Since the monsoon started about the 1st of July, we have watched clouds everywhere but here. We've seen rain falling in the distance almost daily, and seen people putting messages on facebook about how much rain they had gotten, but nothing for us............until Saturday afternoon at chore time.
We got a good old monsoon rain for about half an hour, bad timing and only 1/2 inch but very welcomed. Didn't even mind getting soaking wet and was hoping for more. So far........nothing. The rest of the week, they are predicting rain in the area everyday, so we'll see.
Right before the rain started we got quite a bit of wind off the clouds. The mesquite beans have been getting ripe quickly because of the high temperatures, a few had fallen. Nothing makes beans fall, like a wind storm and the donkeys were ready. Needless to say, the idea of getting rounded up to go into a pen to eat old dry hay, when all those lovely beans were just laying around........everywhere.......wasn't a big hit. In fact it was like trying to round-up pigs, or cats no cooperation what so ever. Took forever to get everyone in and interested in hay.
The only saving grace about the mesquite bean problem is almost all the beans that blew down have been eaten. There are beans still up in the trees, but as long as they don't all come down at once the donkeys should be able to keep up with the supply without eating too many. Last year was the 1st time we had such a heavy crop of beans in all the years we've been here. The ground below a lot of the trees was completely blanketed with beans, you couldn't hardly see the ground, which is why the donkeys had to stay in their pens for almost 4 months. Hopefully we will be able to control their access to the beans enough that they won't have to stay in the pens.
Tonight there are 2 rain storms one north of us and one south of us neither one is headed our way.
Suzanne and the kids headed east early Fri morning. Sounds like they are having a great time, their parents met them half way in St. Louis so they are taking in the sights there for a couple of days before heading home.
Suzanne took this great picture of Richelle and Justice before they left.
This is Kachina and Anazazi in their new home. They got a great home last winter and the people spend a lot of time outside with them especially Russ. Anna has problems with fly damage on her legs, when she was here we put socks, polo wraps, whatever we thought might work and she absolutely destroyed all of them. Russ says she has learned to leave them on, maybe she figured out they keep the flies from biting her legs.
Isn't this an interesting look mess of donkeys......!!! The corral panel area behind them is where John feeds the birds. The donkeys know there is bird seed in there and like to "help" with the feeding. What that means is we have to make sure we put the seed far enough in, so greedy donkeys can't get to it. They've gotten resigned to the fact that unless we goof up and either spill seed or forget how far in they can reach they aren't getting any bird seed, but it doesn't stop them from trying. This bunch were pretty far away, when they saw me coming with the coffee can, they stampeded at a dead run.
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