Hello

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Bernard and Buck1

Bernard and Buck2

Bernard and Buck3

Bernard and Buck4

Bernard and Buck5

Bernard and Buck6

Bernard and Buck7

Bernard and Buck8

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“Oh, I love hugging. I wish I was an octopus, so I could hug 10 people at a time!”

~Drew Barrymore (and Bernard)

Bernard and Buck

For the first time on Tuesday evening, Gracie let me rub her back until my arms got tired. After that, I figured last night was a good time to try taking things one step further by brushing her.

By Gracie, she got it!

Good girl, Gracie!

I talked to her the whole time and told her how beautiful she is:

And how proud of her we are:

I also had to explain to her that she’s now joining the ranks of those at Morning Bray Farm who love to be brushed.

Witness Patrick. He came over and backed right up so that I would brush his butt:

And lookee here. Buckaroo too:

And, as if all that wasn’t exciting enough, Don’s been working with Nigel on his feet:

It’s all for the love of donkeys! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Oh, how our little roan has grown.

Summer is coming and he has a task,

He needs to be fitted for his first fly mask.

It fit him perfectly,

He’s so proud,

Now he can say he’s one of the crowd.

 ♥ ♥ ♥

And you too…

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. ♥ ♥

October 2011

The surprise and cuteness of Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe… and Juan:

 The privilege of watching this magnificent creature stand for the first time:

Welcoming our loveable and huggable Buck to Morning Bray Farm:

November 2011

The joy of Nigel’s monumental moment. At long last:

Watching Buck sleep-drool:

I think this was one of your favorites:

December 2011

The teamwork required to carry the heaviest traffic cone in the history of the world:

The happiness of having a cohesive and content herd:

Being grateful for the unexpected love and laughter they all bring to us each and every day:

Priceless. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Tell me that Buck isn’t laughing at Patrick.