. 

I sent him home with pictures of his adventures, so he could share it with his Dad.  He's already wanting to come back, so I guess he had fun.  

Well it's time to do chores and it is now officially raining.........LOL

FIRST FIRE OF THE SEASON LAST NIGHT and HOPEFULLY NO MORE FLY MASKS

Yesterday was overcast all day which is what today is looking like too.  The fire sure felt good last night and I would imagine we'll have another one tonight.

If we have a couple of sunshine days it will bring the flies out and we'll probably put on masks, but it's late enough in the season the chances are slim to none.  Whoopee........!!!  Of course that means going thru the masks we have to see how many will be salvageable for next year and decide how many to order from Colorful Equine.  Renee has made masks for me for years, I just tell her how many I need and she ships them down all ready for next spring. I'm sure the donkeys enjoy not having to wear them.

Here is a video Linda sent of "after hour" exercise.   Either look quick or look at it again, otherwise it goes by pretty quick. 

She also sent pictures of the new managers that hired on.

They don't look like they are going to be very hard workers, do they?  LOL  Have no idea where Lola and Lennon were.

We are going into Tuscon today to pick up our great grandson Hunter after school.  This will be the 1st time he's ever stayed with us, so we'll see how it goes.  We had a busy week-end planned before we knew he was coming out, so he might not ever want to come again............LOL  I'm sure it will be interesting for him, I'm pretty sure it will be a lot different than what he is use to.  I hope he has fun.  I'm anxious to see his school work, if his Dad doesn't forget to bring it after school.  

The donkeys are all doing good, enjoying the cooler weather.  The readjusting of the herd is finally going well, and everyone has dropped back into their position in the herd.  Well, Joe has dropped back as much as he's going to, haven't heard any squabbling between him and Boaz lately, but he still picks on Don and Bill, just making sure they know he's above them in the pecking order.  Don will squabble with him, but Bill just looks at him like he's a pest.......!!!  LOL

Tyler is coming Sunday to work on Penny, Gus, and Gigi.   They've all been doing really good with their shoes, hopefully with the new improved stock he'll be able to work on them without some much drama on their part and easier on his back.  I don't know how farriers/trimmers backs hold up, they get in such uncomfortable positions and some of the equine, think it's allowed to literally lean or lay on this person that is holding up one of their 4 feet.  The rest of the donkeys are pretty good about standing and most of them don't even need a halter on.  Gigi and Penny need a halter and always will I guess, they seem to think the farrier is here to torture them and they are going to do their best to make him pay a price for the privilege........!!!   LOL  

HEY........WE CAN DO IT.............!!!

We're not fast but we are determined.............LOL  We "git er done" and the donkeys get rounded up and fed and watered, so that's what it's all about.  At least that's what we tell them when they are yelling and screaming in the throes of starvation I guess.  They sure seem to think we need to pick up the pace.

Some more of Linda's pictures, we've had to wrap Quilla's legs since he came back from Colorado, so she added a blue neckerchief to complete his outfit. 

I can guarantee none of them are starving although I'm sure they get hungry, since most of them are on reduced rations and have been since the mesquite bean season.  Since most of them are, well to put it delicately, a little short for their weight, John hasn't upped their hay yet.  Two of the 3 boys that are here until their family gets a house built need to lose weight.  Smoky Joe doesn't have a weight problem, he's too busy running around being obnoxious.......LOL

At least I'm pretty sure that's what the girls think.  He seems to think he is the answer to a maiden's prayers, and the girls don't think so.  Now that Boaz is back and Joe has been relegated to 2nd place everything is back to normal.  Doesn't stop Joe from sneaking about when one of the girls is cycling, but the day to day goes smoothly.

Don is ignoring Gigi which is a good thing.  If she was cycling and he was trying to entice her, he really needs to work on his technique.  He looked more like a bully.

I think this is Cisco, but after saying Cheyenne was Justin, I'm not saying for sure....LOL

Linda took a picture of a bag of potato chips Doug found for Thanksgiving.  YUCK, that doesn't even sound close to good.  Of course I'm a plain jane kind of potato chip eater, I don't want them all gussied up, but that particular flavor is really strange.........LOL

They had an extra day before they had to hit the ground running, so they took the dogs to Huntington Dog Beach.  Saddik is a desert dog, the biggest "ocean" he's seen is the Rubbermaid water trough, as far as we know.  The other dogs had been out there before so they were all checked out on beach and ocean.  Linda said Saddik was a little hesitate, which is funny.

