Shedding Out Is Hard To Do (sung to "Making Up Is Hard To Do")

Almost June, hot days, and little donkeys are holding on to their winter coats.

Fran is playing peek-a-boo under that blanket of hair.

At long last

Finally, the days have arrived.  I can stroll down the driveway in the mornings in my pj's and flip flops to feed the donks.  A morning delight.
Stroll = casual amble, as it were.

Newfound freedom

So, here's the scoop.  A new rescue dog (Gunner) joined the family about two months ago and when he recovered from his heartworm treatment, was charging like a bullet out of the house and right down the driveway to places unknown.  And, he started taking our other dog, Dudley with him.  Not good.  Not good at all.

So handy Rick put in 600' of fencing to come off the donkey yard and surround our house with plenty of room for two black dogs to run like maniacs. That also meant a gate had to go across the driveway.  Not so convenient, but necessary.

When the donkey yard gate is open and the driveway gate is closed, three donkeys, in addition to two black dogs, are enclosed.  They are delighted to be able to wander over another acre of land, but it's a devil to chase them through the woods when it's time to come back in!

We've had a wet, cold spring which translates into a mediocre pasture.  We don't dare let them out yet for fear it will be eaten down to nubs in no time flat.  So, as we did last year at the end of the summer season, we're letting them out on the nice long grass along the driveway.  And they are loving it.

 Here three little donkeys say, "May we please got out and much that sweet grass?"  I obliged.  About 30 minutes later I went to corral them back in and Fran (far right), being the sweetie she is, led everyone straight back into the donkey yard.  I told them what good donkeys they are, but promptly closed all gates!

The Pied Piper's Got Nothing On Me

Oh, how I wish someone had been around to video tape the donkeys at dinner feed.

I needed to empty the wheelbarrow before cleaning up, so let them out, and started trudging down the driveway through the snow to "the pile".  Fran had come up to me first, as she always does, to say hi.  She decided to join me in my little walk, and when I looked behind, there were all three following along in a single file line.  At the point I stopped, we were maybe 50 feet from the road and I was putting together a strategy to shoo them the other way.  No such strategy needed.  They waited for me (Fran right on my backside) and started back with me.  Gabs and Luigi decided to stop and catch a quick bite of weed sticking through, so had to issue a strong "Git!" to get them back on track.  They politely trotted right back into their yard.

What a team!

Musings

The farrier came out Friday, skated across the ice, and took a look at everybody's feet.  No one needed trimming.  If my records are correct, the last she was here was late September.  That's 5 months!  Now Natural's hooves keep growing over the winter.  A mystery indeed.

We've gone from a sheet of ice up the driveway and in front of the donkey gate to a few inches of snow.  So tired of slogging through the mess.  One minute the inside of the shed is part lake and the next it's frozen pockets of uneven dirt. So, so difficult to clean.

Our newest addition to the family, Gunner, is not appreciated by the donkeys.  A 3-year old rescue dog (part Rottweiler, part Bermese Mt. dog) he's a little too rambunctious for their taste.  However, they've put up with Dudley's shenanigans from the beginning.  Although there was a bit of posturing between Luigi and Dudley at one time, it was never serious.  Last week Gunner charged the donkeys and they took off down the driveway vocalizing like I've never heard before.  I think it was a red flag distress call.  I stood there trying to decide what action to take, when Gunner comes high-tailing back down the driveway with the donkeys in hot pursuit.  Took a bit of clucking and soothing to get them calmed down.  Later, I was able to get Gunner to gently make nose contact with Luigi through the gate.  The relationship has smoothed out a bit, thank goodness.

Oh My, Oh My, The Gate is Closed

The three amigos put on quite a display tonight at dinner time.  I let them out to wander the driveway while I rolled the wheelbarrow to the dumping site.  They followed, but then kept going toward the road so I herded them back in the opposite direction.  They took off at a run down the driveway toward the gate to their yard, then turned around and were flying back toward me, bellowing in voices I've never heard before.  Back and forth, back and forth, running and kicking.  As I got closer to the melee I discovered the source of the crisis -- the wind had blown the gate closed and they were shut out!  For the three donks it truly was a horrific situation.

I could only shake my head in amusement at their antics.  

Those Silly Donks -- It's Not Myrtle Beach!

We're experiencing a deep cold snap here in SE Michigan and I've been worried about my 26-yr old horse, Natural, and to a lesser extent the donks.  Well, worry no more.  On my way back to the house from the post office today about noon I stopped to throw some extra hay for the donks.  I put it in the shed assuming they'd want to huddle inside while eating.  Ha!

Fran and Gabby went in, broke off a mouthful and went to stand outside in the snow to eat it.  Luigi didn't seem at all interested in this mid-day snack.  He was busy following me to the gate to see if I'd let him out to nibble on bushes.

These Mediterranean beasts don't know they're supposed to be miserable in this weather.