Baby Kassie sleeps.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

‘Cause she’s my Baby, my Kassie, my little Baby Kassie. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. ♥ ♥ ♥

A couple of weeks ago, I arrived home to hear a familiar and favorite sound. It was the melodic sound of turkeys chirping next door.

Oh, how I’ve missed that sound. So has Mister Turkey:

Our new turkey girl neighbors are incredibly friendly. Most evenings when we call to them, they come running over to say hello:

Many of you know of my overwhelming need to name everything. I’m very thankful to our wonderful neighbor for allowing me the privilege of naming his new girls.

Welcome, Gabby:

And welcome, Babette:

Remember the part where I mentioned how friendly they are? When I sit on the fence, they fly up and join me most evenings for a chat. They’re not shy:

And we really do chat:

 

It’s a blessing to have such nice neighbors, don’t you think?

Babette is a bit smaller than Gabby and has a beautiful line of black feathers going down the center of her back:

And a lighter colored face and wattle:

Gabby is extremely outgoing and very outspoken:

And has taken to roosting each night on the gate between the goat and sheep runs here at Morning Bray Farm:

Welcome to the neighborhood, ladies. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for lots of turkey babies this spring. ♥

Spotted in downtown Albuquerque yesterday. A sure sign that spring is on its way:

“Forsythia is pure joy. There is not an ounce, not a glimmer of sadness or even knowledge in forsythia. Pure, undiluted, untouched joy.”

~ Anne Lindbergh

This April will mark Don’s and my fifth anniversary at Morning Bray Farm.

Every year between October and March, we’re inundated with Sandhill Cranes:

One special crane has visited us every migratory season since October 2007:

What we named her isn’t very creative, but it’s how we’ve always identified her.

Meet Limpy:

 

She definitely walks with a limp. I believe the pain is in her left knee:

We’ve become quite fond of Limpy. She’s a very pretty bird:

She even has a heart on her head:

We don’t know how old Limpy is, but we do know that the average lifespan of a Sandhill Crane is 20 years. We might just be seeing Limpy for many more years to come.

♥ ♥ ♥

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. ♥ ♥

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. ♥

Glimpses from our Saturday afternoon walk:

Heading back toward Morning Bray Farm:

Sunset from Morning Bray Farm:

 

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.):

Looks like the new feeder is also going to give us some new perspectives:

And very cute photo ops:

♥ ♥ ♥