GOOD GRIEF, WISTER, GIVE IT A REST........!!!!

Both Ruthie & Tula are cycling, which of course gets the boys going.  I don't know if the gelding stirred Wister up or what, but he is at the forefront of whatever is going on, all day long.  Seems to think the species is going to die out if he doesn't do his part.......he won't be 5 months old until the 25th of May!!!  Oh! well, so far the big guys, like his daddy Boaz, BlackJack & Quilla are tolerating him, hopefully Boaz doesn't get a bee in his bonnet & pick him up by his neck.  

 There's a bee in the upper bloom on the left, picking up some pollen.

 Desert "Rose" another name for Prickly Pear blooms......so delicate for such a "thorny" plant.  And a beautiful splash of color in the desert.

Cholla on Cisco I & Noelle's graves.  Cisco was buried in January 2000, & this Cholla was less than a foot tall at the time.  

Even though we haven't had very much rain at all, the cactus still bloom.  If you look at the yellow bloom cactus, it is all shriveled up, but also has a few new pads on it.  Doesn't seem to matter how dry it gets, they still do their best to stay alive & grow. 

CAR SHOW TODAY.......!!

 Had a car show in the Wal-mart parking lot in Benson today.  We asked some of the other drivers if they'd like to set up, so we ended up with my hornet, our son's Super Stock, & 3 of the Factory Stocks.  Had quite a few people interested, & a lot of people that didn't even know there was a dirt track in Tucson.  To say the least the advertising is a little inadequate.  The track has been there for at least 10 years & is an outstanding facility.  We'd like to make sure the owners make money, so they keep it open and we have a place to play.  Every year it seems like there are less & less dirt tracks all over the country & I'm sure the owners could sell the land for commercial property & leave us without a "playground".  

We had a drawing for someone to do a ride-a-long next Saturday night with me in the heat race.  I haven't pulled the ticket yet, but some of the people were really excited about the idea.  I hope whoever gets it has fun................and doesn't scream..........!!!! LOL

Wister is doing just fine, in fact I've caught him being obnoxious 2 or 3 times today with his momma, trying to act like a big "stud".  Hate to tell him but those days are gone forever, before he ever got a chance to figure it all out.  

A woman is coming out tomorrow to visit with Jack & Molly the mini mules to see if she'd like to add them to her family.  She has a gelding, had to put her mare down earlier this month.  She had called me about a mini donkey a couple of weeks ago & I took her information.  When we were at the vet clinic one of the techs said her neighbor was looking for a mini something & she'd give the neighbor our phone number.  When we got home from the vet clinic there was a message on the machine, & it was the same woman.  According to the vet tech, the woman spends a lot of time with her animals & it would be a great home.  A lot of attention would suit them just fine I think, so we'll see how it goes. 

DIDN'T KNOW GELDING COULD GO SO SMOOTH.......!!!

We rushed around this morning to get to Tucson for Wister's appointment with "destiny".  Ruthie actually loaded real easy, & Wister still hasn't figured out how to jump up into a trailer.  Don't know why, since his answer to being restrained or anything is to get those front feet up in the air.

This is the first gelding that I've ever attended, that was done inside, under clean conditions, rather than in the dirt.  Like a lot of donkeys he didn't go down easy, she finally gassed him rather than giving him more drugs.  

She did a closed gelding, didn't have to use the emasculator because his little goodies weren't very big.  Tied him off & there was hardly any bleeding at all, left just a little opening about the size of a dime, where she "popped" his little "marbles" out before she tied them off.  

The yellow helmet on his head is designed to keep them from hitting their head if they flail around.  Never seen one before, has eye holes, really a great idea. 

Wister was enjoying his "nap" so much we finally brought Ruthie out of the trailer to get him up on his feet.  We tried to get her to bray from the trailer, but she wouldn't.  She didn't want to go inside because of the change in light, but when he saw her & started moving around, she figured out what was going on & dragged John to where Wister was.  Once he was up it wasn't but a few minutes until they were in the trailer & we were on our way.  

All in all it was as pleasant an experience, well Wister might disagree with me, but compared to other "slash & bleed" geldings I've attended this one went very well.  Hopefully in the morning they will be able to go out.  Moving around is suppose to cut down on swelling, but for tonight they can stay in. 

GELDING DAY FOR WISTER

Well, today is the day.  I always dread gelding, it's barbaric surgery & like most things, something could go wrong.  It's being done at a vet clinic, so if something happened, it would be a much better place than out here for him. 

