THEY'RE BACK........!!!

I'm surprised they are working on Saturday, but they got here before 7am this morning.  Unfortunately they are use to working in Tucson not in 17 degree morning temperatures, so John and I went on a mission to find gloves for the ones that didn't have any.  The sun's out now and it's warming up, but isn't going to get to 60 today.  John set up a burn barrel, so they can at least warm up a little bit.

This is what the courtyard looked like yesterday when they left.  Last night they left the flagstone in the driveway where they laid it out to seal it.  John explained the donkeys would be out over night, it was the least we could do, since they had been in all day yesterday.  At least we had a real nice couple from San Diego come out for a visit, so they got to do their "entertain the people" routines in exchange for timothy pellets.

Cesar said he didn't think it would be a problem and doubted that they would break the flagstone even if they did walk on it.  

They did............John said Ruger, Wister and Ruthie were walking on the slabs before he came in from letting them out of the pens at bedtime.  Total breakage, 5 pieces.......at least they didn't shatter them, just broke them in smaller pieces..........!!!  John caught Lynn walking on them this morning when he went out.  

They are busy laying flagstone this morning.  Another guy is working on the wood trim, sanding and sealing.  Some of it was really in bad shape.

They came this morning just as John was rounding donkeys up to go in their pens.  Some of the donkeys decided they'd rather stay out and not take a chance on having to stay in their pens today.  John had to actually halter and drag 3 or 4 of them. 

I doubt if the workers will be back tomorrow, which is Sunday, so hopefully the "fur" kids will get a chance to run around, more like normal.  

Doug and his son Conor are coming out this morning to metal detect our driveway.  The driveway actually use to be part of the old Butterfield freight trail.  I don't know if it was from San Manuel or somewhere else north.  We've found oxen shoe,  and part of a bit, so hopefully they'll find some goodies.  

CHAOS ABOUNDS HERE TODAY......!!!

Today started out at 7AM with about 8 or 9 workers, 3 big trucks and 2 pick-ups showing up, ready to redo the outside of the house and redo the courtyard with flagstone instead of saltillo tile.  They are in the courtyard, taking up the tile, out in back working on refinishing the wood trim  Unloading supplies..............hmmm........long term that is going to be interesting.  The donkeys were out when the parade arrived and the ones in the area stood in stunned silence at this insult to their quiet peaceful world.  Boaz is still not having any of it, if stares and glares could get rid of them, they'd be gone........!!!  

But they have a big pile of sand on a tarp, flagstone laying here and there, tools scattered everywhere........and the donkeys are still in their pens from breakfast.  BlackJack was out when they drove in and opened the backs of the trucks to start unloading.  He was right there with his big black head in the truck to see if they brought anything interesting.  He has been known to rip open concrete bags, all that were available, because one of them HAD to have something good in it.  That's how we learned about using corral panels to protect tools and supplies, many years ago.  

We only have 4 extra corral panels to "protect" stuff, so we'll have to see how they leave everything this afternoon, hopefully everything will be in one area we can surround with four 12 foot corral panels.  As it is I'm thinking of keeping the donkeys in today, if we can stand the screaming and yelling.  They know when they are being mistreated and don't take it without letting us know.  I think it would be easier to move...........!!!  LOL

NOT SURE HOW THIS WILL WORK OUT......!!!

We have 6 cats total, 4 in the house and Hobo and Julius are outdoor 1/2 feral.  Hobo is momma to two of the indoor cats, and Julius is their brother.  Hobo won't get in anything for shelter, she just lays on the back porch on a rug.  I put a box out there with a rug in it in this last cold snap we had.  Low and behold she actually has gotten use to laying in it.  The sides are short so she can see all directions.   

Somewhere I read about a Hamburger Cat bed and thought well maybe she would get in that.  Ordered one, received it today, unpacked it, set it on the floor and this is how it has looked for the last 3 or so hours......................!!!! 

Now what do I do.........????   Doesn't look like Nigel is going to give it up anytime soon.  I'm not even sure Hobo will get in it after he's "smelled" it all up.  Looks like I'll be ordering some more hamburger beds............LOL

Today was a bountiful day as far as packages are concerned, I also got a book I had been wanting to read.

 YOU CAN'T SAY I DON'T HAVE AN ALL ENCOMPASSING READING INTEREST...

I've been hearing about helicopter parents that hover over their little ones to the point of smothering them and their daily lives.   There was an interview on TV the other day of this woman and some others that Free Range their kids.  I just had to see what they are doing so different than what seems to be the norm these days.   Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but have a feeling it's going to sound like my childhood...........!!!!!   LOL  I never realized I was being "free ranged", but I certainly had a lot of freedom to accomplish or fail.  

The other book I just finished.   It written by the owner of the local sale barn.  We've known Mike for years, just didn't know he was a writer.  Well this is his first attempt and I must say, I found it very interesting.  If you want to read short stories about a way of life that's pretty much disappeared, you might find this good reading.   We met him years ago, before we had a stock trailer of our own.  We needed to take a donkey to the vet for an emergency and didn't know anyone that had a trailer.  On a whim I called the sale barn, thought they might know someone.  Mike answered the phone, I explained our problem, and he said to come on over he had a trailer we could borrow.  He didn't know us from Adam, didn't even take our name, just helped hook up the trailer and sent us on our way on a hand shake.  We found out later, it wasn't even his trailer, it was one someone was storing at his place.  Not sure if that was good or bad, but after a lifetime of dealing with people, he obviously still has trust in his fellow man. 

SECRET SANTA......???

Got this off Facebook, don't know who Carole Powell is, but this is wonderful......!!

Today we went to a funeral for a 22 year old woman that fell while enjoying the great outdoors.  No parent should ever have to bury a child.  What a waste, she was a lovely young lady that wanted to help others less fortunate, as her life's work and will be missed judging from the many people attending her service.  

This evening we were rounding up and feeding right before dark, and the dogs started barking.  That's not unusual, John says Niki barks every time the neighbor coughs.  It's not quite that bad, besides our neighbors aren't that near.  

Anyway we usually look down the driveway when they bark, just in case.  We noticed a car out there, but didn't think much about it, as we are always expecting FedEx and UPS and have a large container out by the driveway for them to leave boxes in, so the donkeys can't get to them.  This time of year they use contract drivers that use their own vehicles to deliver.  Sure enough I saw someone get out and go towards the container.  So I finished what I was doing, jumped in the golf cart and went out to see what they brought.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at the container and saw a $20 bill stuck under a rock on top.  No boxes inside.........!!!!  I guess someone wanted to buy the donkeys some extra carrots for the holidays, I do wish they had come in so we could thank them.  Hopefully they will see this blog.

