Our donkeys

You all know Bellis. She was the answer to our prayers for a companion for Baasha. She is a gentle peaceful creature, she fits perfectly here. You know that another donkey was deposited abruptly on our doorstep 3 days after Baasha died, to comfort our grieving donkey.


He works. He had no name so I named him Ezra. Donkeys have big parts in the Bible so naming them should be easy.

I remember being kicked by Ezra when I first met him, so I was wary of him a very long time. I did not let him get too close to me, and since he is naturally skittish, that wasn't too hard. It took me months before I could touch his leg without him kicking. I never fed him by hand. He was a wild thing, even our fish guys (who rent our ponds for trout) called him "sturmisch" (wild).

Four months later I trust him. He still comes running full blast to me and gets very close. The first thing he always does is put his muzzle on my face and blow his breath over my eyes or nose. He has never acted dangerously so I don't discourage him, I just keep working. Usually he's doing this while I try to clean up poop that he is standing directly on top of. Donkeys love being all over people.

The rules still stand though  - no donkey shall push against me, and no donkey shall go into the stall when I'm cleaning it. Also, not killing our cat is good, but I don't know how to train that.

They are SO LOUD. They seem to encourage each other to bray an ear-splitting monstrous cry 5 or 7 times per day. I never respond to a bray, but they cannot help it when they see my car arrive after work. Also, I read that donkeys don't just bray for food, they bray when they see a herd member, and I guess that includes me.

Two neighbors have complained/mentioned the noise. *sigh* We do not live remote enough that braying doesn't bother people.

Now I see this playfulness in Ezra I never saw before. He kicks up his over-long heels and gallops as easily as floating across water. He is a sweetheart. I will hate to see him go, but he cannot stay. Two donkeys is too many, when a horse lives here too. Or two horses, eventually.

We went to the gas station owned by Ezra's owner tonight and left a letter for Mr Braun saying, "Your donkey  needs 1. Hay 2. Hoofcare 3. Wormer 4. Spring vaccinations. Please call us."

Our hay farmer (Carsten) said he has no more for us this Spring, so I actually had to BUY hay the first time in 4 years. I bought from a local farmer who is exessively proud of his superior quality mixed grass. He delivered the very next day, I paid, and he threw his cigarette onto our lawn. He's a "good ol' boy", telling us "youngsters" how it is, and getting too close to us for comfort, but his hay is great. I have 45 small bales. I was hoping to have a horse this Spring to feed it to.

Hopefully Mr Braun will understand and take some initiative concerning his donkey.

I finally got photos of the two of them playing. Watch the succession of photos and see how things progress. They are so cute. Sometimes they go all the way, mostly not.

Note the mole hills everywhere, the sacred protected species that might die out if we didn't donate each and every field to their needs. Ugh. Also, the very last photo shows the donkeys mutually grooming in the stall tonight at the end of the day. So sweet.