CAR IS READY TO GO........

The 2nd fuel pump came in, John put it in.  The difference between 10 pounds of fuel pressure and 50 pounds is really noticeable..........!!!!  I think a lot of the problems I've had on the track lately probably could be blamed on the fuel pressure.  Guess I'll find out tonight.

Poor Cisco has skin problems every summer, not always the same.  This year instead of having bloody open sores, we've been dealing with what I thought was dry skin.  When I'd brush him all this flaky stuff larger than dandruff would fly everywhere.  Yesterday I gave him a bath in special shampoo and this is what he looked like after his bath.  The 2 light colored areas are sunlight or something else.  I brushed and rinsed and rinsed some more and brushed some more until I figured out I wasn't going to get rid of it in one bath.  The flakes in his mane (yes, unlike most donkeys he actually has a long mane rather than an upright roached mane)  just kept coming out the more I brushed.  The lines in the bottom right hand corner are actually pieces of skin.  I assume these larger pieces are what it looks like under his hair and they get broke up into the smaller pieces.

This morning he's got a larger area of larger pieces of dried skin.  You can pull them off an inch or larger pieces.  There is no sores, or scabs, he's just sloughing off the top layer of his skin, it's very thin, I'm assuming it is the top layer of the epidermis named the stratum corneum.  Who knew there was 5 layers of epidermis.........???   I sure didn't.  If my teachers had taught things like that I might have been a better student.  LOL 

BEAN UPDATE REPORT

It doesn't look like they are going anywhere for awhile.  We did open the gate into Burroland that comes off the road, so if the cows would like to go in they can.  I don't know why they would, there are beans laying along all the roads, anywhere there are mesquite trees, which is EVERYWHERE.

WELL, IT DID RAIN YESTERDAY........

Actually it was a decent little rain in the afternoon, cooled everything off, and it seemed like it was enough to wet the beans and hopefully start them on their "trip" to become black and inedible for donkeys.  But no........within minutes of the rain quitting, the sun came out bright and hot, the humidity must have been close to 100% and within 1/2 hour you couldn't hardly tell it had rained.  This has been the weirdest monsoon we've ever had since we've been here.  This week is suppose to be over 100* in Tucson every day, this time of year the temperatures should be heading for the low 90s by now.  

I guess the fire in the Little Rincons is out.  There was a facebook page to keep everyone up to date on how it was going.  It hasn't been updated since the 22nd and we haven't seen any smoke, so I guess that's it.  Yesterday John was under my race car and he heard 2 large claps of thunder that he said was REALLY close.  He said it really got his attention, so he squirmed out (he hates my little cars, there's no room for wiggling) and came in the house and just beat the rain starting.  

The reason he was under there is, the fuel pump had lost pressure it would still run, but had no power at all.  He spent a lot of time under there while I was gone to Benson yesterday.  When I came home he said the remanufactured fuel pump he just bought had less pressure than the one he took off.  So he had to take it off again, and O'Reilly's is suppose to get a replacement in today.  I hope so, I'm suppose to race Saturday night and we have 2 main events to run in one night.  This car is such a basket case he keeps threatening me with parking it and racing the freshly built Cavalier.  I just want to finish this season, hopefully in 5th place.  I don't want to bring the Cavalier out and get it wrecked, then it wouldn't be pretty to start out next season.  The car I was driving when I smashed my knee was 21 laps into it's 3rd race, so we didn't get much mileage out of it at all.......!!!  LOL

Turbo is a grown up now.  This is a friend of Lynn and Linda's in Colorado officially riding Turbo.  Lynn has always leaped on him bareback and he could care less but he's never been ridden with equipment.  Eric hurt something, knee, back, one of those important areas that probably needs to be in good shape if you're going to pack burro race.  So since he's going to be laid up for awhile they've traded donkeys I guess until racing season is over.  Turbo will get saddle training and Eric's donkey will still get to race.  Those ears are up and Turbo looks like he's having a good time. 