Gigi seems to be getting a little better, I know she's already looking forward to her graham cracker, applesauce sandwich with j-herb in it.  She gets that twice a day and anxiously watches when I come out of the house and head for the pen area.  I might add Rosie watches about as anxiously, their pens are side by side.  I've explained to her that Gigi is getting medicine that she doesn't need.  I don't think Rosie wants the medicine but she'd sure like to get hold of that graham cracker..........!!!

PEPPER HAVING A "SNACK"

Not my choice of snack, but he's spent most of the morning since we let him out, abusing this poor prickly pear.  I don't know how they do it or why, but it seems to be important at certain times of the year.  Not sure what vitamins or minerals are in prickly pear.  They don't bother the barrels or the cholla at all.  In the spring and fall they will come in with greasewood i.e. creosote bush breath too.  According to the vets I've talked to, they won't eat greasewood........guess this bunch didn't get the message.......LOL 

GIGI

Gigi has been struggling since Tyler took the shoe off her right front foot.   I checked her foot a couple of days ago, it's not hot, started at her shoulder and felt all the way down to her foot.  Didn't find anyplace that was ouchy, so I don't know what's going on.  I've got a call in for Tyler, but haven't heard back so far.  She's laying down like she did when she first came here.  Hopefully she isn't getting an abscess.  I can't imagine trying to soak her foot, although she did let me lift her foot to make sure she didn't have something caught in the bottom.  Of course that was after John put her in the "redneck" squeeze, she just will not allow us to do anything with her out of the squeeze.

This year for Thanksgiving we went to some friend's house and had a great time.  Unfortunately when you go out  for  the holiday there isn't any leftovers, which John is always ready to tell me about.  SIGH......!!!  I promised him that I would fix him a holiday dinner sometime between  Thanksgiving and Christmas.   Well I looked up and discovered Christmas is coming pretty quick.  So today is the day I make good on my promise.  I cheated by cooking a turkey breast and getting John  2 drumsticks, since he loves the drumsticks and sandwiches.  And I'm cooking all the other stuff that goes with it, dressing, potatoes, gravy, waldorf salad, and of course pie.  Was going to do pumpkin pie, one of his favorites, but my frozen pie crust looked like a road map with all the cracks.  You can use a cracked, put together crust with a pudding filling, not with pumpkin.  I learned years ago the crust will float to the top, which makes for an interesting visual.  So it's one of my favorites, chocolate........!!!  LOL

Needless to say for 2 people there's going to be a lot of leftovers, I've never been able to cook, just a little bit of all that stuff, so John should be thrilled for the next few days......!!!!

Our cold, high humidity weather lately has been hard on old Pepper.  His knees are really bad, but it doesn't stop him from wandering all over the place, I just hate to see him gimping around.  I put a cover on his worst knee a couple of days ago, and it seems to be helping.  

RAINY DAY AGAIN.......!!!

Well, maybe rainy is a little much, it's mostly been dreary, windy with occasional 2 minute sprinkles.  This morning when we got up it was 50 degrees, it is now time to do evening chores and it's 50 degrees.........!!!!  This afternoon it was a little warmer, but not much.  John said it wasn't going to rain, so I've been making fun of his weather reporting abilities.  

Of course the donkeys are grumpy, I went out this afternoon to make sure the heater was on in the feed room, and about half of them were standing in the "rain", I yelled at Cisco and told him he had a perfectly good shelter in his pen.  Unfortunately when I looked in his pen there were 4 mini donkeys already in his shelter.  There are plenty of places to get in out of the wind and rain, but a lot of them just turn their butts to the weather and wait it out.  

This is Rosie last January , with her pones and bubble butt

I took a picture of Rosie this morning to compare to what she looked like last January when she came here.  She is still a "little too short for her weight", but we are headed in the right direction.  She's lost the lumps and her tail is no longer embedded in her fat rump.  YIPPEE..........!!! 

GRADUATION DAY FOR GIGI.........!!!

Well Tyler is giving it a try.  This is little Gigi's shoe off her right front foot.  It will be a year next month, since we picked her and Rosie up, to keep them from being shot and buried.  

This is what her feet looked like when we picked her up.

 This is how her feet look today

As long as she doesn't start trying to turn that right front foot backwards, she won't have to wear the shoe again.  The other 3 feet although they looked pretty gnarly last year, never tried to turn backwards or anything like that.  She still isn't a very good candidate for farrier care........LOL  Let's put it this way, every time Tyler comes he seems to think she should be friendlier.  I think that on a regular basis too, but so far she's not interested in giving up her independence.

This morning John almost had a mess.  Coquette is trying to entertain the boys and this morning when John was putting everyone in their pens, she came into Pepper's pen, which is beside her pen.  Pepper picked up on the subject and started trying to figure out his plan of attack.  Unfortunately Pancho was also at the ready.  John said it didn't take long for Pancho to decide to get rid of the competition, by lunging at Pepper with his mouth open.  John started yelling, I asked him if he threw himself in front of Pepper to protect him.  Guess not, looking at a mouthful of donkey teeth seemed to make him think yelling would take care of the problem, luckily it did.  Well except for Pepper, he was still trying to figure out his next move once Pancho left the area..........!!! 

REALLY.......??? RAIN.............!!!!!

A rather weird time of year for rain, it's about a month early.  It spit and spat all day, I doubt that we got much accumulation, it was just enough to be nasty.  Of course we had to go out in it to take Penny for her dental appointment with Dr. Debra this afternoon.  Besides a little rain it was chilly and windy all day too.  Notice I said we, rather than one or the other, like we thought we'd have to do.  Our early appointment got changed to 12:30, which is almost a perfect time for us. 

We decided to just do her in the trailer, at least it was relatively dry and cut down on the wind whistling around our heads.  John was outside the trailer and finally got behind it to get out of the wind.  

Dr. Debra tried to do Penny without a happy shot, but finally gave up.  She had some hooks that needed to be ground down left over from when she got a tooth pulled a couple of months ago.  By the time the tooth got pulled everyone was ready to quit and wait until later for a check-up, which was today.  Her mouth smells nasty, somewhat like chicken manure.  Where her jaw has been broke there are two teeth lined up front and back, with a space of about 1/4 inch between them, that is collecting mush when she eats.  I guess it just sits in there and rots until it falls out or she takes in enough water in her mouth to rinse it out.  If she was easier to work with I could probably go in there every day with a small screwdriver, or maybe even a tooth pick and pick it out.  But I don't think that's going to happen with her. 

I doubt that Penny will ever be easy to work with, she is just too suspicious of people.  When we first got her she would use her front feet as weapons, now she just uses her head and of course being evasive.  

