WE DID IT........!!!

This last week-end was quite busy.  Saturday morning we were up bright and early to load 2 stock trailers with 18 donkeys.  We were participating in the Salute to the Veterans parade in conjunction with St. Patrick's Day in Tombstone, AZ.

The last 2 years we have placed 3rd in the parade and this year we decided to go for 1st.  I don't know how many hours or how much money was invested in this endeavor  but we took home the gold, as they say..........!!!

We only had 17 donkeys in the parade, Coquette decided to have a meltdown and really threw a hissy fit.  So she had to stay in the trailer by herself until the parade was over.  

Two of the locals, watching us get ready.  Their "human" actually walked in the parade with us, but he said they don't have any training.  Being in a parade probably wouldn't be a good time to use for training, unless you want to have a train wreck....!  They sure were curious about all the goings on though........!!  Nice looking donkeys.

Lots of donkeys in that pen, eighteen to be exact. 

John and BlackJack, doing their thing

Linda P. and would you believe I'm not sure which donkey she is walking.

This "table" represents the POW/MIA table that is set in many chow halls and even some restaurants to show respect for the fallen and ones that haven't come home.  It was set on a 4 wheel cart and was pulled in the parade. 

Lynn the donkey and Sandy the walker

Linda as a WWII nurse.  She and Lynn (dressed as a sailor) did the kiss in Times Square when the war was over, right in front of the judge's stand........!! 

Me, Quilla and Rosie the Riveter aka Georgette

Lynn, me, John and Linda and of course our trophy

We had to load up and get home in a hurry, because about half the donkeys were scheduled for a 12 mile run, the next morning at Empire Ranch.  Unfortunately the vet check-in was Saturday nlt 5pm.  Rushed home, unloaded all donkeys, reloaded some of the donkeys and off they went, managed to get there about 3 minutes before 5pm..............

Suzanne our new helper left in the dark the next morning to make sure she got there in time to partner up with her donkey and not miss the start.  John and I fed and headed out.  Managed to get there just as the burro race was starting.  It was a 3 day event for horses, they raced over 100 miles in 3 days.  But arrangements were made for the burros to start an hour after the horses did.

The reason for that is horses don't always accept donkeys into their lives without a bunch of drama.  Heads up, eyes bugged, snorting, dancing and prancing are all things they do, if they've never seen donkeys before.  A lot of the horses were Arabs which are "squirrely anyway.

 THE START OF THE RACE 

(click for video)

Suzanne and Leddy

Some willing participants

Those ears look like he's ready to go......!!

Linda, Mely and Leo doing their thing

 

Indy and Pepsi, they finished really well

  

Lynn, Sugar, Jerome and Jacque finishing 1st and 2nd.  Oh yes, they are being followed closely by a horse that was fascinated with the donkeys......!!  LOL  Sugar is one of our alumni, she was adopted into a wonderful home about 11 years ago to be a companion with Jacque.  They both have turned into pretty good burro racers.

Loki taking a break

Happy people and donkeys, out enjoying a beautiful day....!!

That's about all the burro racing and parades for awhile, nothing else planned..............yet.  With Lynn and Linda around, who knows what might pop up.  They will be heading back to Colorado about the middle of May with their donkeys and some of our donkeys.  They take some of ours that have skin problems in the summer heat and they do better up there.  Quilla might not be going this year.  He is getting older and doesn't travel very well.  It's too bad because he loves the parades and Linda said the people are drawn to him, they will almost stand in line to pet him. 

GLOBAL WARMING..........HA! HA!

Justin is just about her size

Obviously the perpetrators of that particular science hasn't been in our area this winter.  Today it is cold as it has been for most of the winter, windy which is a rite of spring in SE Arizona and they are predicting the next few days will be cold, and rainy.........!!!  Guess we'll be lucky if it doesn't snow again........!!  LOL  Oh well maybe it puts off the 100 degree days a little bit longer.  For that I can bundle up if necessary.

Yesterday John and I spent the day emergency room hopping.  His leg is still really swollen, very sore and sensitive and really not very pretty.  We started out at the emergency room in our local hospital.  When we went in there was one person ahead of John.  In the next hour the room filled up and people were asking for chairs.  And John had not been called.  We made a decision that he might have a better chance in Tucson at an Urgent Care, so off we went.  Guess what?  They are closed on Sunday......who knew, I would think that would be a good time to be open, not only do people do stupid things on week-ends, but their regular doctor isn't available either.  I shouldn't say they are all closed we found one closed and one with a full parking lot.  So off we went to St. Joseph's hospital and their emergency room.  Walked in, no one there this is looking good.  Took his name and problem, went thru a door and found out it's like a funnel feeding from the small end.  LOL  It was a larger waiting room than the Benson hospital's and was filling up nicely.  Interesting day, I felt like a rat in a maze, went here, went there and had no idea where we were..........!!!!  Six hours later, after an ultrasound, they said he had no blood clots, which was what we were afraid of.  Told him to ice it and sit with it elevated.  So he's been outside most of the day, doing who knows what.  Like most men he doesn't not follow instructions very well.........!!! LOL 

 Neither of us had anything to eat and they wouldn't let him have anything once they had him in the system, so we went to a steakhouse and had steak.........!!!   It almost made the day worthwhile, really good.  

