That Orange Thing.

Remember this?
Well.  It's back.
Yeah.  Only THIS time, she TIED the END of the ROPE to a POST!  Can you imagine?  And it was buckled around my pastern!!!  'Huff.'
I argued.  I struggled.  I tugged, pulled and then yanked.  I tried pulling backwards, sideways, even turning around and walking directly away from the post.  (That was a bad idea - I almost fell down when my front leg went under me.  How embarrassing!)  I tried holding my foot up really high, and shaking it really fast... I even tried biting it.
Finally, I was just mad, and I just stood there and fumed.
After everything else failed, I did my most Heartfelt, Plaintive and Mournful Bray.   (That involves lots of creaky squeaking build-up with a few extremely long and miserable bawling wails at the end.  It almost never fails!)  Girlchild relented and started bringing me handfuls of grass (which I was standing in...) but Woman just smiled at me and kept raking the flowerbed!  Well.  I was certainly not going to give them the satisfaction of giving in and actually grazing.  (Now Bubba, who was also "practicing", as they call it, happily ate every clump of grass within reach and never fought the shackle at all.  He has absolutely no pride.  It's embarrassing to be his friend sometimes.)
Good heavens.  The things a burro has to put up with.

The promised video...

Woman said if I frolicked enough she'd make another movie of me. Here I am joyfully kicking at my friends in the big snowy pasture! (I'm only pretend kicking. When I mean it, I don't miss.)

Guest Post from Woman - Artwork for Japan

Beach Dog - click image to go to auction

River Boy - click image to go to auction

Bug Finder - click image to go to auction

Spectator - click image to go to auction

Rider - click image to go to auction

*We interrupt this Donkey Blog to introduce a charity project:  Woman Donates Artwork for Japan*

Hello Burro fans - Woman here...   Juniper has kindly lent me her blog space to talk about a little artwork-for-charity auction.
As you may or may not know, in addition to being Junie's personal assistant, I'm an artist.

The disaster that befell Japan recently has been weighing heavily on everyone's minds. Like I'm sure you have too, I've been thinking about ways that I might be able to contribute in some way to relief efforts. Today I'm excited to offer my five little paintings for auction with 100% of the purchase prices donated to Global Giving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. They are framed acrylic paintings by me - all on 5"x 7" panels and all signed originals. Please have a look, and I'd be honored if you email, tweet, like, etc. to help me spread the word. I'm glad to find a way to take part, and I'm looking forward to sending these paintings to their future homes and knowing that together we helped people in need.


Thanks for lending me your ear (long or short!) and I'll now return you to your regularly scheduled programing.
(Thanks, Junie!)

The children adore me

Howling wind today - Woman is fixing the biting string so the boys and I can roam around a little.  However, we're still cooped up until the solar thingie gets it's battery charged.  "Tomorrow." She says.  "And if you do your 'Ha ha!  I'm excaping!' frolic I'll post a video of you."  In the mean time, I thought I'd leave you with these pix of the summer.  Ahhh..... green..... *sigh*

Juniper walks with Girlchild in March

Walking

Had a great weekend - hope you did too.

Saturday I did this practice walk with the pack saddle on. Woman's getting better at putting it on - and I like to keep it from getting too easy by doing lots of stepping sideways back and forth. I still hunch up my hiney when that breechen goes... well... it's just a weird feeling.

Sunday I accompanied Girlchild and Bubba to the arena and met a new horse - the beautiful black thoroughbred Elaina. She instantly became my friend. I told her she could borrow my pack saddle anytime she wanted.

Here's a little video of me - Woman got some new video software. I think she might need to keep practicing, but I'll try not to hurt her feelings.

Bonus question:

What's the title of the song? I think it might be my new theme song....

Ground Driving on a Sunny Saturday

Yesterday we tried a new thing - a bosal.

I liked it because it was pretty much like the halter. Also because I could pretty much do whatever I wanted. Woman walked behind me and pulled my head this way and that, and for a while I cooperated nicely - it was a beautiful day to be out for a stroll, and a change of scenery is always pleasant, as long as it's not too scary. Everybody was very proud of me. After a while, I started to feel sorry for Bubba and Dan being left alone in the corral, and they were making such a fuss that I worried about them. I wanted to go back so they could stop all that annoying whinny noise and running back and forth. (I wish I could teach them to bray - it would be so much more melodic, but they don't seem interested.) Anyway, Woman and I argued about that for a while. I didn't win, but I didn't loose either. I invented a really useful technique, in which I tuck my nose into my chest and turn myself around and around in tight little circles. I'm very bendy, and when I curve around in a C shape it's really hard for anybody to get me out of it! That's great! And if they do manage to get my head straightened out I can just curl around the other way and keep circling! Man says I was like a rolypoly bug. I think that's a handy trick to know, so I'll work on perfecting it.

Maybe someday I could travel around and teach workshops like those clinicians do. Wonder if I could copyright the "rolypoly maneuver"....

Junie