We didn't take Coquette this time, and when we got home, Penny flew out of the trailer and started running around braying.  Coquette was off someplace and came running as fast as she could to their reunion.  It's wonderful when they are bonded like that, but it can be traumatic when they get separated too.

Before we left this morning, John came in and said Pepper was choked.........sigh....!!!  All he gets is a mush, but somehow he managed to plug up his esophagus, and it was farther down than the throat.  I worked with him for awhile and although he didn't seem stressed he was still choked when we left.  I gave him a shot of banamine before I left and he was laying down looking around.  I told Dr. Debra I had given him banamine, so she gave me a couple of shots of xylazine, which is the next step up I guess,  in case he was still having trouble when we got home.

Thankfully he was up and chewing on mesquite leaves knocked down by the wind, when we got home.  I asked John how he was doing during round up for feeding and John said he was trying to knock him down with his head, so I guess he's back to normal.

 
We've been putting a blanket on him in the morning when it's 25-30 degrees right before the sun comes up.  Within an hour or so it's warming up and we take it off.  He will stand real still for you to adjust it, so I think he appreciates it.  I have a regular equine blanket for him, but if I put it on him at night, he'd have to stay in his pen, and believe me THAT would NOT work.  He has his routine and it does NOT include staying in his pen any longer than eating takes. 

2014 IS ALMOST OVER........!!!

We have one of these, named Snooky.  So far he hasn't figured out how to get the roll off the holder, but he can sure cover the floor with little fluffy pieces of toilet paper.

I can't believe we are still putting fly masks on, the donkeys that have immune issues.  The few flies left after our 20+ degree mornings, have no problem finding those and if we don't put the masks on, they end up with goopy eyes.  

The last few days have gone so smoothly, it's almost boring, no major crisis' or minor catastrophes, "knock on wood".  I don't mind the crisis', but I appreciate it when the donkeys with issues are having good days. 

Penny goes in this week to have Dr. Debra evaluate her teeth and see if there is anything else that can be done to make her mouth better.  I'm sure Penny isn't going to appreciate this attention.  Last time it took almost an hour to pull a bad tooth, and I'm sure she remembers the experience very well.  It also looks like one of us will be hauling her, rather than the usual both of us.  Our appointment is at 9am in town about 13 miles away.  We try to get appointments between 11am and 2pm, but that isn't always possible.  With 24 animals to feed and take care of, especially this time of year when they don't want to move until the sun is up and warm, early doesn't work for us.  So I guess one will haul and one will round up and feed, haven't decided who does what yet though. 

GETTING COLDER......!!!

 CUTE BABY WITH MOMMA

It was 16 degrees this morning.  I'm sure there are people in other parts of the country that get tired of hearing my whining, BUT.......... I'm a desert rat, I have neither the clothes or the thick blood for these temperatures and I'm not going to be silent about my displeasure........!!!  LOL 

The donkeys aren't willing to come in when it's cold.  They find a spot that gets early morning sunshine and there they stand, no matter how many times John rings the bell.  Usually we go ahead and feed the ones we have and then John goes out to rout the hold outs away from their nice warm spot.  Tula is particularly irritating.  She will ignore any efforts to get her to come in until the last minute.  Then she will show up, run in her pen, turn around and start yelling at you.  We haven't figured out if she is yelling to say, "here I am", or if she's yelling because her food isn't waiting for her.  Grrr.....!!!  

This morning Cisco didn't show up at all, even after everyone else had been fed.  That was worrisome, Cisco usually doesn't go very far and shows up pretty quick.  So John went out looking for him.  Finally found him standing in a nice warm sunny spot.  Cisco's got real bad legs from being a roping donkey in a roping school.  He gets along pretty good, most of the time, but I would imagine these cold mornings make his legs hurt.  He was moving pretty slow.  Pepper's not walking much better.  I'm sure they both have arthritis along with all their other problems.  

John's started cutting up hay for Cheyenne again.  For months all she's been getting is mush, but she started picking up little pieces of the other mini's hay when we'd let her out of her pen.  So John is giving her a handful each feeding.  All she does is chew it up and spit it out as little quids, but I guess she enjoys it.  Someone comes along and eats them later................YUCK!  

Still putting fly masks on about 6 of them that the flies bother.  There aren't many flies left thank goodness, but the few still around prefer those donkeys eyes.  I even had to put Cisco back on benedryl, his sheath got warm and he started scooting on it, which makes it bloody, etc, etc.........!!!  Two days of benedryl and everything is good, well except for doctoring the scooting scrapes.  

BRRRRRRR........!!!

 HOW CUTE IS THIS?

Eighteen degrees this morning 21 degrees yesterday.  But, in the desert those cold temps don't usually last long.  Yesterday was nice, sunny and warm, today looks like it will be a repeat.  Too bad we couldn't put off chores until about 9 or 10am.  Don't think the donkeys would allow that.......!!!

I picked up my super duper fly trap this morning, the one that seems to be real good at catching lots of stable flies.  A couple of days ago I noticed a praying mantis on the outside, waiting for flies to land where she could get to them.  Yesterday morning she was still hanging on the side in the cold.  I guess she warmed up enough to move yesterday afternoon, because she was gone last night and wasn't there this morning.  I'm not sure about the life cycle of praying mantis.  I know this time of year we see lots of big fat ones, which I think are females with eggs.  It seems that they probably lay their eggs, maybe in the ground, I don't know and then die in the cold.  One of these days when I run out of things to do, maybe I'll look it up.  I've seen little tiny ones less than half an inch long earlier in the summer.  If they only live one season they sure grow quick, since most of the ones we see this time of year are 4 inches long or more.  

Since it's getting cold the starvation rations have been upped, much to Rosie, Coquette and some of the others pleasure.  Rosie is quite a "beaver", she will chew on just about anything wood and has started dismantling her plastic water bucket.  I don't know that she is that hungry, she doesn't try to run John down when she sees the hay bucket.  She is very nervous for a donkey, and I'm not sure her chewing doesn't have something to do with her personality.  It's not cribbing, actually I don't know if donkeys crib, never heard of one.  

Cisco is the only one getting doctored now.  I'm still putting Animas in his left ear.  It's much better and doesn't have that YUCKY smell.  Because of the gooey texture of the Animas I can't tell if the ear is dried out or not.  I'll doctor for a few more days and then see what happens.

Pepper is still getting Tucoprim and we haven't heard him cough, so I guess whatever he had is going or gone.  It's been 5 days which is the minimum for giving antibiotics, so a couple more days will just be a little extra insurance.  