Kids and donkeys, make good partners

The last few days we have had a lot of tours, and the donkeys have really been on their good behavior, so it makes it fun.  Suzanne has hit the ground running and actually has given most of the tours.  

Looks like Pepsi won a ribbon, or someone shared their ribbon with him.

Courtney was here to trim yesterday and found some feet that needed a little extra attention.  Coquette has thinner soles than she should and is suppose to go on a 12 mile run this month.  So Courtney said to soak them and try her in boots.  She didn't mind being soaked at all, which is a good thing.  Leddy also needed to be soaked.  I didn't see it, but Linda and Suzanne were fixing him up.  Linda said she put the soaking bag on his foot and he didn't care.  But when the foot set on the ground and started squishing around, he flipped out.  I guess the next thing they knew, the bag was airborne and headed out of the area.  Needless to say, he's probably not going to get his feet soaked, at least not today.  

Wonder what they are talking about?

I raced Saturday night as planned and actually did pretty good considering.  I was 4th fastest in my poor little beat up car from last year.  Started 11th in the main event and finished 5th.  The top 5 cars have to go to tech after the race.  So anytime you make tech is a good night.......!!!   Also if you bring the car home in good condition.........!!!  LOL

My knee did good, I could climb in the window opening and use the clutch, although the knee did get pretty tired by the end of the night and all that climbing and pushing.  I'm sure it will be stronger March 23rd when I race again.  Hopefully by then my new car will be ready, we're suppose to bring it home tomorrow.   

So many people came up to me and said they were glad I was back.  I heard the announcer gave all the gory details about the wreck and that I made it to the banquet to get my trophy.  My "spy" didn't say if he said how old I was or not..........!!! LOL 

BURRO RACING IN ARIZONA

Not a whole lot of information out yet, but a whole lot of interest.  Once this was put on facebook, there were over 4000 views the 1st day.  A lot more people want to run with the donkeys than we have donkeys.  

People are going to have to realize that for this to become a long term sport in Arizona, there are going to have to be a lot more donkeys involved than the ones we have.  That means people that own donkeys, people that have friends with donkeys, people that know of donkeys in their neighborhood maybe standing out in a field.  Then there is always adopting from the BLM or answering an ad on Craigslist or maybe an ad on the bulletin board at their local feed store.  In other words, they are going to have to go on a mission to find more donkeys. 

Colorado has been having burro races for 70 years and have managed to continue to grow.  But most of the donkeys that are raced are rented, rather than individually owned.  I would imagine renting donkeys will always be popular, because a lot of the people live in town or an apartment.  Or don't want to own a burro year round, but enjoy the adventure of getting out and running with one. 

The town of Superior has jumped into the middle of this idea and is behind it 100%, so it should be a lot of fun.  

We're actually participating in the Salute to the Veterans parade in Tombstone again this year Saturday March 16th.  We have placed 3rd the last 2 years, so this year we are bound and determined to WIN..........!!!!  The last 2 years we themed for St. Patrick's Day, everyone "greened" up.  

This year we are saluting the veterans and will have about a dozen donkeys with walkers, at least that's the plan.  Hopefully the weather won't throw us a curve like it did for the Tucson Rodeo Parade last month.

We have flags for all branches of service, Rosie the Riveter will be walking with us and there will be a couple of other surprises too.  If all the plans make it, they'll have to give us 1st place.......LOL

John got the back up race car ready today, at least he said it's ready.  I hope so, I actually took it out on the main road yesterday.  Our dirt road is so rough I couldn't tell if it was running good or not.  I'm just glad nothing fell off, it is really rough......!!  I took it out on the paved road and it seemed to be OK, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

A couple of days ago John and Lynn went down to Gary's, picked up the Cavalier and took it into our grandson's for some last minute work.  John had forgotten that when we unload from that trailer, if someone isn't sitting in the car with the brake on, it is a real good idea to keep the winch attached to the car and slowly let it roll backwards off the trailer.

This is what John's leg looked like after the car rolled and trapped his leg against the fender of the trailer.  Lynn and Gary pretty much lifted it off his leg.  Some things you shouldn't forget and I'm pretty sure he won't forget to keep the winch attached if I'm not available to hold the brake........LOL

I'M BACK AGAIN...........!!!

Cisco enjoying the sun and soft sand at the Rainbow Bridge

 I just noticed it's been quite sometime since I updated, didn't realize so much time had passed.  I guess that's what happens when you are busy.  We've all been busy, probably busier than we should be and unfortunately "stuff" gets lost in the shuffle sometimes. 

