If it is a choice of someone getting wet through, the donkeys have decided it should be me. Standing in their second home braying for me seemed the better option this morning for the group. I duly got out the deep sided wheelbarrow, filled it up with hay and grey buckets and trundled down to them. At the moment the ground is so squishy round their principal stable that as the two visiting donkeys have problem hooves, they are better on the firmer ground.
Rosie as always fights for her bucket, so staying away from flying hooves is a good idea, such a sweet girl when we are not talking food, changes into a demon when the buckets are out. The other three now wait patiently till she is happy and then placidly munch away.
Not much reverie about the views as we all huddled in the stable out of the lashing rain.
I did have a breakthrough with " Baby" this morning, Baby is one of the barn cats who comes to eat but is very wary. After his mother Nipolena had been stroked, he came to me for a snuggle which is a real triumph. Malc and I have been working on getting to this stage for 3 years.
When we arrived here there was a lovely feral cat which nipped in and out, so we called him Nippy. Over time we made friends with Nippy, so much so we decided to coax him in. A few days after this decision a French neighbour went on holiday for a week leaving his dog out ( with a lot of food in his bowl, I should add) The dog killed one of our hens and Nippy, it was so hungry by the end of the week, and it was too late when we realised the problem. We told the neighbour on his return that we would have looked after the dog, but he said next time he would chain it!
Anyway Nipolena, we think was the daughter of Nippy and Baby was the son of Nipolena. The name Nipolena was chosen as a tribute and in memory of Nippy.
Comments to taglines82@gmail.com