Well, it looks like my racing days are probably over.  We were told at the driver's meeting Saturday night that the track had been leased by USAC for 3 years.  USAC runs open wheel cars like sprints, 1/4 midgets, not stock cars.  The latest rumor is we're done, USAC will only run 6-9 programs a year and we won't be part of the program.  Unfortunately the closest dirt track is at Casa Grande, half way to Phoenix.  It's exactly 120 miles from our gate, the reason I know that is we raced up there years ago, when we had less donkeys and were younger.............LOL  If we went up there I would have to race Bombers or factory stocks or something like that.  Nothing wrong with that, but I've got a perfectly good Hornet with a rebuilt back-up motor sitting in the garage.  We use to get in about 4am, and it was hard then, can't imagine what it would be like now.  

I finished 2nd in the main event Saturday night and 2nd for end of the year points.  So I can't complain, just wish we had someplace to go play.  

ON PEPPER WATCH..........AGAIN....!!!

I know he doesn't do it on purpose, but it seems like a lot of our time is spent worrying about the old buzzard. 

He's been laying down more often lately, usually on his good side, thank goodness.  He's also developed a dry cough, and since I'm the type of person that looks, "for the zebra, rather than the horse" my 1st thought was lung worms.  We've never had lung worms that I know of but donkeys are known for being carriers.  A lot of horse owners don't want donkeys around for that reason. Ivermectin takes care of lung worms and I'm giving him antibiotics, Tucoprim, just in case it's something else. 

A couple of days ago he was laying down when it was time to come in for feeding.  When he got up he could barely walk on his right front, which is the one with a bad knee.  I picked the foot up to make sure there wasn't something else going on and noticed his sole is lower than the sidewall.  It looks like it's going to slough off, but with him it's hard to tell.  He has a lot of rotation and the hoof grows crazy, not to mention we don't know for sure exactly where the end of  his coffin bone is.    Courtney has kept him going a lot longer than we ever thought possible. 

I gathered up some foam, vet wrap and duct tape to make a boot for him.  I have Soft Rides, but hesitant to put them on him for a couple of reasons.  One is, because of his gnarly feet, not sure they would stay on and number 2......... although they are fairly light weight, not sure he could walk with the extra pound or so.  By the next morning he was walking a little better and has continued to improve, so hopefully we bit the bullet..........again. 

Yesterday morning John noticed Cisco rubbing his ear.  He had icky problems in his ears all summer, off and on.  I had quit watching him since it got cooler, but sure enough he had some type of slimy, gooey, smelly YUCK in there.  Animax i.e. Panalog is what the vet usually uses for ear problems, but I can't remember what she used to clean it out and I'm a little cautious about putting stuff in an ear.  Thanks goodness he has "donkey" ears, and I have small hands.  I rooted around with a rag to get rid of most of the yuckies and then squirted in the Animax.  That bad thing is I got the stuff on my hand and could smell it all afternoon.  Hopefully I can get it cleared up, otherwise we'll have to take him to the vet and do a culture I guess. 

Everyone else seems to be doing good.   I hesitate to say Rosie is losing weight, but she does look less fat.  As fat as she was, less fat is a good thing.............LOL  Tyler will be coming out Monday to check on Gigi's foot with the shoe.  She is walking very good, almost without any limp at all although her shoulders are still deformed because of walking oddly for 11 years.  We will have had them a year in January and hopefully one of these days Tyler will be able to take the shoe off and leave it off. 

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE DID A HOME STUDY

I always love to go visit with people that are enthralled with donkeys and want to add them to their family.  Bobbie and Jim are those people and are interested in Ruthie, Ruger and Wister as a family group.  They have 10 acres of perfect donkey country, lots of rocky ground and even some "over hill and dale" country" to give them exercise.  BUT.........isn't there always a but?  They spend most of their time in Tucson, although they have a routine of spending time on the acreage on a regular basis.  But, there is the worry of the donkeys getting hurt or maybe getting out.  Without a daily routine of having people around, there is a good chance even though that trio is very people orientated they would learn to rely on themselves rather than people and probably lose some of their friendliness.  

So right now we're on hold, they have been talking about moving to the acreage full time, but don't know when.  We'll see how it goes, I can't imagine anyone else showing up wanting to adopt 3 donkeys, any time soon.  So I think the donkeys are pretty safe for now.  

Bobby and Jim's place is just a "hop, skip and jump", from 2 of our alumni, Nina and Benny.  In January they will have been in their forever home 8 years.  I never thought we'd find a home for Nina.  Her nose had been ripped open and not doctored, so she has an open nostril, which has to have Swat put on it each morning during fly season to keep the little buggers at bay.  When Susan and Tom came out to see if they wanted to adopt these two, I had to show Susan Nina's nose, she didn't even notice it and didn't see it as a problem.  

Since we were in the neighborhood we had to stop by and see how they were doing.  They looked great, a little fat from mesquite bean season, but like we told Susan, we've got 5 or 6 that are in the same situation.  Bennie came over to me and put his head on my shoulder.  I don't know if he remembered me or not.  He was always very friendly and I don't think has ever met a stranger.  Nina is a little more reserve, but more than willing to accept any and all attention.  I didn't have my camera, but have some pictures from when they were here.

NINA

BENNY BEING A HAM, WITH A TOUR

Anubis finished up her antibiotics this morning and seems to be feeling much better.  I didn't realize how lethargic she had been acting recently.  Now she's back to jumping around and wanting attention. Having bad teeth can be bad for people or animals I guess.  She's actually missing some of her side teeth, Dr. Nancy and I decided probably from the raw beef bones I get the dogs occasionally.  To say she has always been an enthusiastic chewer is an understatement....!!!  

Every night when it gets down in the 30's, I expect the flies to take the hint, but so far they are hanging in there.  There are less and less each day I think, but John is still putting on fly masks every morning and I'm sure the donkeys appreciate them.  But doctoring is down to just a quick look before we let them out in the morning.  Coquette is my only patient now, even Cisco is doing well.

Reba went to her dental appointment and was absolutely the best patient ever.  Dr. Debra said Reba got "best behaved" award for the day.  She had some hooks, but nothing really bad although she did have one tooth that was longer than the others.  Next month we'll take Penny in for a check up after having a tooth pulled last month.   Because she has had a broken jaw, and had a tooth pulled Dr. Debra wants to make sure everything is doing OK. 

BACK IN THE GROOVE

Didn't take Ruthie and the boys long to get back in the routine.  Yesterday morning when everyone came in, I looked out and here came John looking like the Pied Piper, with Ruthie and the boys right in his hip pocket.  I wish I had the camera, but of course as usual when a Kodak moment occurs I wasn't prepared.  

