Morning Bray Farm

September 9, 2011

The way to his heart might be through his ears

Posted by Morning Bray under Burros | Tags: BLM burros, Gracie, Nigel |
[23] Comments

Something so exciting happened here on Wednesday evening that I just had to tweet about it.

SO excited. Big breakthrough with Nigel. He’s discovered he LOVES having the inside of his ears rubbed. He’s actually asking to be touched.

I’m not sure how it happened, but Nigel was totally okay with it when I started rubbing inside his ears. Actually, he was much more than okay with it.

When I stopped, he approached me so I could rub his ears some more.

And getting this close to his face with mine? Never would have happened before. I admit I shed a tear when he allowed me to kiss his face.

And, if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, check out Miss Gracie Belle. Yesterday was her three-week anniversary at Morning Bray Farm.

And Patrick… taking after Bernard with his mischief.

Oh, how we love them all. ♥

September 7, 2011

D is for…

Posted by Morning Bray under Dogs, Donkeys, Ducks, Farm, Friends and Family | Tags: dogs, Don, donkeys, ducks |
[23] Comments

Nigel wants to make sure you’re paying attention.

Nigel: Are you paying attention for our lesson about the letter D?

Me: Thank you, Nigel. Okay, now that everyone’s paying attention, let’s begin.

D is for many things I love. For example, D is for donkeys.

And D is for ducks.

And D is for donkeys who herd ducks.

Bernard: Just making sure they’re all present and accounted for.

And here’s me being excited that I got everyone in one picture.

D is for dogs, too!

Because the ducks were in the pasture with the donkeys, it was safe for us to let the dogs out in the front yard where the ducks usually dwell.

Patrick was initially interested in the dogs, but soon returned to grazing.

Nigel, however, was quite serious about his herd guarding duties.

As was Ellsworth. The dogs, fortunately, had no interest in the donkeys.

Last, but not least, D is for Don, my dear husband.

Yes, D is for many things I love. ♥ ♥ ♥

September 5, 2011

It felt like a herd this time

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys, Friends and Family | Tags: Bernard, Big Red, Carson, donkeys, Ellsworth, Lucy, Patrick, The 7MSN Ranch |
[25] Comments

Yesterday Don and I took Bernard, Ellsworth and Patrick to visit Carson and the herd at 7MSN.

Patrick hadn’t been loaded into a trailer since he came to Morning Bray Farm back in March, and we worried about how he would do.

Something I never told you is that Patrick’s former people used a cattle prod to trailer load him.

Well, world, I’m here to tell ya… Patrick don’t need no cattle prod to load into a trailer. Our fluffy boy walked right in.

I was so excited that he could be part of the adventure yesterday. So happy that he got to experience the beauty of life.

It was interesting how the addition of Patrick made things feel different. It felt like a herd this time. Just like that, the boys played and played.

The icing on the cake was my best ride yet on Big Red. Thanks to Carson and Lucy, Big Red and I learned a ton, gained confidence and had a blast.

We practiced a one-rein stop, we trotted, we loped and we maneuvered up and down and through and over various obstacles. Big Red was cooperative, willing and confident. Life was beautiful yesterday!

September 2, 2011

Stormy skies

Posted by Morning Bray under Plants and Flowers | Tags: Maximillian sunflower, New Mexico monsoon season, stormy skies |
[35] Comments

August 31, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: checking for alligators, Ellsworth, Nigel |
[11] Comments

August 30, 2011

A bit of Gracie Belle history

Posted by Morning Bray under Burros | Tags: Arizona, BLM burro, BLM burro adoption, Bureau of Land Management, Gracie, Kaibab National Forest |
[19] Comments

Gracie Belle is doing remarkably well at Morning Bray Farm.

It’s her second week here, and she’s been inducted as a full-fledged member of the herd.

Gracie is beautiful, she’s smart and she’s gaining confidence by the day.

Now that she’s settling in, I figured I’d share a bit of her history with you.

Here’s her BLM capture data:

Date: January 17, 2011

Location: AZ0021 Double A

State: Arizona

This means Gracie was captured in the Double A Wild and Free-Roaming Burro Territory in Kaibab National Forest, Arizona. The BLM maintains a wild burro herd there of between 22 and 35 animals.

Wild burros have been known to occupy the territory since the late 1800s. A wild burro is a free-roaming, unclaimed, unbranded burro that descended from pack animals that wandered off or were released by prospectors and miners.

We’ll never forget or replace the herd that Gracie left behind. What we will do is make sure she knows she’s now with another herd that loves her just the same. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

August 29, 2011

Reflections

Posted by Morning Bray under Ducks | Tags: duck, Gussie |
[13] Comments

August 27, 2011

Saturday Stuff – Hamming it up

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys, Saturday Parts & Stuff | Tags: Bernard, donkey |
[24] Comments

To Lilla: You’re right!

♥

August 26, 2011

The class clown

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, donkey, donkeys playing |
[36] Comments

When Carson and Lucy were here a couple of weeks ago, Bernard managed to get a hold of the bucket I had set out with water for Lucy.

Before Carson and Lucy left, I pointed out to Carson what Bernard loves doing with buckets. Carson’s reply was, “And you don’t have this on video, why?”

And so, friends, enjoy Bernard’s newly released video production… The Class Clown of Morning Bray Farm.