Donkeys take their treats seriously. If you feed them at 3 p.m., at 2:30 p.m. they will appear at the gate and stare into the windows of the house, and listen for movement or sounds. They will stare silently and glare at the house for a few minutes.  If they hear us speak, and it is edging close to 3 p.m., they will begin whinnying and braying, the brays getting louder until they are demanding protests. Hey, we are hungry, get out here. Donkeys are not gracious, not obedient, not flexible about food.

Later in the afternoon, we go out and do the end of day farm chores, and they are at the gate again, expecting a cookie, or a piece of carrot. If they don’t get one, they might bray or they might nudge your butt with your nose to get you moving. Today they each got a horse oat cookie, which they loved, and chewed industriously. I was not getting out of the gate without handing off some cookies. For them, a sacred rite.