So this morning, I had the camera with me when I went out.  Of course they were over in Burroland rather than dogging John's heels.  They had been ignoring John, but when I came out they thought I might have a goodie, so here they came.  

The cold nights are slowing the flies down, but they certainly aren't gone.  John has been taking the fly masks off at night now and that's working out OK.  The mornings are cold enough the flies don't get moving very early.  

We will be taking Reba the red mule into Benson today to get her teeth checked.  She is about 31 years old and lately has been a little reluctant to take horse treats.  They are hard as concrete, but before she thought they were great.  So we'll take her to Dr. Debra to have a look.  Hope she doesn't have to have any teeth pulled, that's almost as traumatic as gelding for me.  And I'm sure they don't enjoy it either. 

THEY'RE BACK........!!!!

We just got home from picking up Ruthie, Ruger and Wister from their 2 month gig of weed control.  I got in touch with Karla last week, and she said they had just about eaten everything, so it was time for them to come home.  

We drove up, went in,  and here they come.  Opened the back gate on the trailer and Wister went right in, Ruger was a little reluctant but he finally went in and Ruthie hopped right in.  Don't think it took 10 minutes. 

They look good, Karla didn't have a lot of mesquite beans, so they've been mostly eating desert weeds and grasses, just what donkeys should be eating.  She has a woman that lives with her that really hated to see Ruger go, guess he was her favorite.  

Got home with them, opened the back gate and turned them loose.  Hope we don't regret not putting in their pen for a day or two, so they know where they belong..........LOL  They came out on the run and have been running around every since, with Justin running behind them.  I'm not sure what his plan is, but he's hanging right in with them.  Of course the dogs are barking non stop.  They always get so excited when "new" donkeys arrive and seem to think they need to bark when they move.  Since the three have been running around trying to see everything ever since they hit the ground, the dogs are starting to really get irritating.  

Anubis is doing just fine after having her 2 teeth pulled yesterday and her teeth cleaned.  Would you believe it costs more to get a dog's teeth cleaned than a person's?  She couldn't have anything to eat until this morning, which really didn't go over very well.  Since she couldn't eat Nicki didn't get to eat last night either, they both thought we had lost our minds.  I don't understand why they can't eat after surgery or in this case teeth cleaning.  Shouldn't matter if they throw up after it's over, but we followed the rules.  We are soaking her kibbles for a couple of days just to make it easier for her to chew, although like most dogs she's a gulper, rather than a chewer. 

I'll try to get a picture of mom and the 2 boys tomorrow.  We have some people coming out next Sunday to visit with the 3 of them.  They have 10 acres and are interested in having donkeys.  These 3 would be very good for people that have never been around donkeys.  They are very friendly and are curious enough to be a lot of fun to watch.  Hopefully the people will be a good fit and we can get these 3 a good forever home. 

NOT THE NIGHT I HAD PLANNED

I guess things have been going too good, it was time for a bump in the road of racing.  Finished 2nd in the heat race.  Went to staging to go out for the main event.  Hit the start button and absolutely nothing, no clicking, no groaning, I double checked to make sure I even had the switch on.  Yelled at a friend in the line up to push me, which he did.  It started, but would not actually run.  I got out in the racing area and it just wouldn't go, so I had to be pushed into the pits without starting the race.  

John was ready to have a fit, in fact I think he had at least one..........LOL  He had been watching the alternator and had actually disconnected it, but there should have been enough power in the battery without it.  So he took the battery off the winch, put it in my car and it started right up.  In fact the race was still running and my car was sitting in the pits, purring like a kitten........!!  That is about the 3rd battery John has put in this year, so he's thinking that although the battery was dead, there might be something electrical in the car that is the real problem.  Oh! goody I'm glad I'm just the driver, the idea of chasing electrical problems, makes my head hurt.....!!!

Needless to say I'm no longer in 2nd place for end of year points, but we have one more race for points the 15th of this month and I'm only 1 point out of 2nd place, so there's still a chance.  

I am absolutely amazed at how many people came over to see what happened, the guy in 1st for points drove to our pits when he came off the track, and most of the other drivers came by, not to mention pit crews.  I guess the race was a crash fest, everyone said I was lucky I missed it.  Can't wait to see the video.........!!! 

There's a young guy in his 20's, who's main goal this year was to beat me, well he won that race.  I congratulated him and he said it didn't count because he didn't beat me.  He's definitely focused, well he'll get 3 more chances.  He always teases me about how he can't get mad at me when I beat him, because it would be like getting mad at his grandma.......!!!  LOL

As usual when we get home after the races the donkeys start yelling and screaming when I get out to open the gate.  They know when they have been mistreated and as far as they are concerned, staying in their pens that long is not acceptable.  Of course as soon as John lets them out, all is forgiven.  

This morning I noticed a praying mantis had managed to get trapped in the stable fly trap.  The only way to get her out, (she was full of eggs looked like) was to take the top off, which defeats the whole trap idea.  You take the top off and the flies are all going to fly away.  John said he'd try and he managed to get the praying mantis out, but lost about 2/3's of the flies. 

Courtney came out this afternoon to trim donkey feet.  She was really impressed with how good everyone's feet are doing, even the ones with a lot of issues.  I guess all the rain we had this summer maybe had something to do with it. Even old Pepper was impressive, he managed to stand on 3 feet while she worked, by himself.  Usually he leans on her and John or I help hold him up, while she works as quick as possible.  We don't want him to fall.  But he did just fine.

We got little rain squalls today.  You might know we had Daisy's sponsor and 2 of her friends out for a visit and it sprinkled on us 3 or 4 times, while we were trying to find donkeys.  Ended up standing in the machinery shed for a few minutes, for the heaviest "sprinkle", the rest of the time we just pressed on.  One of the women planned ahead and brought an umbrella.  

Tomorrow morning we have to take Anubis the dog in early to the vet to have those 2 teeth removed.  Later in the week we will be taking Reba the big red mule down to Sierra Vista to have her teeth looked at.  She is about 31 years old and seems to be having some chewing problems.  So we'll have it looked at.  She probably has some hooks on her teeth that need to be rasped off. 

THERE'S A PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR DECEPTION.......

