Still a Baby

Have you noticed?  I know, with all this puppy distraction, it's easy to overlook the little details.   The donkeys have still been running around naked, no blankets yet.  I really wanted to keep it that way this year and, up until this week, it was working.  With the sudden plunge in temperature however, Ramsey is cold.

I finally bit the bullet and got out his blankie, which I didn't think would even fit.  If needed, I had intended to use the blanket Emma wore last year on him.  I was quite surprised to find that it was way too big for him still.  He has grown so much that it never occurred to me that it would be too big, but all of his growth has been up.  He has gotten so tall, but is still very narrow and it does not fit well at all.  That's what I get for making assumptions.

Emma, on the other hand, didn't want anything to do with blankets this year.  She was quite adamant that she is grown up now and would not be caught dead in a blankie!  Since she seems to be handling the cold just fine, I was happy to oblige.  She has a thick, shiny coat and has shown no signs of wanting her blanket, which is a first.  Baby donkeys seem like very fragile creatures to me.  Fortunately, they do seem to grow out of it.  Emma is a quite sturdy four year old now and seems to have toughened up considerably.  In previous years, she was very bothered by the cold and her winter coat did not really come in until sometime around February, just about the time the horses start losing theirs.  Of course, all that extra internal fluff she has now helps a bit.

Tessa, as usual, is sporting her sleek otter pelt and is impervious.  She would get heat stroke if I tried to blanket her.  She breaks a sweat if the temps get over 35*.

It's just the wee, little baby who still wants his blankie - even if he is hanging out the end of it.

I guess I'm gonna have to break down and go blanket shopping one more time.