IT'S SNOWING TODAY...........

The last few days have been messed up.  The weather people kept saying it was going to rain Wednesday night, Thursday morning, and we finally made the decision to cancel walking in the Tucson Rodeo Parade with the donkeys.  Hated to do it, and disappoint so many people, but canceling seemed to be the right thing to do.  

Of course it didn't rain Wednesday night, nor was it raining Thursday morning, but it was windy and cold for the parade.  We watched it on TV and most of the people were bundled up.  But no rain, by this time the weather people had changed their forecast to rain in the afternoon.  I guess you just keep changing the forecast until you get it right.......!!! 

It started raining Thursday night after we went to bed. It rained off and on all night, and just before morning chores, it started snowing and has snowed all day, big fluffy flakes.  But it is above freezing so we aren't getting any accumulation.  They are still forecasting warmer weather next week, so I guess that is what we have to look forward to.  A lot of places in Arizona are getting lots of snow and it is accumulating.  One place up north got over 3 feet of snow in 24 hours.  Needless to say, this is NOT normal weather for this part of the country. 

Being raised in the midwest, we are getting a kick out of how disruptive even the threat of snow is to desert people.  They have got roads closed and wrecks everywhere else.  This morning we had some people from Utah call to come out and see the donkeys, didn't bother them at all.....!!  John did the tour, didn't bother him either he was raised in Indiana..........!!  LOL

John and I did get to go to USA Raceway the local dirt track for their debut race under new owners last week-end.  It was a big show of mostly out of town racers from all over the country and Canada.  We've heard they are going to have 4 or 5 of these type of shows a year and not bother with local racing programs each week.  That's a big disappointment for many local racers that love dirt racing, me included.  They put on a good program, so we'll all hope they don't forget about us locals and maybe decide it would be worthwhile to have local racing after all.  

We might get to see some more dirt racing next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for World of Outlaws and NASCAR K&N Pro Series.  We've planned on going, but nothing is ever written in stone around here.  So until we are actually on the road, we don't know for sure. 

The donkeys are not enjoying the rain and snow.  They really don't like to be wet.  This morning Linda and John were trying to figure out how to get everyone under shelter for breakfast.  There are 4 pens without a shelter, although Lynn has been working on a shelter that will take care of 2 of those pens.  They managed to move donkeys around but Big Gus ended up not only without a shelter, but without a pen. His pen is a nice size for 2 donkeys, so he got thrown out.....!!  

They got the idea to see if he would follow them up to the carport and eat up there.  A lot of the donkeys will not flex, they know their pen, they know where they are fed in their pen and that's the way it is.  Not him, he followed along and seemed to think it was a great idea......!! 

He has such a fun personality, if you appreciate it.   He almost went into a foster home, but John, Lynn and Linda had a fit when they found out the plan.  He has become the ambassador for the rescue or at least he thinks he is.  When people come out to see the donkeys, he greets them, shows them around and makes sure they go away thinking donkeys are the most friendly animal on the planet.  So they said he can't go anywhere.  When we give a tour we usually ask the people who their favorite donkey is and I guess lately Big Gus is getting most of the votes. 

 He's always preferred horses to donkeys, and lately he's taken a liking to Casper the little mini mule.  Almost every morning they play fight, Big Gus has to get down on his knees and Casper has to rear up to get hold of Big Gus' neck, but they make it work.  And I think Casper is now staying on the property, rather than sneaking under the perimeter fence.  Maybe he likes his big buddy.

Linda took this picture, she takes almost all the pictures.  I don't know exactly what was happening, but my guess is this might have been when the women came out and walked with some of the donkeys down the road and these wanted to go also.   Usually when someone is out with the donkeys, there is a line of donkeys on this side of the fence, walking with them........

This is a surprise.  Linda asked if I knew who this was and I didn't.  It's Buddy Brat.........!!!  When Buddy came here almost 20 years ago, he was a nosy, curious, busy little guy and got in a lot of trouble, hence the name Brat........

A few years ago he went out with a family.  He has always had a weight problem and they promised they would follow instructions on how to feed him.  A couple of years later the donkey that had been adopted with him, killed a goat and the people wanted both of them gone, immediately.  We were shocked to see how much weight he had gained and also how much his personality had changed.  He had always loved being around people, but when he came back he could care less about people and this is the 1st time in a long time I've seen him actually interact with someone, in this case Linda.  He usually stands off and just watches what's going on.  So hopefully he's decided to start interacting with people again. 