This is Levi before and after.  On the left is how he looked when he hadn't been with us very long.  You could have put a dinner service for 4 on his back and it wouldn't have fell off.   He had been on a diet, but when they left for Colorado he was still obese.  We were afraid he wouldn't pass the vet check when they had the fun run at Empire Ranch in the spring.  He passed the check, but the vet did write OBESE on his paperwork.  Fast forward a few months to a trip to Colorado running around on 40 acres with the herd, and going out for runs, I'm not sure if he has actually ran in a race.  He was suppose to run at Fairplay when John and I went up to watch, but he was a little "off" that day and didn't make the cut.  It's amazing, he doesn't look like the same donkey.  I'm sure he feels better and hopefully he'll get a chance to race and show off his new figure.  

Thanks for the pictures Linda

TIS THE SEASON

Fire season that is.  Yesterday afternoon we had some lightening in the area, with a few sprinkles.  When I say a few, I'm being generous.  Anyway last night just before dark we noticed wisps of smoke, west of us in a valley in the Little Rincons.  The Rincons are closer to Tucson and the little Rincons on our side of the Rincons.  We watched it for awhile and when it got dark you could see the flames pretty good.  Suzanne took this picture later and it was really getting bright.  

We can smell the smoke, so it will be interesting to see what it looks like after dark tonight.  It's not even interesting enough to make the local news.  They've got quite a few fires all over Arizona that are bigger.  I would imagine if the wind changed directions and it headed for Tucson, they'd get a little more excited.  

Well, the donkeys so far are not having as big a fit as we expected about having to stay in their pens, all the time.  They will try to get out the gate if you don't pay attention, but for the most part they are behaving themselves.   

This morning Suzanne made a list of areas in the pen that need attention, such as broken welds on some of the corral panels and boards that need to be replaced or tightened in the shelters.  Tanya that works at the Oasis Exotic Bird Sanctuary a few years ago, did some welding on the pens for us and has offered to do it again.  Some of the pipe that's been in touch with the ground has rusted or rotted, not sure which, but is no longer pipe, so as soon as we can find some pipe, she'll start on fixing them.  John has already started fixing some of the little things this afternoon, wow, if I'd known all it took was a list, I could have made one a long time ago................LOL  

Well, it looks like 2 of our kids won't be coming back from Colorado.  Pepsi and Coquette have found their forever homes, with new families.  The woman that is getting Pepsi, has wanted him since last year and they both sound like they will be great homes with people that appreciate how special they are.  

This is how Coquette was walking when she came here 6 years ago, now she's a pack burro runner.

This is Coquette with Penny her best friend ever since she's been here.  They had drifted away from being together all the time, and this summer has proven Coquette doesn't require Penny to be in her life.  She will have a horse and a boyfriend of her own kind.  She kinda likes the boys so maybe he will be her new best friend........LOL

This is Pepsi a few years ago, contemplating whether it's worth it or not to come on the courtyard and listen to us yell and scream.

YESTERDAY WAS DENTAL DAY.......

At least for Cheyenne, Cisco, Lynn and Casper the mini mule.  Originally Big Gus was suppose to go,but since he got tubed a few days ago I figured he wouldn't appreciate having his mouth messed with.  Although he's back to eating normal it could still be a little tender.  

So he dropped off the list and we added Casper.  They all loaded easily, which is always a good thing.  Got there and started with Casper.  He was really a good boy to work with, I was amazed.  He had a lot of tartar buildup on his teeth that Dr. Debra popped off.  

Lynn was a pretty good girl, another one with lots of tartar, Dr. Debra said too many animal crackers

Cheyenne on the other hand was an absolute brat, rearing up with her front legs, squirmy, wiggly, and when Dr. Debra tried to put the mouth speculum in her mouth so she could examine Cheyenne, she clamped her mouth shut on the speculum and no one was strong enough to make her open it. Finally Dr. Debra shook her jaw from side to side and she relented enough to open her mouth one click.  She even kicked at poor Lynn and all Lynn was doing was standing within Cheyenne's line of sight.  

