August 11, 2010
Like peas and carrots
Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, donkeys, Ellsworth |[10] Comments
August 10, 2010
Ear spread
Posted by Morning Bray under Burros, Donkeys | Tags: donkey ears, ear spread, ears |[30] Comments
We’ve all heard of wingspan measurements in birds, but we had never heard of measuring ear spread in donkeys.
It was inevitable that after we read this exchange of comments on our For the love of donkeys page, we had to measure the ear spread of the Morning Bray Farm boys.
Mel N.Y. Says:
July 24, 2010 at 5:05 am Linda, Sweet pictureWhats her ear spread ? I’ve met two mammoths with a 33 inch spread !
Reply
Linda and Sam Says:July 27, 2010 at 10:47 pm Hi Mel,
Sam has ears that measure 34 inches, from the tip of one ear down across her head up to the tip of the other.
Linda
We headed out yesterday afternoon to measure some donkey ears. As usual, we had to put up with Bernard’s antics.
Don measured Fergus first.
24 3/4″ give or take.
Then Ellsworth.
26 1/2 inches.
Naturally, Bernard wasn’t interested in cooperating because he’s going to be two years old on Friday.
We’ll give Bernard 22″.
From The Donkey Companion:
A donkey’s hearing isn’t quite as acute as a dog’s but is much better than that of a human (or even a horse). When a donkey picks up a sound or sights something unusual, he pricks both ears in that direction to capture the minutest sounds and funnel them down to the ear canal and on to his brain. The donkey’s huge ears can each swivel and capture sound independently; separate sounds from each ear are processed and analyzed at the same time.
Pretty cool, huh? For those of you with donkeys or burros, what’s their ear spread?
For Carolynn:
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August 9, 2010
A maiden flight for baby Harry
Posted by Morning Bray under Birds | Tags: baby hummingbird, hummingbird |[26] Comments
As we were walking back to the house after mowing the grass yesterday afternoon, something buzzed haphazardly by my head. Turns out it was Harry, the baby hummingbird.
I’m not sure what it is with us and hummingbirds this summer. After watching Harry sputter and land in the hot sun on the ground in the corral, I went over to make sure he was alright. I think Harry was tuckered out from what must have been his maiden flight, because he stepped right onto my finger without a moment’s hesitation.
I handed Harry over to Don and ran into the house to get the camera, and Don took Harry to the feeder. Harry was happy.
We then took Harry into the shade of one of our cottonwood trees. Look at his teeny, tiny feet.
Harry sat cooling off on Don’s palm for quite a while. We stood there quietly with him.
Okay, Harry, it’s time for you to go back to being a hummingbird now.
Don gently moved Harry to one of our crape myrtles. Harry sat there for a few moments, then flew away.
May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live, Harry. ♥
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August 8, 2010
Sunday Stills – Clouds
Posted by Morning Bray under Sunday Stills | Tags: clouds, Sunday Stills |[18] Comments
August 8, 2010
I LOVE summer
Posted by Morning Bray under Albuquerque, New Mexico, Plants and Flowers | Tags: Albuquerque, green chile, grower's market, New Mexico, summer, vegetables |[7] Comments
The downtown Albuquerque grower’s market each Saturday morning between June and October is one of the many reasons I LOVE summer.
Funny sign.
Everything is so beautiful…
So colorful…
And so fresh and alive.
Hello, green chile… It’s so good to see you again. ♥
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August 7, 2010
Saturday Stuff – A reflection
Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys, Saturday Parts & Stuff | Tags: Bernard, reflection |[10] Comments
August 6, 2010
For the love of donkeys – Gunny and Harry, Sparkle and Shyann
Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys, For the love of donkeys | Tags: donkeys, Gunny, Harry, Shyann, Sparkle |[14] Comments
If you think about it, what could be better than getting to meet new donkeys every week?
First, thanks to Denise for sharing her mini donkeys – Gunny and Harry – with us.
Gunny (Gunsmoke) is about 3 years old and Harry is 1-1/2. I “adopted” both of them from Linda Marchi at Seein’ Spots Farm near Los Olivos, California. She has many many more and I am so tempted every time I visit. We bought Harry as a 4-month-old so his mama, Flower, came along for a few months while we weaned him and he grew up a little. They are FUN FUN FUN!
Don’t they just make you want to melt? Incidentally, Denise’s sister is Di, The Blue Ridge Gal. Hi, Di! There’s an adorable baby picture of Harry on Di’s blog. Check it out here.