VALENTINE'S DAY IS OVER, ONTO THE TUCSON RODEO PARADE

One thing about when Lynn and Linda are here, things move along at a rapid clip....!!! LOL  It seems like this year there's still a lot going on, but with Linda in on-line school, she has to spend a lot of time on her classes, and doesn't have as much time to do dress up on holidays.  But she still managed to decorate the donkeys a little bit. 

 I think this is Rambo, but not 100% sure.  If it is, I'm surprised she'd put all those love stickers on him.  LOL  We're upping his "mellow" supplement again, he had a tantrum this morning.  I'm also thinking of adding raspberry leaves to his pellets, that's another herb that is suppose to help them not be quite so reactive.  I still think his biggest problem is a lack of training and discipline.  Six or 7 years ago he was fostered and adopted into a home where I can imagine his bad behavior was encouraged as entertainment.  We all discourage such behavior, but it's hard to turn around bad behavior overnight.  It's a shame because he is a pretty boy and has lots of personality.........he just doesn't know how to behave........LOL

Last night during round-up he got put in his pen 3 times.  He has learned how to open the gates with a drop chain............not good.....!!   Then we have to remember to put a snap on the chain.  Frijolita use to open gates and let the other donkeys out.  She wasn't being helpful to them, she wanted to get into their pens to eat their leftovers. 

On second thought, comparing this picture with the picture above, I think this is Trudee..........maybe....??  I do better on full body shots I guess.  If it's Trudee, then that is Chancer with her.

I know who this is, this is Quilla Love.  He has the most expressive ears and eyes of any of the donkeys.  He uses his ears to communicate all the time.  Quilla loves attention although I'm not sure what the tongue is all about.  Actually I do know, he's learned that rolling the tongue gets attention.

I have no idea how this managed to get published.  I was working on it and had to take a break, came back and it had 2 viewings on it.  Very strange, but I wasn't done rambling.......!!!

Isn't this drawing cute?  A friend of Lynn and Linda's did it and it looks suspiciously like Lynn and Linda pack burro racing with a couple of donkeys......!!!  

Did you ever see such a pile of hats?  Before Linda left this morning for Tucson, she marked all the hats for the Tucson Rodeo Parade with names.  When Suzanne and Linda got here today to groom the donkeys they cut ear holes in all these hats and then tried them on the donkeys to make sure they fit.  Enough ear space is vital if you want cooperation from the donkeys.  LOL  They come out almost everyday to groom the donkeys and will also be walking in the parade with Trudee and Chancer, the newbies.  Although Chancer is 3 years old, Trudee still seems to have the idea that she needs to protect him from the other donkeys especially the larger ones.  Hopefully this won't be a problem with trailering and walking in the parade.  Guess we'll find out............!!!! 

My race car finally came home from our son's and from our friend Larry's that was finishing up some of the welding and installing some of the boring stuff.....!!  The last few days John has been spending all his time on it, doing more boring stuff that doesn't hardly show, all his effort.  Sure seems like there is a lot of people putting a lot of time into this car, so I can go out and have fun.  Couldn't do it without them, that's for sure. 

One of the burning questions has been, could I get in the window opening on the driver's side.  Although the knee brace is gone, the knee is still pretty stiff, even with physical therapy.  John had all these scenarios, in case my knee wouldn't bend enough to clear the post.  While he was gathering up step stools and whatever else he thought we might need, I managed to get in the opening pretty easy, he turned around and there I was, sitting in the seat......!!  

The motor is together at Gary's and they will put it in the car next week.  Then John will bring it home again, and do a lot more boring stuff, leading up to the fun stuff..........painting it and putting on graphics.  So it looks like I will be able to start the new season in the new car, for awhile it didn't look very promising......!!!

Tonight we are going out to USA Raceway.  This is the dirt track that closed in 2014.  We're not exactly sure what is going on out there.  But there has been a lot of work done to spiffy it up, new clay on the track, lots of paint everywhere.  The modifieds and sports mods are running a circuit at other tracks in Arizona, so I don't think any of the drivers are local, which is disappointing.

Some of the local people are saying it's a start, BUT, we've heard rumors that they are only going to use the track 3 or 4 times a year for the IMCA modfied touring programs.  They still have the track in the center, where the Hornets raced and in fact have enlarged it, but we'll find out tonight if that is where the sports mods are running.  If they opened up to local racing and Hornets were racing, I'd be at the front of the line checking in the back gate and probably never look back at asphalt........LOL 

WE'RE NEVER BORED........!!