One thing about the young ones, they usually don't even act like anything happened after they wake up & get their sea legs.  We'll stay in Tucson quite awhile after he wakes up, to make sure his little legs will work on the 60 mile trip home.  Sure wish the local vets would have been more cooperative about doing a youngster this late in the season, so he wouldn't have to travel so much.  Momma Ruthie is going with us of course, so she can comfort him.

NOW THIS IS FUNNY.......!!! (at least I think so)

John got a brilliant idea this morning.  When we haul the race car home Saturday night, the underneath is covered with wet clay from the track.  John cleans off what he can, but there's plenty left.  If course by Monday morning it's dried & doesn't come off easily.  

John decided to drive it out to pick up mail a distance of maybe a 1/4 mile on an unmaintained "road" this morning, which would hopefully knock a lot of the tenacious clay off.  Sounds like a plan, so I went out to the gate, so he wouldn't have to get out of the car, open the gate, get in the car, drive thru the gate, get out of the car, ETC.

So off he goes on his mission to get rid of dirt & have fun.  Heard him for awhile, didn't hear him,. thought he might be talking to one of the neighbors, that usually comes out when he hears us to talk.  He also was gone longer than I expected .

First thing John said when he got back was, "do you know what happens if you go fast & don't have the hood pins in the hood?  When the hood flies up, you can't see anything".....!!!  REALLY.........I've never had the experience, but for some reason it struck me as hilarious, occasionally it happens on the track, & a lot of times the driver will stay in the race, trying to look out the side until the flagman gets tired of the game & black flags the car.   

So he had to stop, get out of the car, pin the hood down get back in the car, ETC......!!! 

I told him if that ever happens to me on the track, he better be gone when I get back to the pits......!!!  LOL

INTERNATIONAL DONKEY WEEK

When Mike & Zeke did the walk-a-thons to Tombstone to raise money for our donkeys, Mike's wife Teresa thought Donkey Appreciation Day was October 12th.  But we were told by a newspaper they couldn't verify that date.  We tried to find information but came up empty handed.  

Today I got an e-mail saying that the Donkey Sanctuary in England, the largest rescue in the world celebrates donkeys for a whole week.  So maybe it isn't as important as Grilled Cheese Appreciation Day or some of the other important days our Congress Critters spend time designating to the general public.........but......donkey people know, & appreciate these wonderful creatures every day all year long. 

WISTER LOST HIS FLY MASK....!!!

It was bound to happen.  A couple of days ago, he & Quilla played all afternoon, bite, bite, rear, rear, chase, chase, guy stuff.  I'm surprised, Quilla isn't any spring chicken, mid to late teens.  But he hung in there & wore the little guy out, the first thing Wister did when he got in the pen for supper was plop down for a nap.  

Yesterday afternoon when John went out to do round-up, Wister & Justin were playing & Wister didn't have his mask on.  Hmmmmm........wonder how that happened?  Justin has been known to take masks off, sure hope Wister wasn't paying a lot of attention, because he's been trying to get Ruthie's off, just hasn't figure out how yet.  We were feeding early, to go racing, so didn't have time to look for it.  Today we're too wore out to go look for it, but I had an extra one, so no crisis, unless it becomes a habit.......!!!

This is what the car looks like this morning, not bad, certainly could be worse.  Dirt doesn't count...!!

 There is a "slight" problem though

I finished 4th & when I came in, John was telling me how good I did & all that "warm fuzzy" stuff a racer likes to hear..................until he saw the right side of the front.  He came over & asked me where the rest of the bumper was..........I don't know, I was busy....!!! LOL  But I had a pretty good idea, when it happened.  When we went to get paid, one of the guys that I'd had pretty good contact with was in front of me in the pay line.  I asked him where the rest of my bumper was.  Scott is a real nice guy & not real aggressive on the track.  He started apologizing all over the place, thought he was going to offer to go help me look for it.  I started laughing & told him I was teasing him.  Actually it might have been stuck in his car someplace.  One time I came back with a guy's tail light cover stuck in the side of my door.  I graciously returned it to him, it's easier to pound out body parts than to build new ones. 

DAISY'S ANNUAL HAIR CUT TODAY

BEFORE

This is what Daisy looked like earlier this morning.  One of the physical changes Cushings disease causes is a excessive amount of hair growth.  So every spring or early summer we have a date with the clippers, so she is more comfortable when it's 100 degrees.  