 

 Suzanne got a workout, she volunteered to hold them and I let her...........LOL  John helped to hold Cheyenne and it took both of them to "almost" control her.  They used their bodies to squeeze her up against the corral panels, or attempted to.  She's short and determined and was really hard to contain, she absolutely did not plan on a trip to the dentist that day...........!!  She never offered to kick people, just poor Lynn, but she missed.............!!

Casper got to eat some green grass after being such a good boy.

 

Cisco was a good boy, but he always is.  Doesn't matter what is happening, he's willing to go along with it. 

THEY ARE OFFICIALLY ON HOUSE ARREST FOR THE DURATION............!!!!

This is going to get ugly I'm afraid.  Today I decided to lower their timeout to two hours a day, out at 3pm, in at 5pm.  They weren't too bad about coming in, which was a surprise.  BUT......Penny came in choked.  We've been working with her for the last 3 hours and I think she is cleared, but she is so stoic, even more so than the other donkeys and they are bad enough.  

I've been in touch with Dr. Jeremy, he's actually treating a colic right now.  She brayed at me and I asked him is they can bray when they are choked and he said they can.....!!  I was hoping that was a good sign.

Whether she clears on her own or not, they have got to stay in, otherwise we are just playing Russian Roulette.  Big Gus has been in his pen the last four days and has started trying to get the gate off it's hinges.  Today Casper was trying to take his pen apart.  Our corrals are not very sturdy, but it's never been a problem because they are usually only in to eat.  After being in there a day or two full time, I have a feeling they all will get a little creative.

So John and Suzanne are going to start trying to outwit the donkeys.  John's got some T-posts to pound in the ground beside the corral panels and make it more difficult for the donkeys to scoot the panels around .  Some of them know how to play with the chains, so we'll probably have to get some more clips to hopefully keep them from opening the gates.

Tomorrow we are suppose to take 4 of the donkeys, well 3 donkeys and Casper the mini mule monster to get their teeth looked at and maybe floated.  We were suppose to take Big Gus, but since he just got tubed and all that a few days ago, he got removed from the list and we put Cheyenne in his place.  Dr. Debra use to practice down here, she moved north of Phoenix a few years ago, but still comes down here once a month to do teeth.

Last month one of the local papers did an article about my racing.  I got a call from one of the churches to come and talk at one of their potlucks they have each month and they said bring John along.  So this afternoon John and I got to be local celebrities.

I'm not a public speaker although I can talk and talk and talk as anyone that knows me personally will attest to...........LOL  I made a few notes, made up a storyboard with pictures of racing and also of the rescue and off we went.

Had no idea what to expect, but they all were so welcoming and gracious and seemed to enjoy my little talk.  But first we got to enjoy the potluck, and what a spread they had, everything was delicious and plenty of it.  I guess they do this once a month and they all seem to be excellent cooks. 

YUM..........!!

Lots of people there, all these chairs were filled

 John said I did good, they laughed in the right places and asked quite a few questions, so I guess it was a success.  One of the men asked if I would talk at a potluck for a club he belongs to later this month, I figured why not, I could get use to these potlucks..........!!!  LOL  He's suppose to get in touch with me.

  

THEY AREN'T ANY HAPPIER............!!!

The donkeys seem to think we have lost our minds. Except for an occasional whiney bray, and rushing to show us where the gate is, whenever they see someone moving, they seem to have accepted their fate.  That doesn't mean when the gates are opened they don't try to get out, or if they are let out, they take off at a rapid pace, to start vacuuming up beans for 4 hours or so.  

They aren't interested in mush or hay, both of which they need to counteract the beans in their system.  When Penny coliced a few years ago and had to have surgery there was a ball of beans in her system, that would never have passed, because there was no fiber mixed in to keep them from gumming together.  

This is the worst year we've ever had for beans and John started early this summer cutting down on their hay in preparation for bean season.  

It's like a buffet

Jasper spends all his allotted time out, under the tree by the house where we park the golf cart in the shade.  He just stands in one place, scarfing up beans.  He had slimmed down and was really looking good.  But I noticed this morning his fat pockets are showing up again.  It will probably take until next bean season to get the weight they all gain this bean season off them.  