He's in, but he isn't staying.......!!!  

Trying to fly perhaps, or just not touch the shoreline

Lola and Doug, looks like she enjoyed a roll in the sand after playing in the water, she's actually shiny black.

Saddik has a girlfriend named Sophie

Spending time with Sophie and her Mom

Looks like the dogs had a great time

 As of Friday, the day after Thanksgiving they are in the Christmas tree business.  Linda called this morning and said it's pretty quiet so far, but I'm sure that will change with the passing days leading up to Christmas.

We are planning on participating in the Tucson Rodeo Parade the 22nd of February this year.  I sent in the paperwork last week, haven't heard back anything.  Years ago our son and his wife, rode in the parade as outriders, in case a horse ran away or something happened needing them to help from horseback.

We'll represent the rescue, the plan so far is, BlackJack will have a banner with the name of the rescue on it.  For sure we'll have Lynn and Linda's 3 donkeys, they are use to crowds and noise, John will lead one of them.  Georgette that did the parade in Tombstone last spring wants to do it, so if she does Quilla will probably walk with her with another banner.  He even did some parades in Colorado, so he's a good candidate.  We'll all have to dress the part, which for John isn't a problem.  He has all his outfits he wears when he does jeep tours and he also has his miner outfits, which is probably what he will wear.  Lynn and Linda dress sparingly when racing, shorts and tank tops.  Not exactly vaquaro/western, so we've got to round up some outfits.  Georgette and her husband Dave do cowboy shooting and she says she has all sorts of outfits, so in January we'll have a "pick your outfit" day for Linda and I.  John should be able to put enough together for Lynn  to pass inspection.

He will NOT be wearing this outfit, that duster would cause all sorts of problems I think.  I can just see that flapping around and donkeys leaving the area and I'm sure some of the horses wouldn't be impressed either.............LOL  Perhaps something a little less floppy.

IT'S JUST JOHN AND I FOR THE NEXT MONTH.......!!!

Lynn, Linda, Doug and the 4 dogs left after chores yesterday morning and called last night when they got there.  Didn't have any problems and got set up in the RV the boss had rented for them.  That way they didn't have to drag their RV out there.  Linda said it's really nice.  

The dogs seemed to think it's just fine.  Lola was out playing with her ball and missed the photo session.

It's been along time since John and I have done chores by ourselves, but we managed to remember enough to get it done last night and this morning.  They seem to think we are too slow, but there's a lot of difference between 2 people, and 3 or 5, unfortunately they don't seem to see the problem, except from their point of view.  They better get use to it..........LOL

Today we plan on letting everyone out on the 10 acres to see if Don will leave Gigi alone.  I don't know if he's just being a bully or if she was cycling.  Either way, since she is already crippled and we don't want to take a chance on her getting hurt.

The problem with Joe and Boaz seems to have come to an end.  Yesterday morning before they left Doug saw Joe making a wide berth around Boaz, so I guess he's decided to drop back into 2nd place with the Tula group.  He came in with them this morning and Boaz didn't seem to care.

Here's a selfie Linda took a couple of days ago.  If you look behind her, the Colorado boys are following along in line.  It's hard to see, but all five are there.

This is Leddy, Turbo and Leo with their Thanksgiving decorations

This is what Lynn and Linda wake up to each morning.  The donkeys are going to think they've been deserted until Lynn and Linda come back.

 

I would have never thought this would be possible, but Linda managed to put a hat on Penny, that is touching her ear.

Justin is sure he deserves a cookie.....I have been informed this is actually little Miss Cheyenne, and she has begging down to a science...!!

Gus joining in the festivities for the 1st time.

 

Big Boss BlackJack with his little turkey friend

WOW..............talk about a lot of animal crackers.  Mindy has been here for 3 days, grooming and just hanging out with the donkeys.  She even brought goodies, I've never seen this big a container of animal crackers.  The donkeys REALLY like them...............LOL

FORGET THAT "NOT MUCH GOING ON" THING..........!!!

