Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Let Sleeping Donkeys Lie...


So this morning I'm leaving to go  to work about 6am.   I cut an apple in half for the boys and as usual, if I don't see them up in the top part of the pasture, I'll just leave the apple halves on two fence posts for them later.

But wait, there is Pancho lying under their shed.  I call out to him, nothing.   I figure he's snoozing so I go to the gate and open it.   Not worrying about how much noise I make, hoping it will rouse him and Lefty.

Still nothing, I walk all the way up to him and he is clearly asleep with his eyes open, by this time Lefty (who is laying facing the opposite direction is turning around to look at me and is starting to get up.   I hold the apple half up to Pancho's nose and he stands up awake (or so I think)

He takes half the apple and puts it in his mouth.  Now I should tell you, normally, Panchy is the aggressive eater what with his big mouth.  Today, though he delicately takes the apple from my hand.

Almost as soon as he took the apple, it fell out of his mouth totally unscathed.   It's as if his mouth was still asleep.   The apple dropped and Lefty was 'Johnny on the Spot' and got the apple half and began munching on it right away.

Pancho by that time had woken up enough to take the other half of apple out of my hand and began eating it.

I got a good chuckle out of Pancho's mouth not waking up at the same time he did.

I read up on Donkey sleeping habits today.  If they lay down to sleep it means they feel at ease and comfortable in their surroundings.   If they are in the wild, they always sleep standing up in order to be able to fend off any danger straight away.   It makes me feel glad that the donkeys feel comfortable in their pasture to sleep laying down.

I'll just let them sleep next time...

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Do Dah Day....

So a friend suggested that we should take Pancho and Lefty to Do Dah Day.   I love going to Do Dah Day, but trying to take Pancho and Lefty there?  Not so much....

Let's look at the facts:

1. When we first brought them home it took 1 1/2 hours to get them on the trailer before we could leave their old home.   Definitely don't want to do that again.

2.  They boys aren't lead trained at all.   They don't even like to get brushed for God's sakes, you think they would follow us on a lead?

3.  They tend to be a little shy around folks until you get to know them.   Heck, even some days (like yesterday afternoon) they treat me like a stranger.   I suspect that will get better with time.

Now, as some of you might know if you follow our Facebook feeds, we are getting some new additions to our little blossoming farm in early June.  Not in time for this year's Do Dah Day, but maybe next year.   Bonnie and Clyde (Yes they already have names) are two infant Pygmy Goats that we are getting.   Now, they might be the right size to take to Do Dah Day, and we have a year to get them lead trained.

Lead training is one thing, but potty training?  That's totally out of the question, so we have decided that if we do take them to Do Dah Day, we will need help, so we are trying to enlist Lori's daughter and her best friend to act as the 'Bonnie and Clyde Environmental Impact Team'  We'll even get them shirts to wear as they walk behind us and pick up any 'accidents'

Meanwhile, Pancho and Lefty will stay at home and in their pasture where they can do their own thing, on their own time...   And that sometimes involves giving us a 'Razzberry' as you can see from Lefty's picture below.    If you are in Birmingham on Saturday May 18th, head out to Southside and partake in all the fun that is Do Dah Day...  It's a great day for animals in Birmingham and they have great music too.  

Here is a link to their website...



Sunday, April 21, 2013

Sunday Afternoon Dilemma...

Well there you have it, the classic Mexican Standoff.   The Sweet Feed (oh the glorious sweet feed) is so close, yet just out of the frame is Lori standing with the bottle of Fly Spray we bought and have been trying to spray on the boys.

We thought today that I would bring the sweet feed into the paddock and Lori would play the bad cop and spray them with the fly spray when the started eating. Well how do you think that went?

The Donkeys won this round, but we will keep trying.    Just like they still don't like getting brushed, it will only take one time for them to realize just how good it makes them feel.  

Life with Pancho and Lefty is never boring.  In fact, it's often the biggest chuckle we get all day.


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

In the absence of Peppermint, Vanilla Wafers will apparently do quite well...

OK, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that our donkeys are spoiled.   Totally and indisputably spoiled.

I came home from getting gas for the lawn mower this evening to witness the aftermath of the video you see above.   We ran out of peppermints and I (trying to be the good donkey owner) have been giving the boys 1/2 an apple in the morning before I leave to go to work.

Lori (being the 'enabler' donkey owner) has been giving them Vanilla Wafers as a treat.   As you can see from the video, they apparently like them a lot.

And if you look at the picture below, it appears that there must be some sort of 'Donkey Narcotic' in them, as Pancho looks a little glassy eyed in the photo.

Anyone know a Donkey Interventionist?  We might need their services soon...


Sunday, April 14, 2013

Rainy Sunday morning, boredom ensues...

So it's a rainy Sunday morning.  When you are are donkey that really hates to get wet, that means boredom under the shelter.   I looked out from the deck and saw Pancho standing under the shelter I built them.  It makes me happy that they use it to protect themselves from the elements, but today, the look on Panch's face looked just like a kid at the window on a rainy day longing to go out and play.