I'm happy to report Big Gus is back to normal, eating his hay and trying to take his pen apart to get out.  He's still not going out, we're monitoring his pooing, peeing and water intake, at least for a couple more days.  An equine system is about 48-72 hours, he's been in that long and there are still beans in his poo.  It doesn't help that there is a tree hanging over his pen, yesterday he was shaking the limbs to make the beans fall.........!!   He's been getting babied, applesauce, and chunks of watermelon hand fed, which he enjoys.  John is still running his hay thru the leaf shredder and wetting it, just in case his throat is still sore from being tubed.  He's managing to eat mesquite beans if they fall in his pen, so I assume his throat isn't too sore. 

Thanks for the video Suzanne......!!

This walk was after Gus had flunked being tubed without being cross tied.  Of course the cross ties aren't that close to his pen, so we were having to walk a very drunk donkey, at least he stayed on his feet.

Last night was a race night for the Hornets at the dirt track, so off we went for a night of fun and adventure.  Last time the track was dry, the dust was so thick we couldn't see a car right in front of us.  We all managed to miss each other, although I ran into the tractor tires they have around their light poles.........twice.

Last night they had watered the track and it was as my stepfather use to say, "slicker than snot".....!! We were all slipping and sliding, although a couple of the guys figured out if they hung their left front tire on the inside dirt berm, they could stay on the track.  I'm not that smart I guess, I came within a few inches of hitting those stupid tires again.  For the 1st time in a lot of years of doing this, I pulled off the track before the race was finished because the track was so bad.  Went back to the pits, and waited for the main event.  They called us to staging before our race, I pushed the start button and...........NOTHING.......except some clicking.  John hurried to jump start it off another battery, got it started, but it wasn't really running.  Limped to staging, as John yelled, "don't turn it off".  My big worry was to keep it running, had to keep playing with the gas pedal, because all it wanted to do was die.......!!  Sat in staging a few minutes, trying to keep it running and it kept losing more power until it finally died on it's own gas pedal or not.  Even I figured out it was more than just the battery.  John pushed me back to our pits with the quad, and I left the area, went to watch the guys run MY race..........LOL  Came back and he told me to drive it up on the trailer...........really?  Sure enough it started and ran just fine.  He changed the battery.  Grrrr........!!!

He had known for awhile the battery wasn't as good as it should be, but the alternator failing was a surprise.  You can run with one or the other usually, but if both of them are weak or fail, you aren't going anywhere.  So I've been to the dirt track twice this year and not finished a race.  They have one more race but it is the same night as a race at the paved track.  I'm still in 5th place for end of the year points on the pavement, so I have to go over there.

This is my car the 21x and our friend Larry's 09 stock car

But the night wasn't a total loss.  People started congratulating me for Rod winning the modified race over at the paved track.  After the 3rd one, I figured there must be something to it.

Sure enough, he started 13th in the main and managed to squirm his way to the front.  Sorry we missed it, but I'm sure there will be video of it on the internet. 

DONKEYS ARE NOT HAPPY

Last week we started leaving the fatties in at night.  That would be Rosie and Jasper and Gigi gets to stay in with her BFF Rosie.  Casper was already staying in at night so he wouldn't have as much chance to roam the neighborhood if he so desired.  

The mesquite beans even on just the 10 acres are everywhere and their poo is starting to reflect this problem.  So we decided to keep them in overnight from now on until the bean situation improves and not let them out until noon or later in the day, to cut down on their time to vacuum beans.  

That decision was made to start last night.  Yesterday morning big Gus was choked.  I assumed he choked on his morning mush and started working with him with no results.  Got in touch with Dr. Jeremy, by afternoon still no change and Dr. Jeremy showed up at the gate.  

This is how a very drunk donkey stands.  He had enough drugs to put an elephant on the ground, but he still managed to stay on his feet and swing his big old head, which is an excellent weapon.  