The races were pretty good at Mohave Raceway, the trip up there was an all day affair.  I'm sure we could have started earlier and taken less potty breaks, but getting there wasn't a timed event.  As it is, we got lost on the last leg of the journey, and it was getting late enough that Larry wasn't going to get any practice at all, in a car he never had driven, so we told them to go ahead we'd get there sometime.  

The track is out in the middle of nowhere, 11 miles from a little tiny town, with a tavern that was the only thing open.  John went in to try to get directions and he said everyone in there knew where the track was......LOL  We finally made it, the heat races had already started, but Larry hadn't raced yet.  

They put on a good show, nice crowd, 5 classes, no goofing off and wasting time.  The program was 3 hours and 10 minutes long,  and within about 20 minutes the parking lot was about empty and so were the pits.  My kind of track, it was fun watching the guys using their bumpers on the starts.....!!

Larry did good, although he said the car was really loose and there is a lot of work to be done before they go back up there.  It's such a long haul, you want to make sure you're car is going to be competitive.  

We overnighted in Kingman and headed to Wikieup to pick up Willie the Haflinger the next morning.  

This is the only picture I got at Sacred Grounds Rescue my camera decided to misbehave

The trip was uneventful except Willie was so unhappy he wouldn't take a treat from me.  By the time we got to Theresa's it was dark, so not only could she not see Willie, we couldn't see all of her "fur" kids, 2 that came from us years ago.  

I guess Willie likes to pout, because Theresa e-mailed this morning that he wasn't interested in interacting with her either, although he finally took a treat.  He doesn't realize he has landed in a wonderful indulgent home........but he will.....!!! 

Tyler came out Sunday to trim Trudee and Chancer's feet.  From what we were told it wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone, particularly  DJ, Tyler's helper.  We've never had a biter before, but we can't say that now.  Chancer bit him 3 times.........LOL  Linda said his finger didn't look very good.  

Trudee and Chancer got to go out by themselves for a few hours, the 1st time they were out.  They fit right in and haven't had any problems at all.  They act like they've been here for a long time, already know the routine. 

 

Chancer ended up with pretty feet whether he wanted them or not.  He had been playing in the stock the day before and thought it was fun, until "working with the feet" was added to the game.

Big Gus has found out that begging gets cookies, so he does a lot of begging....!!

Big Gus wanted to go home with Tyler

  

Big Gus working a youth group that came out to see the donkey this week-end, he knows how to get attention....!!

The kids always have a good time, and so do the donkeys

Some women came out to play with the donkeys and Big Gus made sure he was at the front of the line for attention

The women asked which donkeys don't usually get to go out, so they ended up taking Big Gus (didn't have much of a choice....LOL)  Rosie, Cisco and Jasper.  They all seemed to enjoy it, well except for Rosie's bonded friend Gigi.  Linda said she was on the other side of the fence and stayed with them as they walked.  She is crippled, but maybe next time she can go out if Rosie goes. 

People are always smiling when they are with the donkeys

We have a mystery, although the consensus of opinion is Big Gus did it.  Earlier in the winter, the well head inside that green barrel froze and we had water all over the place.  So John took an old quilt and stuffed it down inside the barrel and nothing has bothered it, nor has it froze again.  But I guess it wasn't interesting enough to drag completely out and play with it, because this is how it was found.  And of course guess who was in the area..........Big Gus.......!!!

HEADING OUT IN THE MORNING......

John and I will take off in the morning, heading for Mohave Raceway to watch our friend Larry race on dirt for the 1st time since 2014, when our local dirt track closed.  Never been to that track, so it will be an adventure.  Hope Larry does good and brings his friend's car home in one piece.  

Larry and his friend are driving home after the races.  John and I will overnight up there to rest up.  We are also picking up a horse  from a rescue in Wikiup, for a friend.  Terry was actually suppose to go up with us on Monday to pick Willie up.  But John figured out how close Wikiup was to Mohave, he asked if we could take the stock trailer with us and pick Willie up a day early.  Otherwise after coming home Sunday, we would have turned around Monday and went back up to the same area.  Everyone agreed to the plan change, so that's what we are doing.  

Willie is a Haflinger.  Halflingers are very stout small draft horses, Teresa use to have a real nice horse and carriage but her horse died.  She hasn't said if she is going to start driving again or what she has planned for Willie.  She has offered to help Lynn and Linda with their plans to train Casper the little white mini mule to the little cart they got, just for him.  I don't think he knows what is in store for him as soon as they get what they need for his training.  Long driving lines and a surcingle a strap somewhat like a cinch, but it goes all around his body and the driving lines go thru rings on the side. At least I think that's how it works.