Lefty?  He might be under the shelter on the other side of his buddy, but he doesn't mind the rain as much.  He will get wet and love it, in fact, I've seen him rolling in the mud on occasion.

I guess I will be looking out the window today as well.  There are a ton of projects to do outside, but the rain will keep me from doing them.    I might go to the workshop and finish the Herb planter I'm building for Lori, that's a nice 'inside' chore I can do.

Enjoy your Sunday, whether it be rainy or sunny...

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Fresh Water... and improvised toys.

So I went out to check on the boys this morning and I found their water bucket (The yellow one in the picture above) about half way down the upper part of the pasture.   Someone must have knocked it over and then decided to have a kickball game with it.

Also, one of their sweet feed buckets was destroyed too. 

They want to play with things that aren't their toys and totally ignore their toys.   

We read online that some folks buy cheap hula hoops and their donks will play with them all day long.  Ours?  They have not even touched the Dollar General hoops once since we put them out in the pasture for them.

As for the weed cloth that we put down under the mulch for Raychel's wedding back in November?  Every bit of it pulled up and used as 'tug of war' ropes.

I'm going to try to find a piece of thick cotton rope (you know the kind you used to have to climb up in gym class) for them to play tug of war with.   Will they use it?   Probably not, but it will at least make me feel better knowing I gave them something as a toy.

Anybody got any ideas for toys to try for them?  They will be happy to ignore them too, I'm sure.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Having a pasture with rolling hills is a double edged sword...

Our pasture is only 4 1/2 acres, but it drops down towards the bottom quite a bit.   The terrain isn't steep, but it does roll and drop off into a tree line at the bottom.  Pancho and Lefty spend a good bit of time up near the house and it is always a treat to go out in the morning to leave for work and be able to spend a few minutes with them.

Other days, they are off down in the 'lowland' as we refer to it, down in the thicket of trees near our spring which gives them water down on that end.   We can't see them when they are down there, so it always causes a bit of trepidation.   "Did they get out of the fence?"   And then I start the mental inventory...

"Did I patch that place in the fence?"  

"Did I leave the gate open?"

And then I realize, that even if any of those things might have occurred  these boys are probably not going anywhere.    I give them peppermints for God's sake!!!

So this morning was one of those mornings.   Lori and I rode together as her sister is leaving to go out of town today.   Usually if I don't see them when I leave early, she will see them when she leaves a little later.  But today they were nowhere to be seen.   Most likely snoozing down in the treeline after a hard night of protecting the pasture from coyotes and rabbits.

I kept the peppermints I had in my pocket for them to myself...   I'm sorta addicted to them too.


Monday, April 8, 2013

When the gnats are buzzing, a donkey's gotta do what a donkey's gotta do...




OK, so this is some interesting behavior.  We were out watering the garden and I looked up and saw this.  It was like some sort of 'Preen-Off' going on.   The gnats have really been bothering them, (us too) so I guess is their way to cope with it.

A friend has recommended some spray that they make for horses, we'll have to get some and try it.   Anyone know any 'old wives tales' remedies for gnats and flies?

I've come to realize that Peppermint is like Crack to a Donkey...

I've created a monster.   Thanks to my friend Nancy at work, I bought some of those soft 'King Leo' peppermint candies and we use that as a small treat for the donks.   Well let me tell you, you would have thought I had just imported something really special from South America what with the way they come running for them.

I make sure that I always get the first one and the last one for myself (I want to keep Pancho and Lefty in their place in the pecking order in the pack (tongue firmly planted in cheek there)) and I will give them each 1 or 2 peppermints when I go out to the fence to see them in the evening.   Pancho (who we refer to as the 'special' donkey because of his shyness) has taken to craning his neck way out over the fence in order to receive his treat.  After we are done with the treats they continue to smell my hands looking for another sweet morsel, and if I put the wrappers in my pants pocket, they smell my leg and look for more.

We don't give them sweet feed but about every other day or so, as we don't want them to over indulge,  because Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers don't have weight loss plans for donkeys.  The peppermint was supposed to be a little 'Amuse-Bouche' (a small bite sized appetizer) in between their feedings, but Lefty creates a loud ruckus lumbering across the pasture toward the fence and his little treat.  They are truly like junkies for it.

I hope there isn't ever a peppermint shortage.  I might just be in trouble.

A beginning, what better place is there to start?

It was mentioned to me that our newly adopted donkeys should have their own blog.  Well, here goes.

I suspect this blog won't be only about Pancho and his 'pal' Lefty, but will include snippets from our other 4 legged 'children' (or boarders, or nuisances, or inspirations) that inhabit the 5 1/2 acres we like to refer to as 'Stately Covington Manor' as an homage to Lori's late Mother who always wanted a place out in the country with a menagerie of animals wandering about.

With that we begin...  I hope you like the ride.   It might get bumpy from time to time.