Monday, April 29, 2019

Turning Inward

Have you ever noticed that mares in late-term pregnancy often look focused inward even when they are looking straight at you?  Like they are looking forward and backwards at the same time. 
You can tell the ones who will be good moms because they are already keeping an eye, and an ear, on the baby.

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Home Again

 Tessa, and her alarmingly large belly, came home this weekend. 

It was no big deal for most of the herd, but for Albert, it was a different matter.  Can you see the steam coming out of his ears?  He is thinking soooo hard, trying to decide if he should say hello or bite her on the ass.

He was fine living with horses before he came here and he was quite enamored of his old girlfriend Rosie.  However, when he moved here, he found donkey Nirvana.  He has Ramsey and Ben to play with and he LOOOOVES Emma.  When he is not wrestling with Ramsey, he is hanging out with Emma - the love of his life.  He is never more than a few feet away from one or the other.

While Tess kept trying to say hello to her pals, Albert kept trying to herd his woman off to his cave.

Ramsey was allowed to say Hi...

...and Ben - he was his normal stoic, unfazed self.  As long as he isn't the one leaving, it's all just fine and nothing to get too excited about. 

Unless there happens to be a big, fat, pregnant pony hot on his heels.  No way does he want to get run over by that train.

There was a bit of galloping around...



...and some slow-speed chasing,

...mostly fueled by Albert thinking that HIS territory was being invaded.

It didn't take long for Tess to get down to what matters most.  As long as she has some friends in sight and food on hand, she is content.

Welcome home Tess.  I am still trying to figure out where my brain was at when I decided to breed her, but we are at day 312 and counting till mule baby shows up.



 -

Monday, April 22, 2019

An Unexpected Game

Spring is the best time of year, especially for troublemakers. 

Turn your sound off for these, I couldn't get the music to work:(



In case you are thinking anyone is getting left out...this happened after Albert and Ramsey spent 20 minutes wrestling and chasing Emma around.  They'd had enough, so Al talked Ben into a game. 

Little Albert Einstein is a troublemaker of the highest order.  He is always the first to notice a flaw in the fence, which he promptly shows to Emma or Ramsey so he can follow them out.  Not only because he is inseparable from the rest of the herd, but because it is no fun getting into trouble without your best friends along for the fun - or to take the blame.


Monday, April 15, 2019

Dog Days of Spring

Ian is eight months old now and has been going to herding school where he is getting top marks.  Those naughty sheep and bratty cows don't stand a chance.

You can tell when he gets stuck on a problem or is fixated thinking super hard about something when the tongue gets stuck...

NRFF syndrome - non-resting fixated face...

His friend Bruno was over for another play-date as well.  For those concerned that Bruno comes visiting on his own - not to worry.  Bruno only comes over with his human, he does not wander over by himself.  At home - he has a farm of his own with a very large fenced yard, a pond, his own full-size mattress next to his mom's and he spends all of his time with her.  There is nothing like a good play-date though.

None of these dogs wander loose around the countryside, they are all trained to stay with us off-lead, they all have excellent recalls, and they all get along.  They stay with us on the farm, which is private property.

Our dogs are with one of us at ALL times.  They are never alone or unsupervised.

Connor stays here while I am at work so that he does not have to be home alone.  I bring him over on my way to work and pick him up before going home.  It adds twenty mile to my daily commute, but I am glad to know he is safe and happy when I can't be home.  While I am toiling away in the salt mines, he spends all of his time with his best bud Ian and the rest of the pack.  They play and play and play and play and play and play....

They hike, play, work and swim to cool off after it all before going in for a dinner of high quality kibble mixed with homemade stew made from the meats and veggies grown on the farm.

At the end of the day, they climb onto the couch or the bed and dream of the day's adventures.

It's a hard life, but someone has to do it.








Sunday, April 14, 2019

Room Service

Beautiful Spring days are a rare treat and not something to be squandered away inside.  On such rare and special days, the donkeys agree with me and only come in long enough to get a drink before heading back out to the sun drenched tundra. 

However, Ben still needs his daily medicine - medicine that makes him super fussy about his food and if I want him to eat it, I have to serve it properly.  He gets 1 cup of Triple Crown Lite, a scoop of California Trace vitamins, which have to be carefully sprinkled with just the right amount of beetroot powder to hide the taste, and his tablet of Prascend.  He still gets a bit skeptical sometimes if I haven't gotten the ratios just right...

Everyone else gets 1/2 a cup of Triple Crown Lite to make the vitamins go down and Emma gets a handful of organic raspberry leaves because it helps smooth out the trials of having to live with 3 boys. 

 I sure wish I could order room service. 

Friday, April 12, 2019

National Unicorn Day

Apparently, we missed National Unicorn Day on the 9th.  Who knew they had a day?  I kinda thought every day was Unicorn day.  This Unicorn thinks so anyway...

Can't you just see that sparkly horn?

She has been going out for walks with the old unicorns - Suki, age 30, on the left and Sprinkle, age 20? on the right.

You might think of unicorns as mythical, elegant creatures of daydreams and moonshine, but...they can be a bit of a doofus.

A sweet, kind, friendly doofus, but still a doofus.

The parents of unicorns can come in some very interesting colors too, such as Miss Unicorn's mom....

And some unicorns are only white when they want to be.

The doofus still shines through.

Happy Unicorn day!