So he had to be cross tied. It still wasn't that easy to tube him, donkeys have a smaller opening to the esophagus than horses.  Some vets will use a foal tube on donkeys because of this physical difference, but most don't.  So it ends up a bloody mess, which I'm sure makes for a very sore throat the next day.  Notice Dr. Jeremy's lovely designer boot.  His big toe and a horse's big foot had a meeting last week and his toe lost the battle.  

The choke was low and Dr. Jeremy said he probably had been choked overnight, because his breakfast mush was on top of the obstruction.  Punched thru and managed to get him back to his pen, where he proceeded to push his nose into the ground as a 5th "leg" to hold himself up and started snoring.

Checked on him at bedtime and he was in the same place, John said his nose wasn't quite as buried in the dirt.  

This morning his head was at a more normal level, but he's still not interested in eating, has drank a couple of quarts of water, doesn't want a carrot, mildly interested in animal crackers.  I would imagine his throat is very sore.  He did manage to squeeze out 3 little "road apples" and they were mostly beans.  John wet his hay and Suzanne made his mush sloppier than usual, but so far he doesn't care.  

As hot as it is right now, every day over 100, my big worry is dehydration.  Hopefully he'll perk up today.  

So today will be the first full day of the new routine.  Eat breakfast, stay in pen until at least noon, later if the humans decide it's necessary.  Go into pens for evening feed and stay there overnight until at least noon the next day.  They've already let us know this routine isn't working for them.......LOL

 

EVERYONE IS BUSY..........

Lynn and Linda are staying busy in Colorado with the donkeys.  Now the triple crown is over I don't think they will burro race again until in September.  BUT.....as of yesterday interest in the inaugural Superior Burro Run October 12th is gearing up.  

There is a limit of 50 runners, people started signing up yesterday afternoon and as of the last time I checked there are only 8 slots open.  

The final race of the Triple Crown was last week-end and the first 2 finishers were women.  Little Buttercup finished 3rd with her male person.  She is really quite a little runner, she had never ran before this summer, but she seems to enjoy it.  She's only 3 1/2, so she could have a long career ahead.

Buttercup flies..........!!!  Thanks Amy Wanke, photographer

Around here we're fighting the flies.  They are absolutely voracious right now.  Some of the donkeys appreciate the fly spray, others not so much.  Suzanne has been putting fly spray lotion on her hands and wiping the reluctant ones faces..........when she can.  It doesn't take them long to figure out what she is doing.  A couple of them you would have to hog tie to spray them, Penny is one of those.  So is Casper the mini monster mule.....!!  Suzanne has been working with haltering and leading him again.  After the girls left, it's been so hot no one is interested in being worked with, especially Casper.  He's such an independent little guy he doesn't see a need to be worked with at all, thank you very much.  So all the effort is on the part of the human.

Yesterday when it was time to round up for evening feeding, he decided he wasn't going to cooperate.  Suzanne was trying to get him to head in the direction of his pen, but he wasn't having any of it.  He actually went out of the fence and she said he was prancing after he did it.  She yelled at him, he came back in and hid behind a tree, all she could see was his tail switching back and forth.  John decided to get involved in the fray, but couldn't find him.  I got the quad, why walk when you can ride, besides Casper can cover a lot of territory when he wants to and I'd never be able to catch up.  I went to all the trouble to get the quad out of the garage and head for the last place he was seen and saw him quietly walking to his pen, went in like it was his idea and waited for someone to give him a carrot.  He is so much fun to try to outsmart and I'm not sure any of us are smart enough to accomplish it..........!!!  LOL  We've decided he will never go anywhere else, he was 15 years old when he came here and I have no idea how many homes he had before us.  You can read his opinion of humanity and he has learned to rely on himself and no one else.  We know his quirky nature and he knows he can outsmart us and that's OK.  We'll work with him within his boundaries.  I just wish we had a perimeter fence than he couldn't go under, he doesn't seem to go out anymore to escape.  He just goes out to show us he can, usually when someone is watching him.

He always looks to me like he's trying to figure out what you are going to do to him.   

