Ernest and Other Big Things

After weeks of phone calls and paperwork, our new adopted mini-donkey, Ernest, is finally here!  Ashley told me that she saw a mini-donkey listed on the Kentucky Equine Adoption website, and when I called to inquire, the only thing they could tell me about him was that he was about eleven years old and fat.  He belonged to someone who let him graze a huge pasture, and obviously made sure he was well fed.  The trainer he went to live with after he was put up for adoption said that she's seen over two hundred obese horses and donkeys, and Ernest took the prize.  She was periodically measuring him with a tape while she put him on the diet, and he's already down two hundred pounds!  

He's got some jiggle in his walk!  He's a sweet guy, and still very shy.   

Despite Rufus interest in getting close, Ernest keeps his distance.  When Rufus sniffs him, he kicks up both back legs and makes a funny snort.  He doesnt't get much ground clearance with his kicks, and makes us laugh. 

Here's a little clip from his first day.  Rufus is the gray donkey, and Ernest is the brown shaggy one.

Brandon and I rescheduled our flights for our big trip for later in the summer.  I don't know if we will be able to take our trip later either, but by rescheduling the flights we didn't loose our expensive tickets when international travel was advised against.  We're glad we didn't go when we said we would - we might of been trapped in a foreign country in quarantine! 

I'm working from home now instead of going to the office, which I find challenging.  It's hard for me to focus on report composition when the spring time bird song and garden chores are calling to me through the open windows.  Brandon and I took a trip to visit our blue bus in the woods.  Small wildflowers were blooming, and the trees were starting to open their buds.

Everything was as it should be there  - quite and peaceful under the trees and above the river.  

The seeds I planted in the greenhouse have germinated, and my plan is to thin the small rows and transplant the extra's to other beds.  I want to focus on greens in the greenhouse, beans and sweet potatoes in the summer garden, and rutabagas and spaghetti squash too.  We're eating a lot of these lately as we focus on our healthy diet.  Since I know I'll be working from home for the next two weeks, at least, I'm encouraging myself to take advantage of this opportunity to control my own schedule.  I'm trapped in self-imposed health camp!  Exercise, sunshine, vegetables!  

I think I can stay home for two weeks no problem, but I bet Brandon has a hard time.  He likes to get out in the world.  He's already planned a full schedule of chores, including working on our paved pathways while the soil is soft, and changing all the fluids in the tractors.  I can tell he's looking forward to mowing season!

Rufus is looking forward to lunch!