When Lynn and Linda are here the pace picks up, and we try to keep up..........LOL  The guys are    working on Leddy's shelter.  It was Leo's shelter, but for some reason Leo decided he didn't want to go into that pen.  Have no idea what happened, it would take 2 or more people to get him in there and that was after circling the pen area a couple of times.  Leddy doesn't care , so they just traded pens and it's working. 

We had planned on putting a shelter in that pen, got the boards the day we went to the Pecan Festival, but things had been busy.  They started yesterday and should have it pretty well done today.  Had to go to town to get things John forget to put on the list.  That always seems to happen, no matter how nice a list he makes, there's  something that get forgotten.

 Of course there is always extra help, I think this is Leddy trying to figure out what in the world they are doing to his pen. 

Looks like Pepsi thinks they need his help also.  I'm pretty sure they don't.

We have a problem, actually we have 2 problems that we've not had before.  One of them is really not much of a surprise.  Boaz has always been the head gelding, and there hasn't been anyone that challenged him.  While Boaz was gone to Colorado this summer Joe one of the 3 that are boarding, while their family gets a house built, took over the job.  They have squabbled ever since Boaz came back, up to and including bloody ears, hair patches missing, and one bitten tallywacker.  Poor Boaz, Joe really knows how to hurt a guy..........!!!    The yelling and wrestling is dying down, so I guess they are figuring it out.  Not sure who won, maybe they will share the duties, although Boaz is usually pretty sure of his position.  If he is let out of his pen first he runs to Joe's gate and they scream at each other, I guess telling the other one what they will do when that gate is opened. 

The other problem is with Don Juan one of the other boarders.  Just in the last couple of days he has been terrorizing and actually biting and slamming Gigi around.  He's not acting like a jack trying to breed, he's just acting like an overbearing jerk.  He's had her trapped in her pen, which to her is her safe place.  He's also had her in a shelter up against the wall.  If he's out and she's in her pen, he'll go to her gate, like he's waiting until she comes out, so he can get her.  Very weird........!!!  The 1st time he did it, I had to break it up and he tried to ignore me, he was so focused on her.  I had a 5 foot long flexible rod, and even using his butt as a target 4 or 5 times didn't faze him.  All this time he had hold of  her neck and wouldn't let go.  I finally whacked his butt harder than I wanted to and he let go and I could run him off.  

As long as this is going on they won't be out at the same time, last night he stayed in the pens, today Gigi is staying in the pens.  She's already crippled, she doesn't need all that banging around and biting.  

Linda took this video of Penny following Lynn to her pen.  She knew there were cookies when she got there, and was more than willing to up the pace......!!!  

It's about time for Lynn and Linda to head for California to sell Christmas trees.  They are taking Saddik the dog and also Doug is going with them to work as security at the tree lot.   So it will be just John and me for about a month.  They almost took our poo picker, I guess they have quite a few young men working for them and it would have been good money for him.  But he has family obligations for the holidays and decided not to go.  Whew!  If he had gone, not only would it just be John and I for chores, but we'd have poo to do too.........!!!  LOL  We could do it but it's been quite awhile since we done both and probably would take us a lot longer.  

They plan on leaving Monday, then I guess John and I will have a "pity party"..........!!  LOL  When they come back after Christmas we are going to try to participate in the Tucson Rodeo Parade the 22nd of February.  We plan on taking 4 donkeys, although I signed up for 5, just in case someone else wants to participate.  If they do, Quilla is in waiting.  BlackJack will carry the banner with Forever Home on it.  The other 3 will be Lynn and Linda's donkeys with their pack saddles.  If there is another person that wants to participate, we have a pack saddle for Quilla.  You have to dress old fashioned, John has his miner costumes, but I don't have anything and Lynn and Linda when they do burro pack racing, wear minimal clothes, shorts and tank tops.  So I guess we'll have to go find some miner clothes. 

