july 10 2023
Somebody sometime somewhere said something about..”.if the Lord shuts the door, he sometimes opens a window” Yesterday at what used to be a Sunday Stew with a lot of people around... a father and son appeared-- the son went into work in the barn and the father sat down at the donkey cafe to have a nice snooze which was wonderful ----that's exactly what I thought that would be for someday ----but then he woke up and somebody sitting around doing nothing is a little more than I can take at times----- so I asked him to hook me up to the trailer so I could clear that out of the way and though he said he'd never done it before he certainly managed very nicely ---so I invited him to ride with me down to the parking pit to unhook--- it which he also did and we got talking and of all the things in his working life the most prominent seemed to be that he is a comedy writer for big time names that I recognize... and in talking to him I could tell there are things rattling around in his head which are absolutely delightful to discuss. He had movie making stories to which I could totally relate. and just in general he's very quick With the comeback.. I am delighted to hear that he has two children who are fascinated with our animals so I'm hoping that he will be around .. I'm always looking for fertile fields of intellectual nonsense.... Already I've forgotten his name but it might be neil.... from Beverly. I hope he continues to bring his kids.
“happy to share with you such as I’ve got
The leaks in the. Roof and the soup in the pot”
I offered his kids their very own donkeys to get to jog with them in the pack burro race destined for next September.
That is a real project – and we could use another dozen kids to get these donkeys moving forward.. it is a combination or carrots, grain, and peppermint candies.. progress will be slow... but around our little pond is a perfect training place. Parents can either watch or help push...
We do have ... I think 2... that are willing participants.. but I think you would find the rest just need to be introduced to the” frying pan- cookie feeding” method of donkey training...
Maybe not all of you know--- but I once drove 8 donkeys .. like the budweisers... in parades and into several big boston h otels... with antlers ( and santas) they can be very reliable performers—much more so than horses. I did.. with donkeys things I would actually never attempt with horses.
Not only driving Santa Claus into ballrooms, but also elevators, and totally loose in traffic with eight of them chasing Janine from the Westin hotel to the prudential tower where we had a second job that day at the top of the Pru..
There is a sign in our barn... and in most barns.. thanks to George Bush senior...” if you get hurt by an equine it is your own fault so don’t sue anyone” I hate to tempt fate- but I have had an awful lot of donkeys in the most unbelieveable places swamped in children- sometimes
( actually in Haverhill) I could not even see my lead team 40 feet in front of me. Christmas is the worst time for accidents for the very peculiar reason that all children are given candy canes... which they then slobber all over and that slobber gets on their hands.. so if you have a donkey or a horse that goes berserk over peppermints--- which a lot of them do.. now you've got a kid whose fingers smell and taste like peppermints you've got an accident waiting to happen.. ---- which is why I am a huge promoter of frying pans. we must get my animals trained to think that peppermint candies are only found in frying pans. Training is training...
my "hitch" on Good Morning America wiht Ronald Regan on the box with me.