Morning Bray Farm

It was such a pretty day. With such a handsome boy. 

Bernard doesn’t seem to mind having his photo taken anymore.  

At least not until he decides it’s time to get up…

So he can head on over…

 To say hello. 

The first weekend in March is generally set aside for cleaning out flower beds and welcoming back our perennials.

One of the things on our to-do list was cutting back the pampas grass.  The flower spikes are excellent for drying, so I propped them on Don’s tractor while I finished cleaning up.

When I turned back around, Ellsworth had decided there was a better use for the flower spikes. Oh well.  

Bernard and Ellsworth happily did their part in our spring cleaning efforts by working on weeds. Great job boys!

Farmgirl, see the yellow hay twine? You inspired me to make a temporary fence for the boys. For those familiar with the layout of our farm, it looks strange to see the boys in that “void” between the corral and the pasture. Carson, not to worry. They’re not out there without supervision. Promise.

We had a fence company out yesterday afternoon to give us an estimate on a pipe fence to connect the pasture and the corral. It will run the same path as the existing yellow twine. I’m really excited about this because it will give the boys the freedom to move between the corral and the pasture as they please.

There was very good news in last Wednesday’s Albuquerque Journal. The gates were opened at Diversion Dam and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District was moving water again. Oh yeah. We were excited.

In a nutshell, the conservancy district supplies irrigation water to about 62,000 acres of New Mexico’s farmland from Cochiti Dam to Socorro. From March through October, four small dams divert water from the Rio Grande into a network of 400 miles of irrigation canals, one of which runs right in front of Morning Bray Farm.

That means this:

Just yesterday turned into this:

And the boys can start dreaming about green pastures once again.

The girls and Whisky were treated to Frosty Paws after having their nails done yesterday.

Enzi stressed that I simply wasn’t moving fast enough.

Whisky did his best to mind move the ice cream from my hand to his mouth.

Enzi Diva is never shy.

My goodness Baby Kassie, what big eyes you have!

Various methods are employed to enjoy the tasty treat. Whisky prefers the quick extract method.

Simply remove and eat the ice cream whole. In less than 30 seconds.

Enzi and Kassie are our dainty lickers. Takes a lot longer to finish, but they seem to enjoy every lick.

Suni loves her unique scissor method. Very quick and efficient. She’s a bottom line kind of gal.

And then there’s Kike, who gets the award for innovation in technique by using the top lip over cup method. Maximum output with minimum effort. Nothing wrong with that.

In case you aren’t familiar with Frosty Paws, you can find them in the ice cream section at the grocery store. This pack highly recommends them.

Ellsworth had a huge breakthrough moment with the farrier yesterday. We’re so proud of him.

It was the very first time Shorty was able to trim Ellsworth’s back feet.

Ellsworth, we’re so proud of you buddy!

Like I said, this was a huge breakthrough for Ellsworth. Unfortunately, a couple of mishaps at the place he came from really had him freaked out about having his back feet touched. For those of you who initially followed Ellsworth’s story over at The 7MSN Ranch, you’ll remember that Ellsworth was “accident prone.” At one point, according to his previous people, he had a nail stuck in one of his back feet. To remove it, they tied a rope to his leg and let him kick until he got tired so they could take the nail out. At another point, he had barbed wire tangled around one of his ankles. So yes, he really was freaked out when anyone tried to touch his back feet.

We realized some pretty important things yesterday. We were reminded that we have so much to learn from our animals. These donkey boys have taught us more than I could have ever imagined about patience. Shorty has been absolutely wonderful about this too. He coached Don on working with Ellsworth and getting him used to having those back legs and feet touched. I have a lump in my throat right now just thinking about this transformation in Ellsworth.

So, Ellsworth is an old pro at this now.  When it was Bernard’s turn, Ellsworth ran right over to comfort his best friend and to let him know it was alright.

Some of you may remember the excitement when Don brought home a ginormous container of crushed red pepper. Here’s our first recipe for you. It’s delish. 

We love this recipe because it’s a quick and easy anytime dish… perfect for when we’d rather spend more time with dogs, donkeys, goats and sheep than cooking.  You get to control the heat by the amount of crushed red pepper you use.

What you’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (16 oz) package smoked kielbasa sausage, diced
• 6 medium red potatoes, diced
• crushed red pepper to taste; we use at least 1 tablespoon
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

How to make it:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Place kielbasa, potatoes and crushed red pepper in the pan. Cover, and cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender.
2. Mix red bell pepper and yellow bell pepper into the pan, and continue cooking 5 minutes, until peppers are just tender.

When Mom got home from work yesterday, there were some interesting sounds coming from the pasture. Was Abigail in a crabby mood? Was she being playful?

What do you think?

Yesterday was glorious. With warm weather and sunshine, Ellsworth by my side and a bed of straw in which to lay under the goat port, what more could I need, you ask?                              

Mom, could I have a pina colada with my straw please?

   Oh dear, he’s feeling tropical.                     

With a pineapple slice and a maraschino cherry?

 No, Bernard.           

Last, but certainly not least, we’d like to introduce you to the masters of escape here at Morning Bray Farm. If there’s a way out, rest assured that Leland and Abigail will find it.  (Remember to click on any photo for a larger view.)      

This is Leland,       

and this is Abigail.       

A modification or two has been made to our fences and gates since their arrival one year ago. We love that they keep us on our toes.