 

NOT MUCH HAPPENING, WHICH IS A GOOD THING

We're all staying busy, Lynn's been cutting firewood for a neighbor, today he and John are at her place, splitting said wood.  Don't know how long they will be gone, once Lynn gets started on a project he stays with it.  He cut that huge tree down in a day, John had been looking at it for years and saying he needed to start cutting on it.  He would have cut off a big limb and been satisfied till we needed more wood.  Lynn saw the tree, and once John said it needed to be cut down, the poor tree didn't have a chance......LOL

The donkeys are enjoying having them back, Linda usually brushes on them every morning before they go out of their pens.  And of course there is always the required animal crackers.  I think everyone is being a little stingy with the crackers.  Dr. Jeremy was rather judgmental of our animal cracker regime, which consists of you see a donkey mouth and it gets a cookie, so everyone is trying to cut back.  I think Penny is still getting what she thinks is her fair share, especially at night when they go out of their pens at bedtime.  She is persistent and will run up behind John, stick her head under his arm and start pushing his arm up and keeps at it, until he gives her a cookie.  Once the cookie is eaten, she will do it again.  

Bryan sent a picture of Casper having breakfast.  Bryan still hasn't worked with him, but I'm sure Casper is enjoying having friends on both sides of him, unfortunately the pen looks "Casper" proof for escape..!!    LOL

Linda took this picture a couple of days ago.  This is the most important building on the property...........THE FEED ROOM.!!  They all know this is where good things come from.  Doug was standing by the door and they were trying to get him to give them treats.  

This is Miss Pennypacker and her friend Coquette.  Someone must be in the feed room and Penny is trying to get the point across that she would like a cookie.  For a donkey that probably never had many treats in her life, she's has certainly learned the art of begging and is making up for lost time.  

Yesterday we went on an adventure.  Lynn and Linda went with us to the Pecan Festival in Sahuarita.  They have it every year and advertise as the largest pecan coop in the world.  

This was the band area, they had food trucks and tractor pulls, wagon rides thru the orchards, and of course lots and lots of assorted pecan items to sell.  I think they had 4 gigantic jumping castles for the kids.  The news this morning said there was over 20,000 people there and I believe it.  It really was nicely organized, but they needed more people to take money, it seemed there were lines everywhere.  John stood in line to buy some pecans for me, he's such a nice guy..............sometimes.....!!  LOL  He said they only had 5 registers going and the line looked like a snake, curling back and forth 2 or 3 times.  They charged $5 to park your car, in an area probably 40 acres, and it was pretty full.  

They had a little petting zoo, with 2 cute little mini donkeys. 

 

It was in the high 80's yesterday, I hope this squirrel survived without having a heat stroke. Lynn, Linda and  John had just got a hug and the squirrel was headed for me..........!!

Years ago John and I went, and it wasn't nearly that big.  We parked in the parking lot, no charge, went in and could look at all the pecan items, but over the years I guess it's become a happening.  I can't imagine how many people it took to get it set up.  That's just one tent in the picture above, there were probably 3 or 4 more, huge tents too. 

Yesterday was Veteran's Day and a lot of the businesses give discounts, so we took the stock trailer (made parking fun, but at least they didn't charge us extra for taking up 2 spaces at the pecan festival.........LOL) and after the Pecan Festival we went to Home Depot to get Leo's shelter material.  The stock trailer is great for hauling boards and plywood, you don't have to tie it down and unless you need to use the trailer, it's a great place to store it.  Lynn and Linda are leaving for California to sell Christmas trees around the 20th of November.  They will be taking all 4 dogs and Doug is going with them and will be working on the tree lot as security.  I don't know if the shelter will be up before they leave.  This time of year the weather is usually pretty good, doesn't usually rain until after Christmas, so shelter isn't really necessary........hopefully.  

So I guess John and I will be on our own until after Christmas, for the 1st time in about 4 years.  We also might be losing our poo picker, heard this morning he might be going back to Ohio.  If that happens we will be busy busy until the gang gets back.   

THEY HAD A GOOD TRIP

 Thanks for the pictures Linda...!!

They rolled in Sunday afternoon, well actually Linda, 2 of the dogs and the 5 donkeys rolled in without Lynn, the RV and the other 2 dogs.  We asked where Lynn was and Linda had left him at a rest stop talking to people about donkeys.  He pulled in just as we got the boys out of the trailer and into their pens.  

