July 31, 2010
He’s been coming very close to doing it for the last few days, and he finally did. Honest to goodness, Fergus just brayed for the very first time and woke me out of a dead sleep… at 4:16 a.m. Mountain time. I know it was Fergus because it wasn’t two-part; there was no hee with the haw. It was more of a “whaaw, whaaw, whaaw…” And, needless to say, very loud.
With that said, I’m going to make a wish and go back to bed. ♥
July 22, 2010
The American Donkey is one of the most misunderstood and often the most mistreated animal in our society. Improving the plight of these incredible animals begins with knowledge.
-Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue
I realize now this is so true.
It’s shocking how different life was for Don and me only a year ago… BD; Before Donkeys. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I will. While I would never mistreat any animal, I bought into the “beasts of burden” thing. I never gave donkeys a second thought. I thought they were stubborn, I didn’t think they were intelligent, yadda, yadda. I mean, after all, why would so many people treat donkeys the way they do if donkeys were smart, willing creatures?
We know differently now, and so do many of you. That’s why we’re starting a new page on our site called, For the love of donkeys. Our hope is that you’ll share your positive stories, experiences and photos of donkeys and burros. Just send them to us at morningbray@hotmail.com and we’ll post them. We’ll see what evolves from here.
For our inaugural For the love of donkeys post, we’d like you to meet Toby and Tyler.
Just look at them! Thanks so much to Mel in N.Y. for sharing them. Mel and I emailed back and forth yesterday about our love for donkeys.
From Mel:
You know how much fun the big donkeys are, the babies are just that much more fun!! You must know by now just how contagious donkeys are. You can’t just have one or two, or three or four, 6, 8, LOL.
Toby and Tyler are now 6 and 11 weeks old. In the picture they were 3 and 8 weeks.
I’m still waiting for you to give Nigel a hug from me.
-Mel
July 15, 2010
Known commonly as the jackass, this long-eared little creature is respected throughout the southwest – roundly cursed yet respected – and here he is usually referred to by his Spanish name, burro. Because of his extraordinary bray, he is sometimes ironically called the “Arizona Nightingale.”
-Arizona state administration, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
July 12, 2010
My dad came to visit this weekend.
It was his first time meeting Fergus and Nigel. You would’ve never known.
Nigel took a keen interest in my dad.
Fergus made sure he got scritches from PeePaw. (Don’t miss the look on Fergus’s face.)
Aww, Nigel… ever working up the courage to get closer.
Of course you knew it was inevitable… The Bernard and Ellsworth Show soon followed. Bernard thought pretending to tell PeePaw a secret…
…was the perfect ruse to make an attempt at eating PeePaw’s glasses.
My dad and Ellsworth found that amusing. Bernard then tried to eat my dad’s shoes,
…then wanted to play cone. (Good golly, look at the farmer tan on that woman.)
Ellsworth gave PeePaw a hug…
Then my dad gave Ellsworth a hug…
Then… here’s my new tattoo, up close! The top freeze mark is Fergus’s… the one below is Nigel’s. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out Carson’s blog today to get the scoop on how it all went down.
July 9, 2010
July 7, 2010
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 amI 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. ♥
July 5, 2010
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.
July 1, 2010
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!
June 30, 2010
After getting a halter on Fergus for the first time three weeks ago, we did the Happy Dance in anticipation of his feet being trimmed at our farrier’s next visit. Fast forward to yesterday evening…
…and a brief quiz for you. Can you tell the difference between this picture:
And this picture? Hint, look at Fergus’s ears and eyes and where Don’s left hand is. Big, big difference.
Let me tell ya a couple of things. First, a lot happened between those first two pictures. (I put the camera down for a bit in between.) Second, a good farrier, a.k.a Shorty, is worth his weight in platinum. Thanks, Carson!
We’ve been picking up Fergus’s feet without incident since the end of April, and he’s been quite fine with it. What we discovered yesterday is that Fergus isn’t comfortable with people he doesn’t know, and that’s understandable.
Each time Shorty initially tried to pick up Fergus’s first front foot, Fergus got up on his hind legs and/or got himself away from Shorty and Don. Fergus had a bit of a wild look in his eyes and seriously wasn’t having any of it. While Bernard and Ellsworth each have had their moments, it has never been like this.
As Don and I were looking at each other in desperation (and I was thinking to myself that this wasn’t going to happen), Shorty was amazing. Patience, soft touches, soothing words.
Then I saw Shorty softly put his hand over Fergus’s eye. Fergus almost immediately calmed down. Shorty asked Don to cover Fergus’s eye on whichever side Shorty was working and…
…success! Fergus just needed a bit of a blinder! Okay, fine, I’ll admit it. I shed a tear or two of happiness.
Meanwhile, I looked over to see that Bernard had untied himself from the fence and was debating whether to take himself for a stroll to avoid his own foot trimming…
…and was happy to see that Nigel was okay with a dust bath as long as Fergus was within sight.
When the fourth foot was done, Fergus seemed to fly away as soon as his halter was removed…
And now seems to be walking with a new spring in his step. ♥
June 25, 2010
Morning Bray Farm 
