Morning Bray Farm

Bernard has internet access. That’s the one explanation Don and I can come up with for what happened on Monday.

Only one of the boys has a fly mask on in this picture. Surely you can name the masked wonder…

And why don’t Ellsworth and Fergus have their fly masks on, you ask?

It was Monday morning. I had literally moments earlier posted Shoo fly, don’t bother me on the blog when I walked downstairs and looked out the window to see something amiss. Fergus didn’t have his fly mask on! But we had put it on that morning… Then I looked for Ellsworth. No fly mask on Ellsworth either.

That could only mean one thing. Bernard had read Aunt Linda’s comment on the post.

 carson Says:
July 5, 2010 at 11:03 am 

I remember the first time I bought a fly mask…going in the feed store and trying it on to see how much my horse would be able see once he was wearing it.

I’m very impressed that your boys are not trying to rip them off each other’s heads. (Later highlighted for emphasis.) They must realize how much better off they are with them on.

I continued my scan of the corral to find Bernard dragging one of the destroyed fly masks across the ground. Oh Bernard, you are so cut off from the computer. I mean, heavens to Betsy… Don bought the fly masks on Thursday morning. That gave the boys most of the day on Thursday, all day Friday, all day Saturday and all day Sunday to have their fly masks on without incident. Why now?

If you had been here, you would’ve heard words and phrases straight from an episode of Deadwood being muttered once we discovered the carnage. (Bernard separated the velcro from the netting on both of the destroyed masks, and we’ve since tried to sew and/or pin the velcro back on to no avail because Bernard has discovered a fun, new game called Rip the fly mask off the donkey!)

We’re back to fly spray, we have fly predators (thanks, Leah!) and new fly masks on order (they were much cheaper online than at the feed store) and are planning on trying the other remedies you’ve suggested.

Meanwhile, Bernard is grounded. No more internet access for you, buddy. It’s a good thing you’re so darn cute and we love you so. ♥

You might remember a post about Cecil from several weeks ago. Just as we call all of our barn swallows Cecil, all of our squirrels are called Lenny.

Lenny was in the inner sanctum of the Hairy Hacienda yard when Don took these pictures. Oh dear.

Hun, pleeeese be careful about coming into this yard. The last time Lenny ventured in here, he met a not so pleasant fate.

And, dude. Are you eating my plants?

For Cathy R… we promise we will.   😀

We’re not sure why, but the flies are worse than usual here this summer.

They’re driving us all crazy. 

The boys have coped with frequent dust baths and applications of fly spray.

Poor Nigel.

The straw that finally broke the camel’s back last week was finding pus accumulating in the corners of Bernard’s eyes. I wasn’t about to stand for that, so wonderful Don ventured to the farm supply store to pick up some new accessories for the boys.

I honestly don’t think I had seen fly masks on horses before moving to New Mexico. I’ll admit it… I remember being thoroughly confused about why people would put things on their horses to prevent them from seeing where they were going. Huh, silly me.

I’ll also admit it’s a bit unnerving not being able to see their eyes, but the boys do seem so much more at ease.

The boys took to the masks, like… well… like flies on poo.

Ellsworth, are you in there? Yes, are you in there Bernard?

If the boys are happy, we’re happy.

No mask on Nigel yet though. Don’t you worry, buddy… your mask is ready when you are.

For gazelle: Our double-decker bee balm flower below. Interesting how the first photo (above), taken in soft early morning light, shows the true color of our bee balm. This second photo (below), taken in harsh mid-day light, shows a much redder flower. 

And how cool is this? The photo below is of gazelle’s double-decker bee balm. Thank you, gazelle! I can’t wait to look through the rest of your pictures.  And look at her beautiful clematis in the background! The red and the purple are stunning together, aren’t they?

Why do donkeys lay their heads on one another? All of our boys do this often, and we get asked this question a lot. In fact, Nancy in NC asked just the other day, so I figure now’s the perfect time to offer an answer.  

The Donkey Companion provides a great explanation for this typical behavior found in donkeys:  

Assurance

Donkeys are physical animals who treasure each other through body contact. A jenny comforts her foal by holding him gently between her chin and her chest. Older youngsters and adults drape their heads across another’s back or rump to reassure or show affection; they rest their heads on a favorite human’s shoulder for the same reason.

There’s nothing at all like having one of the boys rest his head on my back or shoulder. It feels just like getting a big bear hug. ♥

Congratulations to the winner of our 150th post contest; Colleen, who left comment #21 and whose name was chosen using Random.org. She’ll be seeing a Morning Bray Farm t-shirt in her mailbox soon.

We’re so looking forward to celebrating 200 with you all!