Second, from Mel in N.Y., we get to meet Toby’s and Tyler’s mammas!
Here are the proud mothers of Toby and Tyler. Sparkle, (gray spot) and Shyann (more often called Attitude Ann around here). Shying for two reasons, first, she is shy all the spots she is supposed to have, and two, shy is definitely NOT what she is, or ever has been!! Right from day one, she has believed that she was Queen, and every thing should be done just to please her. The day she was born, she rubbed against my legs and demanded that I pet her. If I was paying attention to some other donkey, she would push in between us and say pet ME! When she was 11 months old, she decided it was time for her to take over being boss of the herd and by the end of summer she had become Number 2 boss! Sparkle, her mother, and number one boss, just will not give in to her! That was a fun summer!My first rule in having a foal each year was to sell the foals when they were weaned. I broke that rule with Ann. She was so much fun, I decided to keep her until she was old enough to have a foal of her own and then sell her. Now that time has come, and I find that I can’t let her go ! She is still fun, and I’m too attached to her!
Just look at this happy, gorgeous family. (You can click on the picture below to see a larger image.)
I want to jump on a plane to New York right now…
Keep your positive stories, experiences and photos of donkeys and burros coming! Send them to us at morningbray@hotmail.com and we’ll post them here. ♥
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August 5, 2010
At least he didn’t turn the other cheek
Posted by Morning Bray under Burros | Tags: Nigel |[20] Comments
We know that all of our critters thrive on routine. Each morning, the boys get two baby carrots each after they’ve touched their nose to my hand. While distributing their yummy treats, I’ve been sneaking soft touches on Nigel’s forehead. I think at first he may not have realized I was touching him… perhaps because he was so focused on the delicious, crunchy par-tay in his mouth.
Over the past week, I’ve become more assertive about touching Nigel… the touches have turned from gentle, barely touches to full on scritches that I give to the other boys. I think he’s been okay with that for two reasons: 1) there’s a fence between me and him; and 2) he’s in the midst of a crowd.
I’ve also noticed that as we stand around their feed tub, it used to be that Nigel was okay standing there with Don or me as long as there was another donkey between Nigel and me or Don. Lately, Nigel’s been okay without the donkey barrier… just as long as we don’t try to reach out for him. That’s progress too.
Each day at lunchtime, I cut up one granny smith apple to share between the goats, sheep and donkeys. I’ve been sneaking Nigel scritches then too. Yesterday, when I moved my hand from Nigel’s forehead to his cheek, he was okay with it!
And that’s progress too! Just look at how calm he is. Woot-woot! ♥
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August 4, 2010
We’re not counting our chickens before they hatch…
Posted by Morning Bray under Birds, Burros, Donkeys, Farm | Tags: Alma, chicken coop, chickens, Jane, Joanie, Trixie |[33] Comments
…but we are talking about them.
After all the talk of fly control lately and some of you suggesting we should have chickens, we’re considering it. Mind you, just considering it.
Some of the things we’ve talked about:
With some changes and updates, our old shed might make a fine chicken coop.
If we do get chickens, they’ll be named after our favorite female characters in Deadwood. And, if we do get chickens, it won’t be until next year.
Of course, we asked the boys what they thought about having chickens. While Bernard was noncommittal, Ellsworth thought it was a good idea.
And while Fergus thought it might be cool,
Nigel thought the idea rocked. He even asked to borrow the book so he could do some more research on the topic.
What do you think?
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August 3, 2010
A new love affair and an engineering genius
Posted by Morning Bray under Albuquerque, Farm, New Mexico | Tags: ground squirrel, gumboots, Lenny, levee, monsoon |[18] Comments
This time of year, watching monsoon clouds gather over Albuquerque is an almost daily occurrence.
The monsoon is our summer rainy season. It runs from about late June or early July until mid-September, and generally brings us about 40 percent of our annual rainfall.
I began a new love affair at the beginning of this year’s monsoon. How did I ever live without gumboots?
Several of the boys’ favorite spots have turned into cesspools these last couple of weeks. This corner of the corral is was the donkey place to be, thanks to the fine sand that Lenny dug out when he built his nest. Until the monsoon started, this was prime real estate for donkey rolling at Morning Bray Farm.
Not so much now. This is so cool though. I’ve never been okay with walking in green funk before.
Lenny is constantly making changes to his abode based on current conditions. We’re wondering if the Army Corps of Engineers is hiring, because Lenny is an engineering genius. He built himself a levee. ♥
Morning Bray Farm 