The flies have been so bad lately, and of course they are really bad around the donkeys mouths I've decided we'll do an extra worming this summer.  We usually worm twice a year, when it cools off in the fall and when it starts to warm up in the spring.  But I'm pretty sure the flies have shared any critters that are on their bodies, like Habronema and it would not be a surprise if the donkeys had swallowed either eggs or larvae...........so.........they will get an extra worming this year.

This morning I started a worming regime with Rosie, because she has a problem with neckworms.  Although the general name for the little monsters is neckworms, they migrate to other areas, like the midline of the belly.

Last year I read an article with a worming schedule that made sense to me.  This poor girl has always had 3 or 4 open sores on her belly in the spring, summer and fall.  So I tried it on her and so far this summer although the sores are on her belly they actually have stayed pretty dry and the flies haven't been interested in them.  Rather than just worming like usual with Ivermectin the article said to worm with Pancur, which hopefully will kill the adults.  Two weeks later start a regime of worming with ivermectin, every 2 weeks for 3 treatments.  That is suppose to kill the young ones.  Hopefully  it will work and maybe next year she won't even have the dry sores on her belly.

Buddy and Linda checking out the bridge at Buena Vista

Pepsi getting ready to try the bridge

Looks like Coquette voicing her opinion on something.

I got orders to put the video of Jacque and Sugar practicing on the steps for the Buena Vista race.  Their mom Georgette, allowed them to go to summer camp this summer and has had to learn about their racing exploits 2nd hand.  They have turned into regular little racing burros and really seem to enjoy it.  So here's your kids mom, doing their thing.

FLY SEASON IS HERE WITH A VENGENCE.........!!!

The last couple of days I guess the heat and humidity is just about perfect to bring all the flies in this part of the country out in force.  Thank goodness the donkeys have fly masks, but the flies are all over them in their mouths and their tails are switching constantly.  They get a break after dark, but they don't get a break from daylight to dark.  

They are finding plenty of mesquite beans on the 10 acres.  Yesterday afternoon when it was time to feed, everyone was here except.............Casper the little mini monster mule.  SIGH!  I took the quad and headed over to Burroland.  A few days ago he was over there and sure enough as I came thru the wash on the quad, I saw him in the brush.  He's white, so he can't hide very easily.... !!  By the time I got the quad thru the gate and the gate closed he was no where to be seen.  I rode all over the 20 acres and didn't see him anywhere.  Came back over on the 10 acres and he was outside Penny's pen helping her eat her mush.......brat..............!!!  When he saw me he walked straight to his pen.  I told John maybe we should let him continue to "escape" over there, rather than trying to fix the fence so he can't get over there.  I have a feeling he would just go under the fence in other areas and might end up out on the main road.  There is plenty of mesquite beans over there under the trees to keep him busy......I hope.........!!

Below are some pictures Linda shared from the Fairplay race.  Most of these pictures were taken by professional photographers, wish they had their watermarks on all their pictures, so I'd know who took which pictures.  Some of them are marked, so thanks for sharing. 

Buddy up in the high country, he's turned into quite a runner.

Coquette and her runner

Frijolita in the high country helping her runner up the trail

Little Pepsi, doing his thing.  At least I think it's Pepsi, it's hard to tell him and Justin apart, when they have their saddles on.

Guess Loki's runner had a good time.

Pepsi and his runner

Turbo and some new friends

Sugar heading for the finish line and a 7th place finish for the short course (15 miles)

Leo on the left, not sure who is on the right, don't think it's one of ours.

QUICK TRIP TO COLORADO.............

John and I spent the last 8-10 days driving to Colorado, visiting with Lynn and Linda, watching the Fairplay pack burro races and in general having a fun time, while Suzanne and our neighbor Vic got to enjoy the monsoon season and our unknown leaky roof.  

Our house is rammed earth Sante Fe. which means a flat roof with parapets.  I guess in the old days they built the parapets out of the same material as the walls, in our case it would be adobe and extremely heavy.  So in the modern age, they are framed in, stuccoed and no one knows the difference.  That is unless you get a crack in the stucco, which can happen very easily if there is any settling.  Of course the crack is usually not anywhere close to where the water finally finds a tiny opening to come inside and start dripping.  Poor Suzanne came in to the house to the sounds of dripping water on the dining room table.