After getting chewed out by my vet about "no animals have ever refused to eat the Neoplasene" I'm giving it another go, although my heart isn't in it.  I asked her if she had ever tasted it and she hasn't....!!!  Aha, could be why she has no qualms about ordering it..........LOL  

So the last few days I have been chumming little Pepsi with a mixture of oats and pellets, believe me he thinks his ship has finally come in.  I added a little molasses last night and his body language said, "bring it on" as he dove into it.  Usually the minis get about a 1/4 cup or less of timothy hay pellets mixed with a large spoon of soaked beet pulp and Lakin Lite a local bermuda/alfalfa hay pellet.  So he's getting a 1/4 cup of oats, 1/4 cup senior, 1/2 cup of timothy pellets and a spoon of mush.  This morning I added about a tablespoon of molasses WITH a tiny dab of the offending product and he ate it........!!!  As tiny as that dab was I could have ate it, if I didn't hate molasses.......LOL  So I will up the ante until I get to 1cc of the nasty stuff twice a day or he refuses to accept anymore at a lesser amount.  The place below his eye never broke open or became a wound, which is a sign of no cancer cells, so we'll just do what we can and hope for the best.  

Had a good night at the races last night, finished 3rd in the heat race and won the main event.  It's always a good night when you win.  Thankfully the car suffered no major damage, John's just going to wash it on the trailer and it will be ready for battle again tonight.  They have a big 2 night show for the modifieds and "allow" us to participate.  These back to back nights are very tiring for old people.......!!! LOL

. 

They had the drivers bring candy for the kids that were dressed up for Halloween.  Our grandson and his wife brought Kyler out after he hit his neighbor's up for candy.  

They didn't have Hunter for Halloween, he's with his Mother in Phoenix, so I don't know what he had for a costume.   Kyler's lion outfit was really cute and he seemed to have plenty of candy by the time he got to Grandma's car and candy.......!!

LOOKS LIKE I'M GOOFING OFF........!!

It's been a week since I updated the blog, I think that is a record, don't think I've ever done that before except if I was gone someplace and usually I'm not gone that long.  

There really hasn't been that much to write about.  It's cooling off, which means less doctoring for skin conditions, which is really great.  Last night John took off the fly masks for the night.  Usually in the summer during fly season, we just leave them on, because the flies get up before we do. 

We had to take Anubis the dog, back to the vet again.  She was in awhile back for being lethargic and as the x-ray showed, full of, well let's just say she hadn't been going "regularly" for some reason.  Got that all taken care of and she started limping around 3 legged lame.  My "expert" opinion was hip, but Nancy said it's her knee.  I have been giving her Previcox until I could get her in and she's almost back to normal.  According to Nancy, Previcox is one of the great inventions in the world, for man or beast.  Hmmm......maybe I'll trade my Aleve for Previcox.  Anyway, while there they said they'd clip her nails and break off some teeth plaque.  In the process of teeth cleaning we found out she has one tooth that is loose and another one that has shrunken gums, exposing part of the root.  So now she gets to go back in next Monday for a snooze and removal of 2 teeth.

I'm giving a couple of the donkeys Previcox and it has really made a difference in their ability to walk around comfortable, old Pepper for one.  Nancy said that equine assimilate it differently and while dogs can take 227 mg or more, equine are much more sensitive and only should have 57mg or even half of that.  Who would ever think that equine should have much less of a type of medication than dogs?

The picture above is Boaz's knee, I took the picture to show Nancy that it is "finally" healed.  I think she was as excited as I was, 3 surgeries, lots of doctoring and wrapping over almost 3 years.  That little spot at the top, seems to be where he puts pressure when he lays down.  It hasn't been open in quite awhile, but I keep an eye on it.  I'm just glad I don't have to keep the knee wrapped all the time.

I told her about the problem with trying to get Pepsi to take the cancer medicine Neoplasene.  She said to mix it up with a double handful of grain.............YIKES....!!!  I can't imagine what he would look like after 3 months of that diet twice a day, the Goodyear blimp comes to mind.  This morning we separated him from Lynn and Justin and I gave him 1/2 cup of oats, with 1/2 cup of senior feed.  I added a teaspoon of molasses with a "dab" (do you know how small a dab it?) of the offending medicine.  NOPE...!!!  He did eat hay out of the other end of the bunk, but that's as close as he would come to it.  So tonight I'm going to see if I can get him to eat the oats and senior feed without anything added.  I'm sure he will think that is just fine, then maybe I can add molasses and that will probably be OK too.  After that I'm sure when I add a "dab" of you know what, I will get the judgemental look as he stands there and everyone else is eating.  SIGH!  She said she had never had one refuse it.  John said the owners probably told her they were feeding it, but weren't.....!!! LOL

We are not going to do the Cascabel Christmas Fair this year.  I think we've done it 6 or 7 years and it's a lot of fun.  Even though we don't have much to do, to get ready it's still a lot of work.  I'm sure there will be some disappointed people, every year we had people come that had been here before.  What I found interesting is the kids that remembered certain donkeys or mules, especially if they weren't still here.  A lot of people remembered Sha'ba, I guess because his ears had been cut off and most people had a hard time accepting the fact that there are people in the world capable of such cruelty.

 

RIP, SHA'BA.......he still loved people 

NOT SO GOOD NEWS FOR PEPSI

Who knew tarantulas start out little, never saw one this small.  

John almost ran over this little girl, (she has spinners on her butt, makes her a girl) with the hay cart in the hay barn.  But he saw her before it got messy.  Poor little thing is already missing a front leg and I don't think they regenerate if they are missing.  John's company he does jeep tours for, has a tarantula and a snake they take out for "show and tell" with the clients.  The tarantula has had a broken leg before and they fixed it with super glue.  Since spiders have an external skeleton, the super glue will give the leg structure until she sheds.  But this little one doesn't have a leg to fix.  John put her in the back of the hay barn and when he checked on her she had buried herself in the hay.  

I got a call from the vet clinic Monday and was told Pepsi's tumor is a sarcoma rather than a sarcoid.  So we took him in yesterday and Dr. Nancy shot chemo directly into the incision.  We also were sent home with Neoplasene, which I wasn't familiar with.  Also a wound balm I'm suppose to use, after the injected chemo sloughs off the cancer cells that might be left.  Dr. Nancy said if the tissue doesn't slough off, then she got it all.  But the lab report said the edges weren't clean.  

I will be giving Pepsi the Neoplasene by mouth, twice a day for 3 months.  I have always tasted anything I am going to stick in their mouth.  Let me say one thing, a lot of the oral medicines that need to be given, do not taste good............this one is no exception.  I have tasted Baytril, and Metronidazole and a few others that rated high on the "yuck" scale.  I do think this one has them all beat.  I can't even begin to describe it, I also haven't figured out something to kill the taste........SIGH...it's going to be a long winter, I'm afraid.  Last night I tried Dr. Nancy's suggestion, honey, well actually I used molasses, stronger flavor between 2 small graham crackers.  Pepsi wasn't impressed and it was very messy.  

