Thursday, March 30, 2017

Small Pieces

As you probably noticed, the blog is suffering from severe ennui and writers block.   Help me out people, is there anything you would like to hear about?

Meanwhile...small pieces of a big donkey....






Thursday, March 23, 2017

Bath Time

Some kids like to play with bubbles in the bath.  Others prefer a nice dust bath.

It can get messy.

Very messy.

But it sure feels good.


Wednesday, March 15, 2017

A Dubious Honor

After seeing several snow fall maps, it appears that my lovely hill has the dubious honor of getting the most snow out of this storm.  In the least windy spot behind my house, it measured 38 inches this morning.  I spent all day battling the snow and digging out.

As I write this, the house is shaking in the wind and all of the work I did today is being obliterated.

For a while at least, I did have some paths cleared and, late this afternoon, I let Tessa and the donkeys out for some driveway games.

They have been cooped up in the barn for days now and the snow is drifted halfway up Tessa's belly.  They all flatly refuse to venture into it.  Ben did try, but he lost his footing and went down in it for a brief scrambling, flailing eternity.  That was the end of that.

So, they got twenty minutes of cavorting on the driveway before the wind drove us all back.

Ben was astonished by this and clearly thought he was getting away with something terribly naughty.

Ramsey just wants to know where we are going to move to so we don't have to deal with this any more.

Oh How Fun - Not

This was about 1:30 this afternoon and it has been snowing hard ever since.

There is a driveway somewhere under there.  There are also the of remains of a shattered mailbox far out in space.

More snow with high winds are on the menu for tonight.  Do you suppose the wind will blow all the snow off the car or will I have trouble finding it in the morning?

Maybe it will end up in the middle of the pond like the garbage can.

I did manage to make a path to the barn, but it is gone already.

Don't look for any donkey pictures because they aren't coming out for anything.  Even the die-hard snow lovers are a bit put out by this one.  It is hard to chase a Frisbee through three feet of snow.

Pardon me while I go look for real estate somewhere else.

 

Monday, March 13, 2017

Two Good to Be True

Hello blog readers, 

Here is a much-overdue guest blog posting regarding everyone’s favorite dog…….BESS!!

You won’t believe it, but the amazing Bess turned two on February 25th, 2017. That’s right, she is two, two, too good to be true! Now just because I didn’t write a guest blog to document this auspicious occasion does not mean that I did not appropriately celebrate. In fact, I put on the second annual Birthday Bash for Bess, inviting nine people and one dog (Connor).

To mark the occasion, we dined on my home-raised prime rib, along with roasted vegetables and home-baked rolls prepared by Riding Buddy, and fresh salad greens grown by local farmers at Enough and a Little Bit More. We finished off with marble cake baked by my very own cousin.

Bess, of course, had some prime rib, and she shared with Scout, Kelsey, and Connor. Although she did not make it to the party, Riding Buddy’s own dog, Maggie, also turned two, as she IS Bess’ sister. Don’t worry, Maggie received some prime rib also. I didn’t have time to give you the details of this event when it happened because my cousin and I were busy making maple syrup.


In the past, I have produced quite a bit of maple syrup, but every year, I get more and more uneasy about drilling holes in maple trees. I have always hating doing this, but things got really bad this year, when a very good friend of mine presented me with the book The Hidden Life of Trees. However, another friend wanted to tap his trees but did not have an evaporator, so we made a deal. I borrowed a friend’s evaporator, my friend brought me the sap, and my cousin and I boiled it down! We had a great time, and everyone was happy!

So here is some more potentially very exciting news….what could be better than lambs, calves, and a llama baby?

PUPPIES!!!!!

Although it is very, very, very early in the planning stages, there is a possibility that Bess might become a mom in the summer, when she will be two-and-a-half years old. Just to mix things up a bit, she might possibly have a Great Pyrenees as a mate. There is no certainty to this, so don’t get your hopes up too high, but there definitely is a chance that this might happen.

Today, Bess is very tired, as very early this morning, the coyotes started whooping it up, after being very quiet all winter. Bess was not the least bit happy about this and spent a good hour telling them off. To help her recover from her exhausting night, I have whipped up a breakfast of bone broth with Delicata winter squash, potatoes, chicken, and eggs. That should revive her!

Now hopefully Kris will supply some excellent pictures to accompany this account of the birthday bash.









Friday, March 10, 2017

If Wishes Were Donkeys

If wishes were donkeys....

....I'd wear one by my side.

If turnips were watches....

....I'd find a way to ride.

And if if's and and's were boxes, there'd be no work out of catses.


If wishes were horses
Beggers would ride.

If turnips were watches
I'd wear one by my side.

And if if's and and's were pots and pans
There'd be no work for tinkers.

Mother Goose's Version

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Important Life Lessons

A few weeks ago, a friend came for a visit and brought a new party trick for everyone.  There was much fascination and interest...

Everyone gathered around for introductions and lessons on the proper use of this most vital of American Icons.

There was some definite skepticism and mutterings about danger and frivolity....

But eventually, the lure became too great and Emma (the philosopher), decided it was worth the risk.

Because every donkey needs a rubber chicken.

Right?

Right??

And then the police showed up and reminded everyone about the danger of gateway drugs and confiscated the contraband.