Light Points

"Ramsey, what have you been doing?"

"WELL, EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING i LOOK FUNNY BECAUSE i HAVE A BROWN NOSE AND i DON'T HAVE ANY LIGHT POINTS LIKE MOM AND MOST OTHER DONKEYS...

THERE'S ALL THIS WHITE STUFF EVERYWHERE SO i THOUGHT i'D FIX IT....

SEE, i HAVE LIGHT POINTS NOW!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK MA, DID i DO A GOOD JOB?"

"Oh yeah, you certainly did a good job.  You look, um, very light."

"GOODY, HOW ABOUT A BIG HUG AND A KISS THEN?"

"Um, yeah,well, I wouldn't want to mess up your new look.  Why don't we wait till later."  When you've dried off a bit.

 "Say Ramsey, aside from your make-over, what do you think about all this snow now?"

"THER'S ONLY ONE WORD FOR IT MA....

BLEEEECH"

Sunday Stills - Best of 2012

This week's challenge is: best of 2012.  I took a LOT of photos this year.  These are some, but certainly not all of my favorites from this year.  All were taken with my Canon PowerShot A570 point-and-shoot camera, which was given to me as a gift 4 or 5 years ago.  I carry the poor thing around with me in my pocket where it suffers a lot of abuse and near constant barn dust.  I know it is not good for the camera, but I also know that if I didn't have it in my pocket, I just wouldn't take pictures.  I don't have time to set aside for photography and most of the photos I take are opportunistic, spur-of-the moment shots that I could never duplicate or re-capture.  I decided some time ago that it is better to risk the camera then leave it pristine and unused.  I probably won't ever own a really expensive, high quality camera for just this reason.  I would be afraid to use it.

Aside from some rare cropping, all of my photos are SOC and are usually taken on the "auto" setting on the camera.  I do play around with the settings and have learned a lot, but I have found that, with this camera, they don't make that much difference.  The things that I have the most trouble with are action shots (the camera thinks slowly), macros (you have to be at just the right spot to get anything up close), and low light (it just doesn't do low light, end of story).  Still, I am happy with it and I have taken a lot of photos that I like.  They may not measure up to professional standards, but I like having them, sharing them and I have enjoyed taking them and learning more about photography in the process. 

Those of you who have been following along for a while will probably recognize many of these.  Some of them are not great shots, but have significance to me regardless.  In no particular order...

 

 

For more Sunday stills or to join in, visit http://sundaystills.wordpress.com/

Progress

Snow Day

"C'mon guys, aren't you going to come out at all today?"

"Are you out of your mind??  We're not coming out there!"

"Aw, c'mon, you have to at least stretch your legs."

"Hmmmm, nope, don't think so.  You go right on and have fun playing with the snow blower thingy without us.  I'll keep an eye on things from here."

"Sheesh Em, you know I hate snow blowing.  Don't you think you ought to at least come out and supervise, make sure I do it right?" 

"Don't worry Ma, I'll be watching.  You know you can count on me!  Gotta make sure you get it right after all."  no way, no how am I going out there though...

***

Two and a half hours of snow blowing later...

"YUCK!  ALL THAT TIME SPENT MOVING THIS NASTY STUFF AROUND AND THIS IS THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH?"

"Aw jeez Ramsey, you too?  I thought you at least would want to come out and play."

"PLAY WITH THIS?! ICK."

"Say Ma, why don't you just let us know when you get all this mess cleaned up.  We'll talk then, OK?  And HEY, we could use a bit more HAY in here!"

"Yeah, sure Em, I'll get right on that......" 

Hay Nets

After reading my post about small-mesh hay nets (click here if you missed that), a reader from California sent me these fantastic slow feeders.  She had them made for her mini donkeys, but no longer needs them, so she has very kindly and generously passed them on (Thank you D!!).  There are even a couple with larger holes for the horses in there.

The nice thing about these is that the holes are small enough that Ramsey cannot get a foot caught in one and they can be left on the ground like pillows, making for a more natural grazing experience.

The only trouble with them is that they must smell just a little bit like D's donkeys and Emma is not sure she wants anything to do with them.  I think that donkeys (like dogs again) are very sensitive to different smells. Whenever I am around strange horses or any other animals and then return to my own, I have to let Emma check me out and talk to her.  This was especially true when Ramsey was very little.  If I smelled wrong, she would move Ramsey away from me until I had passed the smell test.

Jack donkeys have a reputation for being unpredictably mean and aggressive.  I wonder if they really are so unpredictable, or if it is another case of our own inability to recognize what may be a threat to a donkey.  Donkeys are highly territorial and protective and jacks will fight to the death to defend their territory.  If a jack's owner were to go visit a neighbors stud or new dog and then approach the jack, an animal who probably relies more on scent than sight for identification, is it any wonder that the jack may react badly?  If we humans thought more about how our animals perceive things rather then assume their perceptions will be the same as ours, I believe there would be far fewer tragic accidents.   

Emma is very protective of Ramsey and after getting a good whiff of the new hay bags, she moved him away from them and kept him away.

From her point of view, these nets could have come from a herd of mean jacks who might threaten her baby.  She has no way of knowing that these cute little guys mean no harm...

For the last several days, I have left the nets hanging in my tack room to air out and absorb the smells of my own barn and this afternoon I hung one bag in the barn for her to get used to.  I have no doubt that she will accept them, it's just a matter of letting her do it in her own way and in her own donkey time. 

Several people have asked me about nets for horses and for mini donkeys.  I have little personal experience with these myself, but will share what I have found so far....

Cynthia from A donkey Diary has 4 mini donkeys and uses small mesh nets for them.  She highly recommends NAG bags from www.slowfeeder.com.  They appear to be very good bags that are safe for minis and are well made.

The paddock paradise website offers this hay net comparison chart, which is very helpful.  Some of the links seem outdated, but the info is good.

I know several people who have made their own feeders using hockey puck netting from Arizona Sports.  Lisa from Laughing Orca Ranch shared this and this on her blog.

The net I am using currently came from Chicks saddlery.  It works well enough, but I would not use it for the donkeys if I was not hanging it above my manger, which prevents them from getting their feet near it.   It is inexpensive and rugged, but should only be used if you can be sure to keep their feet away from it. 

Similarly, I purchased nets from Adams Horse supply.  They were inexpensive and work well for the horses, but I would not use them for donkeys or any small aniamls.  They stretch too much and hang too low when empty.  They hold a lot of hay, which is good for me as I only have to fill them once a day and the horses never run out of hay.  An OK choice for full sized horses who are barefoot, but do not use for donkeys or ponies...

And one last thing about nets: when you introduce them to your animals, make sure the net is IN ADDITION to their regular ration for the first few days.  If you introduce the net this way , the animal will see it as a treat rather then a frustration, they will appreciate it instead of resenting it.