This morning I tried peanut butter and powdered sugar, which isn't as messy.  He readily took the cookie, but didn't eat it with relish,  I'm hoping it will grow on him.  

I know their taste buds are different than ours, otherwise they couldn't enjoy orange rinds as much as they do.  But this stuff is really going to be a hard sell I'm afraid.  Wish me luck.......!!!

UPDATE:  John went on a tour today and asked his nephew Bob about the spider leg.  Bob does a lot of the tours and is the company's "go to" guy.  Anyway he's quite a spider expert.  He said she will be able to grow back a leg.  The next molt will grow a small leg and the molt after that the leg should be almost the same size as the other ones.  

GETTING CLOSER TO WINTER, BUT WE STILL HAVE FLIES

We usually have to leave fly masks on until in November sometime, and it looks like this year will be no exception.  At least it is cooling down.  Last night when we came in from the races it was jacket weather, really chilly.  Didn't realize how chilly, until I hopped into bed..........YIKES........those percale sheets were really cold.  So this morning I stripped the bed, put on the mattress heater and covered it with flannel sheets.  I hate a cold bed, you jump in, curl in a little ball and warm up pretty quick...........at least where your little ball body is.  Unfortunately if you want to turn over or stretch it's cold, cold, cold, all over again.  We usually turn the heater on before bedtime.  When it's time to go to bed, I turn the heater off, jump into bed, and I don't think there is anything else that is quite as "yummy" as jumping into an overheated bed, from a chilly room.  I don't like to sleep warm, so I never sleep with the heater on.  John on the other hand, just wants the chill off and then doesn't mind sleeping with the heater on low.  Good thing we have our own controls.........LOL

The donkeys have been fairly cooperative lately, must have something to do with the absence of weeds and mesquite beans.  They are still on short rations and really aren't acting all that hungry, although some of them make sure to check out all the pens to see if anyone left any scraps.  Once it starts getting down in the 30's at night, we'll up their hay to help them keep warm.  It will be hard to take weight off the "fatties", like Rosie, and Coquette during the winter, but I think we can keep them from putting anymore weight on, hopefully.  

PEPSI HAD SURGERY

 Pepsi contemplating whether it's worth it to come into the courtyard of the house..!

  

Not what he had planned for the day.  When we took him and Rosie to the vet Tuesday, I must say, for a little guy he can be a real handful.  Nine months in a home that let him get away with whatever, has turned him into a real brat.  I thought we were going to have to rope him, which would have been a whole lot of adventure I'm sure.  But John managed to get a lead rope around his neck and I got a halter on his squirmy little head.  Next problem trailer loading...........jeeesh!  He just wasn't going to make any of it easy.

Rosie was reluctant but not as much trouble as the little guy.  Got to the vet decided to check Rosie's belly spots in the trailer.  No sense in asking for problems, Nancy knows our animals are not always polite and cooperative..........LOL  Nancy thinks it might be a worm like neck worms i.e. thread worms, since I've spent the entire summer, clearing it up and it coming back.  So she will get wormed weekly until cold weather and I'll continue doctoring the 3 areas on her belly.  I told them when we went in I didn't want to hear any remarks about her weight.............LOL  She's lost about 60 pounds, needs to lose another 100 probably.  But the mesquite bean season set us back on her "diet".  She is unhappy with the amount of food John gives her and has eaten the door off the well house.  This morning when John went out she had the hinge and a little bit of the attached wood in her mouth, chewing on it.........!!! 

 I wish I had a camera when John took Pepsi out of the trailer to go into...........the big cave that eats little donkeys, or as we refer to it, the large animal part of her clinic.  Actually a video would have been better.  He jumped out of the trailer, looked around and locked all 4 legs, in the "NOPE" position.  It took 4 people, John and a vet tech pulling on the lead, Nancy pushing and shoving along with a guy in to have his 4 alpacas looked at.  Poor Pepsi, I couldn't even get in there to help, he was surrounded by a sea of people, and his little hooves were digging  channels in the dirt, as they literally dragged him about 30 feet.  I'll say one thing he never changed his mind...............LOL

Needless to say his cooperative thoughts were not working, but a happy shot took care of that.  My diagnosis was wrong, it wasn't an encapsulated eye lash, it was a little tumor about the size of a large pea.  Sent it off to see if it is cancer, if so, we'll have to take him back to have chemo shot into the area, in case she missed any cells.  It was loose and didn't have irregular edges, so hopefully it will be OK and if we're lucky it won't be cancer......!!  

Of course there were stitches, seven of them that have to be removed in 10 days.  And in the meantime we have to put salve on the area twice a day.  This means we have to catch the little monster twice a day to put on the salve.  So far he isn't giving up, we have to get a halter on him, put him in the Redneck Squeeze, snub his head to the corral pipe and hope for the best.  You would think he would give up, but so far shows no inkling to do so............. SIGH....!!!  I will remove the stitches, which should really be entertaining, unless he makes up his mind that we are actually not hurting him and that we are going to accomplish the task, with or without his cooperation.  Wish me luck.......!!!!

The race track added us to the 2 day program this week-end at the last minute.  It's going to be non-point races both nights, so I told John we wouldn't go.  But he wants to at least go Friday night.  Our son is racing at the asphalt track Saturday night, so we'll go there, since my races aren't point races.  I tried to talk John into driving my car Friday night, but he said he won't drive it.  I don't know why, if he wrecks it, he has to fix it..........LOL

Hunter and Kyler came to visit today

The great grandkids came out to visit yesterday.  Seems like donkey poo was quite a hit.  You can't say we don't go all out to entertain them........!!! LOL 

This is a perfect place for little boys to get dirty and Kyler and Hunter did their best.  Our grandson e-mailed that they were both asleep before they got out to the mailboxes, when they left for Tucson.  I'd turn them loose and go find them later, but you know how parents can be.........LOL  I'm sure when they get a little older I can loosen up the parents to let the kids get hurt and dirty.  

Anubis is back to normal, we kept her on the courtyard for 3 days and she was ready to go back to her pen.  She has always had spaying incontinence which is one reason she could never be an indoor dog.  Nicki couldn't be an indoor dog, just because he's Nicki, talk about a bull in the China Shop.....!!!  The vet gave her a prescription for a hormone pill to see if it would keep her from dribbling.  She's been on it for a few days and there is definite improvement, hopefully it will cut down on my bed washing duties and I'm sure she'd be more comfortable.  

I won my race Saturday night.  This is starting to be a lot of fun........!!! LOL  I do have to quit running into other cars with my "back" bumper though..........!!!  This is the 2nd race night in a row, that someone has tried to remove my poor little bumper.  I don't take it personal, but John is starting to complain.  He gets tired of putting it back on and of course the more it has to be worked with, the less he has to work with. 