Today John and I took parts for the new race car down to Larry's.  Larry has been working on the car and was getting to a place where he needed the parts.  John managed to cut a finger with a cutting disc.  He has been on blood thinners since last summer, so of course he bled pretty bad.  They have a clinic in the little town where Larry lives, but they close at noon on Fri, so I took him to the emergency room in the Benson hospital.  It took about 3 hours to get 4 stitches, which took care of the problem.

 Not sure when I'll get time to update the blog.  Lynn and Linda actually took Trudee and Chancer for a walk over on Burroland today and said they both did really good.  Tyler is going to come out Sunday to trim their feet.  We were told Trudee is pretty good with her feet, but Chancer doesn't like to share his rear feet with anyone. 

CHANCER HEADED OUT FOR HIS FIRST RUN IN BURROLAND

HEADED BACK TO THE PEN AREA

Quilla sharing the love...........!!!

UPDATES

Heard from Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, they picked up the jack and he is now at their Texas headquarters in Texas.  They didn't say whether he will be gelded and trained for adoption or put out on a lease.  I would imagine he will go thru an evaluation process before any decision is made.  He's a pretty boy and I'm sure with a little effort, there is a perfect home for him out there.  Whichever way his life goes, he will be better off than where he was, with his owner probably not being able to come home because of his health, and the jack being so distrustful of people, there was no  easy options for him.  

Rambo has settled down again, of course I upped his supplement that is suppose to help him be mellow.  This morning he and Big Gus were play fighting.  That's the 1st time we've seen them even pay any attention to each other after being together for 6 years in their adopted home.  We figured they had enough of each other and were glad to not have to share their lives.  There are quite a few geldings here that like to play fight, so maybe it just took awhile for them to get back together as Rambo tried out everybody else.  Big Gus is usually by himself, he doesn't really hang with any of the donkeys.  He's more of a people type of guy.  

About 2pm this afternoon, Richard from way up north pulled in with Trudee and Chancer.  As we were talking Richard said the trip went well, except for the last 40 miles or so, he didn't realize it would be dirt road.

This is Big Gus, our official greeter.

Both John and I looked at each other in astonishment........he had used GPS or one of those directional guidance programs and I guess they told him the shortest way to get here, thru San Manual, rather than thru Tucson on Interstate 10........!!!  YIKES there are 3 counties involved in that dirt road and none of them take the responsibility for maintaining it, so it never gets done. He said Trudee was a little unsteady, no kidding.  We took a car trailer up there one time, lost a tail light and busted a couple of welds.  Not a road you take if you don't absolutely have to.  This is why we use an Atlas.........LOL

They were ready to "de-trailer", can't blame them after that road

They led nicely to their pen.  Lynn and Linda had put hay and water in the pen and Chancer had a drink and they both started looking around.  Probably wondering what the heck happened to their normal daily routine.

It didn't take long for the "NOSY NEIGHBORS" to show up

Trudee is a little more reserve than Chancer, he's seems really curious and more in your face.  He immediately was coming up to us for treats.

He might be more curious, but when the herd showed up, he stood behind momma to watch them for awhile before coming out to check out some of the ones that stuck their heads in the pen

Leo welcomed him, there were a couple of almost kicks, but for the most part no problems

Of course there is always one, that just has to see what's inside, this was Boaz.  He just checked it out and moved on.  If it had been Justin he probably would have been in it. 

They didn't seem upset or anything, just looking around their new surroundings

Richard and his wife Linda had fostered them for a couple of years.  She asked Rickard to give them a kiss before he left and Linda took a picture to send her

This is the most donkeys we've ever had on the property at one time, 29.  Of course 5 of them are Lynn and Linda's and these two are "loaners".  But that still puts us over our self imposed limit of 20 which is not unusual.  I think we've always been over more than under.  When Lynn and Linda are here it's too easy to say yes..........LOL

Tonight they stayed in, we usually keep them in a day or two, so they can get their bearings and so all the others can come by and say Hi or give them the stink eye depending on their point of view.  Lynn is anxious to see if they are interested in running, but that can wait a little longer until they get settled. 

NOT HERE YET....!!

Arizona weather right now is rather icky in a lot of areas.  Trudy and Chancer are coming from 7000 feet elevation up north, so instead of Tuesday, they might make it tomorrow.  I haven't heard from Christine today.  Their pen is ready and waiting for when they do make it.  