She's a very good girl, stands like a statue, EXCEPT, when I do her face.  Have to take the halter off & of course the noisy clippers are right by her ears & eyes, not pleasant I'm sure.  I had John hold her with a rope around her neck, which ended up with her taking him on a "walk-a-bout".  I hooked the halter around her neck which gave him a little more leverage & we finally got it done.  

AFTER

She does look more comfortable, but from the set of her ears I'd say this wasn't what she had planned for the morning........!!!  I left her lower legs hairy to help keep the stable flies at bay.  They haven't really got going yet, but they will.  I've already put "barriers" on both Gus & Quilla.  In fact that is Gus standing behind her, (much to her disgust) with his tube socks pulled up above his knees.  I have to put polo wraps on Quilla, he can go thru a pair of socks in one night, Gus isn't quite as rambunctious. 

My Daddy bred, raised & showed Cocker Spaniels in the 50's when I was a girl.  There is a reason he didn't ever let me clip the show dogs I think....!!! LOL  Pictures sometimes lie, if you look close up, she looks like she's had a run in with a buzz saw, well maybe not that bad, but it certainly wasn't a flattering hair cut.  But it will make her cooler, which is what is important.  Noticed my clippers need to be sharpened before I use them again.  One of the first things they tell you when using clippers is, make sure the animal is clean.  Donkeys idea of clean is a recent dust bath, so clippers don't stay sharp very long. 

G-DAY FOR WISTER

Looks like next Thursday at 11:30 is when the dirty deed will be done, poor little guy.  He won't be able to eat hay that morning, but they said he can be with momma, so he'll get a snack at least.  We will take Ruthie along for the ride, that way when it's over he can go to momma for sympathy. 

Sorry Wister, this is for your own good.

Rusty is BONDED, Reba........not so much.....!!

This morning Rusty has decided he needs to know where Reba is, even if she won't stick around until Cisco is finished eating and let out, so Rusty can go in and do clean up.  

Rusty is standing by the gate, and every once in awhile he'll take off yelling to see where she is.  So far she's ignoring him.  Once he finds her, he comes back to stand by the gate again. Jack, the mini mule lost Molly this morning and went running around like a maniac, grunting  and squealing (he has a very weird little voice) until he found her, same scenario, she didn't even look up from scrounging for hay scraps.  Guys are so funny, doesn't matter what species they are I guess.

Last night John came in and said he had a scary experience.  When he went out to do round-up, they were all standing in front of Ruthie and Wister's pen.  John waded thru the mess, and was putting those two in their pens with his back turned to the others.  He said he heard the corral panels banging, turned around, Pepper was on his back, feet up in the air, Boaz had him by the throat with his head and shoulders off the ground.  John said he yelled twice and Boaz let go, said Pepper rolled to the left, and popped up like nothing happened.  Have no idea what happened to cause Boaz to act like that, although that is pretty much his M.O. if someone irritates him.  He had little Cheyenne completely off the ground one time, when she "threatened" him with her little rear feet.  He's been caught a couple of other times with his mouth on someone's neck, under odd circumstances.  He is such a gentle soul and not aggressive at all with people or animals............but occasionally he seems to fall off the wagon and revert to a jack in with a lot of other jacks on a ranch, probably used for roping.  

Still trying to get Wister gelded before it gets too hot and too many flies.  Local vets won't do a 4month old, another vet only does field gelding and won't come out here.  One will do it, next week, at her clinic for $400 and I'm waiting for a return call from another vet.  

This brings up a subject that is near and dear to my heart, the cost of gelding and also the cost of euthanasia.  I don't mind that vets charge what they do for mileage, farm calls, vaccinations, medications all that.  They have to make a profit to stay in business and let's face it, most of them especially large animal vets earn their pay, long hours working with large animals that a lot of times don't want to be worked with, thank you very much....!!

But  how many people that want to do the right thing can afford to fork over $400 to geld or $150 minimum plus farm call to euthanize?  I'm sure there are lots of people out there that have to make choices they'd rather not have to make because of cost.  There are some groups in different states that have low cost euthanasia clinics.  They find a farmer than will let them bury on his farm and hold a clinic.  There are also rescues and sanctuaries that help with gelding and euthanasia costs, with donations and grants specifically for that purpose.  

I've always contended that it would be a good thing for society if vets would do both of these at a discount, amd mark up fixing "Flluffy's" overbite, football knee, docking tails or declawing cats (UGH).  So far I haven't found any of them that agree with me, although I do appreciate the ones that do low cost shot clinics.  Guess I'm just on the wrong side of reality......!!!!