We are taking Rosie and Pepsi in to the vet tomorrow morning.  Pepsi has a growth below his eye, my "WAG" is........ an encapsulated eye lash.  Buddy had one of those a few years ago, and it looks about the same.  But we'll see what the expert thinks.  

Rosie has been fighting 3 areas on her belly almost all summer.  They are open and bloody.  I will doctor them, really doesn't seem to matter what I use and they will heal up nicely.  I will stop doctoring and a few days later they will be drippy and oozy, doctor again, heal again, and so it goes. 

Everyone still has their fly masks on.  A few days ago I think maybe we could start trying to take them off.  But on 2nd thought I think the flies are building up for their last ditch effort at being obnoxious.  My neat little stable fly trap is doing a rousing business.  I ran out of the special bait, so put some raw meat scraps in the dish and haven't noticed any difference in the amount of flies getting trapped.  I wish there was some way to kill them every day.  It's not getting warm enough now to basically "cook" them, so they just gather in the top day after day and eventually die.  Liquid nitrogen comes to mind, but I don't have any of that laying around.  Couldn't use sprays, because then it wouldn't draw the flies in if it smelled wrong.  ANY IDEAS..........?????

SICK DOG

PICTURE TAKEN A FEW YEARS AGO FOR AN ARTICLE IN GRIT MAGAZINE.  THANKS SUE HANSEN AND OF COURSE DAISY AND BIG GUS IN THE BACKGROUND

Anubis. had been acting funny for a few days and over the week-end was very lethargic.  We took her into the vet Monday and she has a swollen lymph node behind her jaw, although a blood work-up was pretty much down the middle except for a slightly elevated calcium number, which could be a sign of a tumor somewhere.  They took x-rays and one reason for her bloated look is she was full of.......well let's say she hasn't pottied lately.  So the decision was to run 3 liters of IV fluid thru her over the next couple of days and see if that made things progress along.  They ran an IV, sent us home with 2 bags and instructions.  You might know the port wouldn't work for us, so we took her back yesterday morning and it wouldn't work for them either.  Pulled it, and decided to just run the fluid under her skin, like they do with little puppies and kittens.  So that's what we did and it worked out just fine.  She is a very mellow dog and just laid on her bed on the courtyard the whole time.  We have her on the courtyard so we can see if she eats, drinks, poos, and pees.  So far she's eating, drinking, and peeing............still no pooing.  We're taking her in today for further evaluation and to decide what PLAN B will be.  The x-rays showed no tumors or anything out of the ordinary, but with her colon so full, there could be something in there hiding.  It's amazing she is still eating, you'd think her system would say, "don't send anything else down here".  

Pepper got down in his favorite "bed" in the wash yesterday afternoon.  Amy and Morgan were here cleaning pens and heard a lot of grunting.  Checked on him and sure enough he was on his right side.  I was going to get the ropes, but they said they could flip him just using his legs and they did.  That's probably much easier on him, but John and I need the leverage of the ropes and having some distance from his hooves if he thrashes.  Must be nice to be younger and stronger..............!!! LOL  Amy is like me, she likes the old guys, so Pepper is one of her favorites.  Actually she adopted Big Gus in the picture above about 5 years ago, and a few years later Rambo i.e. Bo, so she has 2 of our alumni.  She still thinks Gus is fun and entertaining, not everyone would keep that thought after being around him for awhile.  He is highly intelligent, very curious, and needs to be entertained, which is a dangerous combination........!!! LOL  When he was here, which he was twice, John use to come in with the latest Gus story and say, "I'll be glad when he's gone".  But when he was gone, John would come in and say, "you know I really miss Gus". 

I've about decided to not actively look for a new home for Pepsi.  When he was here before he was pretty attached to Lynn one of the other minis.  When he came back he hooked up with Lynn again and Pancho isn't as important these days.  Lynn, Cheyenne and Justin actually belong to Courtney our trimmer.  She brought them to us almost 7 years ago for weight control and once the weight was gone, well they just kinda "hung" out here.  If she ever takes them back, she might end up with 4 instead of 3...........!!!!! 

Hey, just had an update on Anubis, John came in and said she had been in my tomato vines on the courtyard.  I guess she finally had to go, and wasn't willing to go in the tiles, so the tomatoes were the next best thing.  That's OK, they weren't doing very good anyway.  I don't think she put out as much as I saw on the x-rays, but at least it's progress in the right direction.  

MY NEW BEST FRIEND........!!!

Well, maybe not my best friend, but I've been watching her build a magnificent web, and catching snacks for her larder for the last couple of weeks.  She's on the courtyard, where I soak Cisco's hay every morning and night, so we have a lot of contact.  She doesn't even move when I'm in the area.  One morning I came out after a low of 41 degrees and she was hanging on the web, like above.  I touched her and she didn't move, so I was afraid she had gotten too cold.  But later in the morning after she had a chance to warm up, she was running all over the place.  I haven't seen her early in the morning again, so assume, she got caught out that night and is making sure it doesn't happen again.  

I think everyone is enjoying the cooler weather, less flies, less doctoring.......although the donkeys are still wearing their fly masks and need them.  Less flies doesn't mean, NO flies unfortunately.

This morning while I was languishing in bed and putting some thought into getting up, I heard a large bird run into one of the bedroom windows.  We've actually had less bird strikes this year than we usually have, which is good.  Large birds are REALLY loud when they hit.  I got up to look and right below the window was sitting a Sharp-Shin hawk.  As soon as he saw me he move away but stayed on the ground, so I assumed he had hit the window, which is unusual.  Birds of prey rarely strike the windows.  I stood real still, but he still knew I was watching him, so I moved to another window to sneak a peek.  He went back right underneath the window with purpose, picked up a dove, which was what had hit.  A Sharp-Shin is a small hawk, not much bigger than a dove, and he had a hard time getting off the ground, but he finally made it.  We've had hawks learn to fly birds into the windows, makes hunting a lot simpler for them, I'm sure.  One time John's sister was complaining about the prey birds hanging around where she fed the birds.  John's nephew told her "well it is a bird feeder you know".........she was not amused.............LOL

Had a lady come out to visit with Pancho and Pepsi.  She has a rescue heart, already has a "family" of them from what she said, including a blind weanling horse.  He was born with cataracts, has been checked, and there is nothing that can be done to give him even minimal sight.  She really liked the boys, but on second thought, decided her plate is pretty full, she also works.  I appreciate her putting thought into making a long term decision and deciding not to adopt.  Pancho has been in 2 homes in a little over 2 years, for no reason except people changing their minds, basically........no commitment to making it work.