She called us, we told her to call our neighbor Vic and for the next 2 or 3 days they had lots of fun when it rained.  I guess Suzanne would call Vic and he'd come up, get on the roof and chase the latest leak to put Elasti-tek roof coating on it and hope for the best.  By the time we got home the heavy rains had stopped, for which I'm sure they both were grateful.  Don't think the donkeys missed us at all, well except for getting shut out of Burroland.  Suzanne said their poo was getting to be more beans than hay, so we decided to go ahead and shut off Burroland for the duration which will probably be about the middle of September.  They are still finding plenty of mesquite beans on the 10 acres, unfortunately.  If poo patrol keeps showing too many beans, they will have to start staying in their pens more hours a day, which will really make them unhappy.

Casper the little mini monster mule has been staying in his pen most of the time.  He's gone back to his old habit of camo crawling under the fence.  He's not tall enough to gather beans off the trees, but seems to know there are plenty of beans outside the perimeter fence, so off he goes.  His footprints are all over the place outside the fence.  Suzanne kept him in all the time for a few days, but he's been going out during the day the last few days and so far he's staying in.........at least we think he is, we haven't caught him out.

Carlos and Nellie are still here.  When their family came to take them home last week-end, the lights on their trailer wouldn't work, so they are coming out this week-end to hopefully get the lights fixed.  Actually the last couple of days they've been going out when Casper is out and everyone is ignoring each other.  I think the problem when Casper was attacking, was Carlos was the new kid on the block and wasn't use to having so many donkeys to contend with.  So he was kicking at everyone, which Casper probably saw as an insult and decided to show Carlos who is the boss around here.

Had a great time in Colorado, although we sure were glad we had our jackets.  It's a lot cooler up there...........LOL

You will probably notice these aren't donkeys.  They also have a llama race.  They are a strange animal and when they run they look like someone put parts together, their neck doesn't look right.  Guess I'm use to the way donkeys run.......!! LOL  Plus they always look at people like they are looking at a bug under a microscope.  Didn't see any of them spit, but they just don't look warm and cuddly to me. 

John with either Link or Turbo, not sure which and Sugar

Leddy, Boaz, me and Sugar again.  She was making the rounds, just in case treats were being offered.  She actually finished in 7th place for the short race, which was 15 miles.  The long race was 25+ miles.  It was actually 4 miles shorter than usual, because Mosquito Pass is still snowed in. 

 

I forget what Jack's full name is.  He is actually a champion pack burro racer of years gone by.  Bill Lee was at the Fairplay jail that is now a museum as a mountain man, talking to people and having his picture taken.  He rents out donkeys to people that want to race and don't have a donkey.  I think he had 14 donkeys in the race.  He and Jack actually ran the long course.  He also has reindeer and at Christmas time Santa Claus and his reindeer are part of the local color.

John trying to entice a little rodent with sunflower seeds at the mine museum at Creede.  I'm trying to get my camera to work.  It decided to "rest" for most of the trip, so I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to.  Linda always has her camera with her.  I guess rechargeable batteries don't last forever......!!

 

Lynn and Linda took us to this waterfall, don't remember the name, but it was really pretty.  Lots of people there, so I guess it's well known. 

This morning I finally got around to working on Big Gus' mats.  He probably has more French Poitou blood than BlackJack.  They both mat pretty bad, but he is worse than BlackJack.

Those blobs you see are mats.  I had planned on doing his belly first, which is just one big mat, but got started on his legs and body.  By the time I got done with that, I decided to do his belly Sunday.  He was really good to work on, he loves any type of attention and of course the animal crackers that go with it......!!

He looks much better and I'm sure he's more comfortable.  I can't imagine how miserable the full blood Poitous are when they aren't clipped and are allowed to grow the dreadlocks.

This picture is from the early 1900s. with all that matted dirty hair to carry around all the time.