Donkeys

Archived Posts from this Category

April 3, 2012

We can say weed control and fun in the same sentence now

Year after year, we wage battle with the weeds that grow along our driveway. No more.

Over the weekend, we fertilized and irrigated our pasture. To the displeasure of the Boyz and Gracie Belle, this means the pasture is off-limits for the next several weeks to give the grass an opportunity to grow.

Cutting off pasture access is a serious offense in these parts. With the inmates running the asylum on only day two of the pasture ban, Don and I realized we needed to do something.

We can say weed control and fun in the same sentence now.

Look at Patrick bolting with happiness up the driveway:

It was obvious they all felt like they were getting away with something, which definitely made it fun.

Patrick: Mama, we’ll take care of the weeds from now on, okay? Whenever you need help, you just let us know.

This is the best weed control.

Ever.

♥

March 25, 2012

The blessing of good friends

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys, Ducks, Friends and Family | Tags: donkeys, Lei Photography |
[55] Comments

It was a grey and cold day when our good friends Cindy and Stanley visited us a couple of weekends ago. Cindy’s parents were in town for a visit and came along (there were two new donkey converts in the world before they left). As always, Bernard and Ellsworth were excellent donkey ambassadors:

Cindy and Stanley were eager to meet Patrick, Gracie and Buck for the first time:

And Don and I were eager to meet Cindy and Stanley’s new baby, Tristan:

Good friends are such a blessing, aren’t they? As always, they left us with beautiful images of the critters that we love:

Thank you, Cindy and Stanley. ♥ ♥ ♥

March 7, 2012

He’ll be your best friend

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, donkey, Little Guy |
[28] Comments

Bernard was our first donkey.

I wish I still had a copy of his Craigslist advert. If I knew then that donkeys would later become an obsession, I would’ve kept it. I do remember the listing said that his name was Little Guy and, “He’ll be your best friend.”

Well. He is a cute little guy. I’m always telling him the cutest in the universe. He likes that.

Because I believed he deserved a distinguished name, we renamed him Bernard the day we brought him home. No need to constantly remind him of his short stature, right?

And, it’s not that I love Bernard any more than I love any of the other Boyz or Gracie, but he is my best donkey friend.

More than any of the others, Bernard always wants to be where I am. I like that.

I trust him completely, and I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me.

I love just being with him, and he’s been getting more and more to the point where he can be with me quietly; without the need to have an article of clothing, a rake or a camera in his mouth.

Yes, just being with my best donkey friend. I ♥ Bernard.

February 23, 2012

Is this seat taken?

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: donkey curiosity, donkeys, Ellsworth, Nigel |
[12] Comments

February 22, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: donkey, donkeys playing, Ellsworth, Gracie Belle |
[14] Comments

January 25, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: donkey, donkey yawn, Ellsworth |
[25] Comments

January 24, 2012

Who’s who

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, Buck, donkeys, Ellsworth, GK, Gracie, Nigel, Patrick |
[14] Comments

Last week, CeeCee left the following comment for us:

“With 6 donkeys in the family now, could you do a little tutorial on identifying each one. Obviously, Ells is the only redhead, but I struggle to tell them apart in a group photo. I believe that Buck is red, but much darker. The rest leave me wondering.”

While she was here on Sunday, I asked our friend GK if she would help with the tutorial. She was able to point to the Boyz and Gracie and identify them each by name without batting an eyelash, after all. (I was so impressed!)

Here’s Buck and Nigel:

Buck is definitely red, and is darker than Ellsworth.

Ellsworth is bigger than Buck and his face is much whiter:

Nigel is also unmistakable:

Such a strikingly handsome boy.

And here’s Bernard:

Bernard is short and has shorter hair. Most of the time, Bernard will be next to Ellsworth.

Patrick, however:

Patrick is fluffy all over; his body, face, legs, ears. He has the longest mane of all, and has very cute leg stripes:

By the way, I have to say that it really, really touched me when (out of the blue) GK said she was so happy that Patrick was here at Morning Bray Farm. She’s a young lady who’s so wise for her years.

From a distance, I still sometimes confuse Gracie and Bernard. Here’s Gracie and Buck:

Look at Gracie with GK:

GK was right when she pointed out that Gracie’s nose is more wrinkled than Bernard’s:

Gracie’s taller than Bernard and Patrick too:

It’s all relative. Sometimes, it just takes time to see who’s who. ♥ ♥

January 23, 2012

A busy day for our beautiful boy

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys, Friends and Family | Tags: Bernard, donkey |
[29] Comments

Our beautiful donkey boy had a busy day yesterday. He played chess with his rocks:

Had a deep conversation with his good friend, GK:

Was a trusty steed for the first time in his life. Oh goodness, Bernard was so proud:

Ry thanked Bernard with a hug afterwards. I heard Ry say to Bernard, “I love you.” Melt my heart.

If you know Bernard, you know he always ~~wants~~ needs something to do. After such a busy morning, Bernard still insisted on helping his dad carry a big, heavy bucket.

I will never be able to express how much I love this beautiful boy. ♥

January 19, 2012

Tail swishing, feeders, etc.

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: donkeys, feeder, feeding donkeys |
[16] Comments

There are few things I love more than watching and listening to the Boyz and Gracie eat. (I find it very therapeutic.) Because I spend a lot of time observing them, I know that when Ellsworth swishes his tail, it’s a signal he’s getting ready to move.

In this case, he’s probably doing the tail swish because he thinks Bernard is getting too close:

Otherwise, an Ellsworth tail swish at mealtime is a prelude to his rear end swinging from side to side… gradually widening his arc… until he decides which way he’s going to go.

With six donkeys in our herd now, our old round feed tub was becoming more and more problematic. Things were tight, and Ellsworth’s need to shift positions every so often was disturbing the peace.

That’s why we decided to get a new feeder last weekend:

And, bless his heart… Ellsworth still has the need to move. While I was out watching them with camera in hand, Big Red thought he would move forward over and across the new feeder (notice where his front feet are):

Maybe it was because I gasped, or perhaps it was because his brothers and sister started snickering… Ellsworth realized this wasn’t a good idea (Do you see how hard Gracie is laughing? Poor Ellsworth.):