They are already "penciled" in for the Tucson Rodeo parade February 21st.  When I filled out the paperwork I said we'd bring 12 donkeys.  At the time I thought that was probably more than we'd actually bring, last year we only had six.  Linda has 17 on her list with handlers and if Georgette and Dave bring Jacque and Sugar that will be 19.........  I just hope someone isn't there to count us........!!  LOL

The new kids have a couple of weeks to adjust to new surroundings and do some parade training and that should be enough.  Christine said Chancer needs a job, so might as well get him started. 

The donkeys have been getting a lot of grooming this week.  Suzanne and Linda have been coming out from Benson every morning and brushing the donkeys.  Suzanne is a full time RVer and is thinking about bringing her RV out here and staying awhile.  They both really enjoy being with the donkeys and of course the donkeys really enjoy the attention, so it's a win win situation for all involved.  

  

  This is Loki and Rambo play fighting.  Geldings can play pretty rough sometimes and a lot of people that aren't familiar with donkeys get upset.  They aren't nearly as rough as the jacks in the wild are, but it can look pretty bad.  I know I've tried to sneak up on a couple of them play fighting to take pictures and if they see me they stop, and look at me like, "why are you staring at us and ruining our fun"..............!! 

The jack was suppose to be picked up by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue yesterday, but I haven't heard anything yet.  If I don't hear anything by tomorrow I'll get in touch with them and see if they can update me on how he's doing.  Although he was never ours, I'm still interested in his well being and hope he can have a good life.  

 This is what Tyler has to contend with, when he's working on Gus.  This is Big Gus "helping" he helps with any and everything anyone tries to do outside, doesn't matter if he knows them or not.  Tyler has done his feet a few times, but I wouldn't say they are buddies. 

Tyler came this week to reset Gus' shoes.  Gus hadn't been comfortable since the last reset, so Dr. Jeremy came out too.  They took some x-rays and decided on a plan to change the slope of his feet.  They also discovered some calcium deposits it looked like about 9-10 little white spots in the x-ray in a line below the coronet.  There were no other white spots except for one little spot about an inch or a little more below the line of spots.  I guess it was up with the other spots and broke away and is headed down to the bottom of his foot.  That is probably one of the reasons he hasn't been comfortable.  

They did all their magic and he's been much more comfortable.  But this morning when Linda and Suzanne were grooming on him he was biting at them like he does when he's sore or doesn't want to be messed with.  They were grooming on his shoulders, so I wonder if changing the slope is making his shoulders sore?  Of course the weather the last couple of days has been bad rain, cold, wind, I'm sure that isn't helping.   

Linda just came in and said Rambo is in "time out".  He's been doing good on his MMX supplement from Horse Tech.  In fact we had only been giving him half of what he should be getting because it seemed to make him sleepy.  I don't know if the wind this afternoon has him fired up but he was being rude to some of the other donkeys.  So I guess we'll up the amount of MMX he's getting and see if he can behave himself.  I've got some other herbs I can try also if this quits working. 

BETTER NEWS............!!!

The jack is being picked up Tuesday by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.  They actually have a training satellite in Scenic Arizona and I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't where he is going, at least temporarily.  He has no health certificate or Coggins test to cross state lines yet and this is a wild burro training area........sounds like where he might belong for awhile.  

I think our  family is going to be growing a little bit this week.  We should be getting 2 donkeys in Tuesday, Trudie and Chancer.  Lynn and Linda are going to be working with them to learn pack burro racing.  They actually going to be on loan from Equine WellBeing up in Snowflake AZ.  Christine thinks they will be more adoptable if they have training and besides she says Chancer needs a job.  That's rescue talk for he's bored and probably gets into mischief.........!!  They will be delivered Tuesday, and I would imagine training will start Wednesday.  It's always exciting to get new "fur" kids in and watch them integrate into the herd.  If they like to run and are good students, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up in Colorado. 

The brothers, Link and Turbo and their little shadow Casper, I think Linda is right, he thinks he's as big as they are.

I'm not exactly sure who these two are.......Jasper and Buddy maybe?  I'm pretty sure Linda will know who they are. 

Loki and his new friend Mely

This is a very flattering picture of Levi, you can't see his fat pockets that make his back flat enough you could set a dinner for 6 on it....!!  Poor little guy is on a diet, which he doesn't think much of.  He runs thru all the pens looking for scraps when we let him out of his pens after breakfast.  He doesn't let that extra weight interfere with running, he seems to be a natural at racing.