They were all ready to get out of that trailer, especially Turbo and Leddy.  Linda said the other 3 were good travelers, but for some reason those 2 weren't the least bit impressed with the adventure of traveling.  

We managed to get them into their pens, before the "welcoming" committee showed up from Burroland.  They heard the trucks and noise and being the nosy critters they are came over to see what was happening. 

Don't know if Saddik was happy to see Doug or just happy to get out of the truck.!!

Saddik and Lucy sitting on the golf cart

Not sure who Linda is snuggling with, probably Justin

Leo is technically the only "new" kid on the block, introducing himself to maybe Pepsi?

Leo "helping" Doug and John look at Doug's jeep.  Looks like they have more than enough help.....!!! LOL

No problems fitting in, in fact when John let the donkeys out Sunday at bedtime, the 5 went out to roam with all the others.  We thought Leo might have a problem, but the next morning he was front and center with all the others, ready to go into his pen for breakfast.  

We were all at the feed room Monday before evening round-up and we were discussing how much Frijolita was upset about moving into the pen next to Joe.  She was standing in the area and it was almost like she heard what we said.  She walked right over to her new pen walked in, looked around and walked out.  Very rarely am I surprised by anything they do, but every once in awhile they do surprise me.......!!

The donkeys remember that Lynn and Linda use to give them cookies at their RV.  So far Boaz has tried to open the window and Justin tried to climb the steps into the door.  It wouldn't surprise me to have them accomplish their break-in before too long.  LOL

THE ENTOURAGE IS HEADED FOR ARIZONA

Lynn, Linda and the gang spent the night in Los Lunas, New Mexico, headed for Arizona.  It's about 400 miles, so they should get here this afternoon.

I'm sure the donkeys will be glad to get here.  They had to spend the night in the stock trailer.  I'm sure that wasn't what they had planned for the night.  The plan was to stop in an area, where they could take the donkeys out and put them in a pen, BUT, they didn't get as far as they had planned, so on to plan B......!!!  Haven't heard this morning how it went, I'm sure they are on the road, with their "traveling circus"...........LOL 

Ah...the life of adventure......!!!! 

This morning the guys set the pens up for 5 more donkeys.  John and I had to change the set up for our pans and hay buckets.  I don't know how John's hay adventure went, but I spent quite a bit of time, standing in the feed room, trying to make sense of the whole system change.  It's pretty easy to add one donkey, but adding 5 in different areas on the feed schedule, really taxed my brain......!!  I'm sure the guys will be more than happy to tell me if it isn't right.  

To put it mildly Frijolita is PISSED, there is no other more delicate word to describe her opinion of having to move.  What really makes it bad is, she is no longer next to Tula, the head jenny.  She is next to Smoky Joe, who is really far down on her list of favorites.  Joe is a busy little guy, that thinks the world revolves around him, and he also thinks he is God's gift to the ladies.  The girls all think he's a pest, and let him know it.  I think he enjoys the attention, because it certainly doesn't slow him down much.  

It will be interesting to see how the new guys react.  Boaz will go into his old pen, Leddy and Turbo could go into their old pens, but John wants to put Turbo into the large pen, so we'll see how that goes.  Frijolita is actually in her old pen, but poor Quilla's pen has been taken over by Shaggy Bill, who has to eat by himself.  He is an air fern when it comes to gaining weight, we were feeding the 3 boys, Joe, Don Juan and Bill together, but Bill just kept getting bigger and bigger, so he's by himself now. 

Quilla will go into the "temporary" pen that Casper was in.  Frijolita's pen is also a temp pen, both of them have been in place for years.  John actually took Frijolita's pen down a couple of times and just as soon as he did, we'd need it again.  Before the rainy season starts in December the guys will need to build shelters in Leo and Quilla's pen.  

Heard from Bryan, that Casper is still settling in and seems to enjoy having equine neighbor's on both sides of him.  He said Casper isn't running away when he puts in the feed now, so that's a step in the right direction.  I think he'll be OK, when he figures out Bryan is one of the good guys.  Casper has been passed around so much, probably his whole life, that he's not going to waste his time trusting just anyone, so it will take awhile.