A blissful 2 hours

Arriving home last night was so awesome.
I changed and went out to see what the fish guys have done to our ponds. We have two guys renovating our fish ponds in return for a place to keep fish of their own. They have sure been busy lately. Mountains of mud/silt have been removed and put onto the banks, and they found the concrete tile flooring. Now they can start reinforcing the one weak wall, and then, and then..!? An anti-heron net, and then? Fish!? It’s so exciting. I found their crate of beer and was very disappointed to see they drink Koelsch. What did I expect – we’re closer to Cologne than Duesseldorf (whose beer I prefer).

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I wanted to add a photo here of our hay in rows but Google has cut me off from uploading more images unless I pay money. Screw that.
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After admiring their work, I saw my donkey and horse on the big pasture. “First one to answer my whistle gets this big juicy apple!” Usually that would be Baasha, but this time it was Bellis. Then I lied and gave half of it to Baasha. I handed out thick dark bread coated in oats. We don’t eat our bread fast enough so about once per week the equines get yummy German bread. It’s a myth, BTW, that it must be dried first before feeding. Then I handed out carrots. Maybe they’ll answer my whistle a little faster tomorrow!

Then I sat back in my chair under the scratching tree, a sadder and sadder looking Holunder (Elderberry). All the Holunder are blooming now and I know Germans like to cook something with the blossoms but like those puffy fish they’re poisonous if cooked wrong so I don’t go there. Even Bellis eschews the blossoms. That tree is just for rubbing on, and it’s the only tree they can rub on – I’ve fenced off the oaks. My chair is constantly getting knocked over as they go at it. This time I had to laugh because Bellis stuck the handle of my chair directly into her ear to rub it. I’d seen this on 7MSN and found it odd then too – donkeys using protruding objects as qtips.

It’s hard to sit there because Bellis wants to be on top of me. I mean she wants to be rubbed on and always tries to press against me and I’m in danger of being knocked down if I’m in a chair. I’m trying to teach her what the limits are – she can come up and stand next to me, but as soon as her body presses into me, she gets told to move away. I sure hope she learns this soon.

Her haircoat is only slightly shedding, she still has her scruffy look. Just around her eyes it’s sleek and I think it makes her look mule-ish. When she comes up to you and tries to lean on you, you inevitably get covered in German Shepherd/shag carpet hair. 

I often use Princess Leia’s line with her, “Will someone please get this big, walking carpet out of my way?”

After I rubbed her tufts of hair were flying off and she saw one and immediately ate it. That’s the second time she’s eaten clumps of her own hair. That cannot be healthy.

After rubbing on Bellis for a long time I finally walked the pasture looking for poop. Things have sure changed. The donkey has not only taught my horse to eat strange things, she has taught him to poop in designated pooping areas. Amazing. This makes it a little bit difficult to spread the manure as evenly – I have to throw a lot harder. In the pasture I don’t remove poop, I just find it and scatter it in small bits.  In a couple months it disintegrates. Walking around the pasture scattering poop is one of my favorite chores. So much better than housework.

I looked at my watch. 9 PM. Those were a very nice couple of hours.