June 25, 2011
Saturday Stuff – First Bee Balm
Posted by Morning Bray under Plants and Flowers, Saturday Parts & Stuff | Tags: bee balm |[28] Comments
June 24, 2011
Blue flower, red thorns!
Posted by Morning Bray under Plants and Flowers | Tags: agapantha, delphinium, flowers, lobelia |[10] Comments
Blue flower, red thorns! Blue flower, red thorns! Blue flower, red thorns! Oh, this would be so much easier if I wasn’t color-blind!
~Donkey (from Shrek)
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June 23, 2011
A week of firsts
Posted by Morning Bray under Burros, Donkeys | Tags: burros, donkeys, Ellsworth, Nigel, Patrick |[15] Comments
We’ve had a wonderful week of firsts at Morning Bray Farm.
On Saturday, Ellsworth rode with his new headstall, bit and reins for the first time. One day later, Patrick was wearing his first fly mask and loving it. Then, on Monday, Ellsworth and I had our first riding lesson together. We even got him ever so briefly up to a trot.
Despite all of the excitement and activity here, Don and I always make it a point to spend time with every one of our critters every day… even if just for a few one-on-one uninterrupted minutes.
For the very first time on Tuesday, Nigel let me really brush him. We’ve brushed him before, but he never allowed us to brush him for more than a few minutes… and definitely not all over.
This time, Nigel allowed me to brush him until the comb ran cleanly through his hair… about 20 minutes. We took a medium-sized dog’s worth of hair from him.
I throw the boys’ hair over the fence so that the birds can nest with it, and so Bernard doesn’ t eat it.
Yesterday, Nigel graduated to a dandy brush and the FURminator. Again, he stood quietly while I brushed and brushed and brushed him.
It looks like he has a gorgeous black coat underneath all of his old, dirty hair.
Being that Nigel is four years old this year and this is the first time he’s accepting regular grooming, we can’t wait to see what the boy underneath really looks like.
Beautiful, for sure. ♥ ♥ ♥
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June 22, 2011
June 21, 2011
Not to be outdone
Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, Ellsworth, lunging donkeys, training donkeys |[11] Comments
There’s lots of donkey training going on ’round here these days.
Not to be outdone by Ellsworth, Bernard insisted on having his own session with Ryan on Saturday.
Ryan pointed out there are two reasons a donkey won’t do what he’s asked.
One: Because he doesn’t want to. Ellsworth generally falls into this category. Ellsworth is one to do things on his schedule; at his own pace.
Two: Because he doesn’t understand what you’re asking of him. Bernard generally falls into this category; he always wants to work and seeks to do what’s asked of him. You know that Barnyard lives to be the center of attention.
Once he got it, Bernard was awesome. He switched directions at the drop of a hat and moved toward and out from us as requested. I think he would have lunged all day long if we had asked.
Ryan also pointed out that because we’ll be driving Bernard rather than riding him, our ground work with him will be even more important.
All the while, Big Red looked on. As an awesome big brother… watching out for his best friend.
♥ ♥ ♥
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June 20, 2011
Lessons for Big Red – Week Three
Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Big Red, Ellsworth, riding donkeys, saddle training donkeys, training donkeys |[21] Comments
Just like that, our boy is now a man.
Big Red got his first headstall, bit and reins on Saturday.
Ryan selected an eggbutt snaffle bit to get Ellsworth started.
Ellsworth took to it like an old pro.
I’m so proud of him.
A few adjustments were necessary, but as always, Ellsworth was very patient.
♥
Lessons for Big Red – Week Two
Lessons for Big Red – Week One
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June 18, 2011
Saturday Stuff – National Harbor
Posted by Morning Bray under Maryland, Plants and Flowers, Saturday Parts & Stuff | Tags: Maryland, Maryland crab soup, Maryland flag, National Harbor, Peeps |[12] Comments
June 17, 2011
Another reason to love Reese Witherspoon
Posted by Morning Bray under For the love of donkeys | Tags: donkeys, Reese Witherspoon |[11] Comments
I’ve always been a fan of Reese Witherspoon and her movies, from Walk the Line to Legally Blonde to Sweet Home Alabama.
Jason Merritt / Getty Images file
Yes, she’s beautiful, and yes, she’s an Academy Award-winning actress. There’s another reason to love her though.
Reese Witherspoon has donkeys.
Their names are Honky and Tonky, and she calls them badonkadonks. Reese also has two pigs, three goats, a horse, three dogs and 20 chickens.
I found out about Reese and her donkeys because a friend sent me an email with the subject, “because you need to know about this”. Norma’s email included a link to this article, which details a bit about Reese being in a donkey dispute with her neighbors. (Norma knows I love everything donkey.)
Apparently, Reese’s neighbors aren’t enamored with Honky and Tonky’s braying. We think her neighbors must not know how wonderful donkeys are and hope they’ll get to meet Honky and Tonky so they can attach the braying to something outrageously cute and friendly.
In the meantime, we want Reese to know that all of her fans at Morning Bray Farm support her, Honky and Tonky, and that if she’s ever in Albuquerque, she’s totally invited to come and meet the Boyz. ♥
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June 15, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
Posted by Morning Bray under Dogs | Tags: dog, Kassie, Kassie's birthday |[15] Comments
June 14, 2011
Lessons for Big Red – Week Two
Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Big Red, Ellsworth, riding donkeys, saddle training donkeys, training donkeys |[17] Comments
Do you know the feeling you get when you realize you’ve made a really good decision?
Hiring Ryan to train Ellsworth this summer was an excellent decision.
On Saturday, during Ellsworth’s sixth lesson, Ryan took Ellsworth on his very first trail ride.
With Ryan’s experience and confidence guiding him, Ellsworth did a phenomenal job.
Ryan has a knack for knowing what Ellsworth needs and what he’s ready for.
Perhaps it was the antics of Ellsworth’s brothers on Saturday that prompted Ryan to take Ellsworth off the property for his maiden ride. Check out the peanut gallery:
Ellsworth clearly responds to Ryan’s consistency, perseverance and patience. For example, getting Ellsworth to cross over these logs has always been a big challenge for us on our walks.
On Saturday, Ryan had Ellsworth walking over them inside of five minutes.
And riding across them inside of seven.
Hey, Ryan? Don’t forget us when you’re famous, okay?
Lessons for Big Red – Week One
Morning Bray Farm 