Ellsworth | Morning Bray Farm

December 20, 2010

He always wants what he can’t have

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, donkey, Ellsworth, Fergus |
[32] Comments

Since Don’s Wednesday session with Nigel went for several hours, we made sure to put water and hay out to help lessen Nigel’s stress.

Just as soon as I had perched myself back up on the fence to watch Don work with Nigel, I looked over to see a familiar busybody doing his best to see what was on the other side of the fence. Notice that Fergus and Ellsworth are still eating their lunch in the background.

Bernard tried this way…

…and that… to get his little donkey lips on the water in the tub.

Don and I totally cracked up when out of desperation, Bernard stuck his tongue out in a last-ditch effort to reach the water. (Remember, you can click on any photo to embiggen it.)

Aah, finally… success. Mind you, Bernard had access to the water tub behind him the entire time.

Bernard: See Mamma?! I did it!

Ellsworth: What’cha up to, Bernard?

Bernard: Ellsworth, you’ve gotta try the water in this tub! It’s delish! I used my tongue!

Ellsworth: Well, have you tried unlatching the gate?

Bernard: No, but maybe I can move the tub over here for you…

Ellsworth: Tongue, shmongue, Bernard. Heck with this, I’m going to get a drink from our water tub.

Fergus: What’cha doin’, Bernard?

Bernard: This is the best water in the world, Fergus! You have to taste it!

Fergus: No way, Bernard. You know, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck!

Bernard: Gee whiz, why won’t anyone believe me?

December 8, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, Ellsworth |
[17] Comments

November 19, 2010

Synchronized

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, donkeys, Ellsworth |
[19] Comments

November 15, 2010

Blue skies

Posted by Morning Bray under Burros, Donkeys | Tags: Bernard, burros, donkeys, Ellsworth, Fergus, Nigel |
[37] Comments

November 12, 2010

Morning Bray’s new lead singer

Posted by Morning Bray under Burros, Donkeys | Tags: Ellsworth |
[22] Comments

October 26, 2010

The boys wish Don a happy birthday

Posted by Morning Bray under Burros, Donkeys, Friends and Family | Tags: Bernard, Don, donkeys playing, Ellsworth, Fergus, Nigel |
[15] Comments

After the football game on Sunday afternoon, Don and I parked our camp chairs out in the pasture so we could spend time with the boys.

While Fergus and Nigel were right there with us, their preference is still not to get too close when we’re sitting in chairs.

However, because it was Don’s birthday, Bernard and Ellsworth were in a celebratory mood.

There were lots of hugs…

…high fives…

…cheers…

…and the customary shenanigans.

All in all, it was a beautiful afternoon…

…with beautiful boys…

…Fergus and Nigel included. ♥

October 19, 2010

Ellsworth’s doing that mouth thing again

Posted by Morning Bray under Donkeys | Tags: Ellsworth |
[12] Comments

Look familiar? This is yesterday’s daily lineup. Honest to goodness, as always, the boys were in the same order and same direction.

And, as usual, Bernard was in a playful mood and was aggravating Fergus, who, along with Nigel, was trying to catch a few winks before dinner. For the first time in a while, Ellsworth was doing his mouth thing again.

Being that it was another beautiful fall day, I wanted to spend some time with the boys. I felt a bit like the Pied Piper leading them out to the pasture.

This shot of Ellsworth’s whiskers is for Cathy.

Ellsworth is ordinarily so relaxed, he’s practically horizontal. Look at the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

But there he goes with that mouth thing again. He only does this when flies are on his face.

Of course, Bernard’s always there when Ellsworth needs a hug.

And, as always, Bernard is ready to play.

October 10, 2010

Great family, great food and great fun

Posted by Morning Bray under Burros, Donkeys, Friends and Family | Tags: Bernard, Debbie, Derek, Don, Ellsworth, Fergus, Nigel |
[16] Comments

We just wrapped up a wonderful visit with Don’s sister, Debbie, and her boyfriend, Derek. Great family, great food and great fun made for a fantastic couple of days.

Debbie was smitten with Nigel, and Nigel with Debbie.

They spent a lot of time together, which was wonderful for Nigel.