I haven't been gone all this time, although John and I went to Las Vegas last week for a couple of nights of dirt track racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  We talked about staying for the big NASCAR race last week-end, but decided a couple of nights of dirt would be more to our liking.  Enjoyed the races, although once the sun went down it got pretty chilly really quick.  We had cold weather gear, but did buy face masks after the 1st night. Had a great time, drove down the strip once and never played a slot machine, just went for the races.....!!!  LOL

Lynn and Linda held down the fort here while we were gone and as always everything went well.  Tyler came and reset Gus' shoes and changed them a little bit.  The cold humid weather had really made Gus miserable.  With him, if he is having bad days, I'm always wondering if this is it for him.  He spent most of the time laying down in his favorite sandy area, with his buddy Jasper keeping watch over him.

But once it started warming up and he got his shoes reset, he's doing much better, thank goodness.  He isn't eating his mush and pellets like he should, and he could be developing ulcers from the bute for pain.  Now that is is warming up and he's feeling better we'll cut back on the bute and give him some Ulcer-guard for awhile, to see if his appetite comes back.

Spring is in the air and guess who seems to be the most willing participant?  Rambo is managing to act like an idiot, even though he is getting herbs to corral his bad behavior.  Yesterday he was being particularly obnoxious, especially with Frijolita, so he got to stay in the pens for awhile.  There was a tour, and we'd rather people not see him acting like a jerk........LOL

We have a new helper staying on the property.  Suzanne has been coming out with her friend Linda for quite sometime grooming donkeys almost every day, which most of the donkeys really look forward to.  She is planning on staying in the area thru the summer and really enjoys the donkeys, so she will be here after Lynn and Linda go back to Colorado for the summer to help.  The donkeys love her, she always has cookies in her pockets..........!!!

Yesterday her friend Linda brought another friend Sandy out to brush the donkeys.  They said they had a good surprise, although it was more like a SHOCK.  Sandy had a yard sale and donated all the proceeds to the donkeys.  What a generous thing for her to do, and we really appreciate it.  As I always tell people, our budget for carrots and animal crackers is huge.......!!!!  I can already tell Suzanne is going to happily participate in the Carrying of the Cookies Club.  I never carry cookies, Linda is pretty good about cookies, but the guys are like cookie dispensers and the donkeys know it...!!!

This past week-end Lynn and Linda participated in a people race and were requested to bring some of the minis.  Some of the people putting on the race, have been involved in the Burros and Burritos, and Donkeys and Donuts fun runs and wanted to introduce donkeys to more people.

I was told they were a big success and some of the people said they only came to the race because the donkeys were going to be there.  Linda took pictures, but hasn't had time to download them yet.  Maybe later..........!

Yesterday John and I got to do something pretty special.  We went out to the go kart track to watch our great grandson Hunter go on the track for the first time, with his go-kart he will be racing this year hopefully.  He's 7 years old and could start out on the asphalt in one of the Banderleros, which is for ages 7-14 in cute little cars with motorcycle engines in them.

His dad our grandson JR, is a dirt fan, and also thinks the go kart on dirt will be more of a learning experience than the Banderlero on a 3/8s mile asphalt track and I tend to agree.  If he likes it he should be able to move up from the go-karts directly to a full size car when he's old enough.  There are men racing go-karts, in a different class, so he won't out grow the go-karts. 

I would imagine it is pretty unique to have 4 generations racing at the same time, if and when he actually races.  

Hunter wasn't too happy with practice.  There were some problems with clogged lines and just in general the things that you go to practice to find out.  Otherwise if you show up at the track to race and those problems are there, it ruins your race.  Hard to explain to a 7 year old, but a lesson he needs to learn.  Racing is about 99% work and 1% fun, at least that's what they tell me.  In the old days I was a lot more involved in the boring stuff than I am now.   Now I just drive...........LOL

My 1st race will be this week-end the 9th.  Unfortunately I will not be starting out the season in my new car.  Too much down time with the car and motor in pieces sitting around and probably too many people involved, with stuff not getting done.  

So I will start out in the least mangled of last year's cars.  Not the last one that hit the wall and submarined under another car.  This one got shoved into the wall by a disgruntled male driver.  There are 2 brothers that drive and between them they have managed to wreck 3 of my cars.  They are of an age that probably can't stand being beat by a woman, especially one old enough to be their mother.....!!! LOL  

John riding out for Meet and Greet..........This is the car I will be driving this week-end, although it doesn't look this good anymore, although it will probably look pretty good once John touches up the paint.  At least from a distance......!!!

Unfortunately right at this moment it isn't ready to go yet either.  John was sure the new car would be ready, so he's out today frantically getting a notch cut out of the frame to clear the power steering.  It's a little bent and things aren't all where they should be.  Oh! well, at least I'll get starting points and not start the season in the hole.  

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.