Not to worry, though. There was plenty of love, attention and affection for everyone.

Ellsworth and his Aunt Debbie shared some laughs.

Debbie was so at ease with the boys. They knew they had it good with her here visiting. She’s a beautiful person, inside and out.

Just look at the smile on Ellsworth’s face.

His ears are another pretty good indicator of his happiness.

There aren’t too many things better in Ellsworth’s book than a good ear scratch.

Thank you, Aunt Debbie.

Bernard gave out lots of hugs…

… and had fun playing his donkey games with Derek.

It warmed my heart to see Fergus showing affection to both Debbie…

… and Derek. Fergus has come such a long way in such a short amount of time.

By the way, Derek is a phenomenal chef, a masterful bartender and an incredibly fun person to be with.

Before they left for the airport, Derek and Debbie presented us with this process flow map for dog barking at Morning Bray Farm. It’s spot on. ♥

October 7, 2010

So, what was he thinking?

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

When you last saw Bernard, he was mulling things over.

Because he was in a playful mood, he was contemplating what to do next. The sure sign that Bernard is in a playful mood is ears pinned back.

Another sure sign is donkey stink eye.

If he makes his ears disappear completely, you can be really sure he’s in a playful mood.

Stirring up the dirt is fun.

Look at how cute his nose is… covered with dirt.

Aggravating his brothers is great fun.

Even Fergus isn’t immune to Bernard’s antics.

Neither am I.

So much fun makes a donkey boy tired. Drop and roll is an excellent relaxation technique.

So is showing the world how incredibly cute and adorable he is.

Still LOVE the curled feet.

His ten-second power nap allowed me to take an aww photo. I’m not kidding about the ten seconds.

Like any two-year old, Bernard loves to draw. I’m not kidding about this either. He loves to pick up sticks and drag them around the corral. I think this is more to hear the sound of the stick dragging on the ground… same principle as the poop rake dragging the ground.

Right about now is when Bernard paused to mull things over yesterday. After contemplating for at least 30 seconds, he turned to me to ask, “Mamma, am I cute?”

Me: Of course you are, Bernard. Everyone knows you’re the cutest ass in the universe. ♥

September 29, 2010

Pudels and a namesake

Posted by Morning Bray under Dogs, Donkeys | Tags: childhood pet, childhood pets, dog, Ellsworth, Fete, Georgie, Gordy, Jolie, namesake, Poodle, poodles |
[17] Comments

In celebration of their marriage, my parents bought a miniature poodle puppy. They named her Fete… a French word meaning festival, celebration or party. This picture is of my daddy, me and Fete.

Fete lived to be 16 1/2 years old. ♥

“My” first dog was another poodle, whom we rescued. We named her Jolie, because she was so beautiful. Très jolie. ♥

My fond memories of Fete and Jolie make this next picture even more special for me. Meet Ellsworth and Gordy.

Gordy’s mom, Martina, recently acquired a donkey bank that she named Ellsworth because the bank has similar color to Ellsworth. According to Martina, Gordy has many characteristics like a donkey: sweet, good sense of humor and loves scritches. Gordy is a rescue, and like Ellsworth and Co, Gordy arrived at a very loving home.

Martina shared that sometimes she feels like adopting Gordy was the best thing she’s ever done for herself. His grin makes her heart happy. ♥ ♥ ♥

This picture is of Gordy, formally known as Gordon Lightfoot vonPudel (Martina gave him a classy name to make up for his neglected/abused puppyhood), and Georgie, formally known as Georgie Tara. Georgie is Martina’s other poodle; she’ll be 13 next month. Gordy is très handsome and Georgie is très jolie. Hugs to you two!

I’ve always found there isn’t much middle ground for most folks when it comes to poodles. Love them or not, in many circles, poodles are regarded as the second most intelligent breed of dog after the border collie, and before the German Shepherd. The breed is believed to have originated in Germany, where it is known as the pudel… and standardized in France, where it was commonly used as a water retriever.

What was your childhood pet and what was his or her name? If you have photos that you’d like to share, email them to morningbray@hotmail.com and I’ll post them here. ♥