We beat back the flies tormenting the donkeys, at least for now. We wiped their eyes with damp cloth and some balm and ointment, we opened up the inner stall in the barn – it is cool and bug-free in there. They will be back, we will be ready. The donkeys specialize in removing masks and coverings from one another’s heads, it is a great specialty of theirs. In the wild, of course, there are no fly masks and they survive.

This morning, I sat out on the Adirondack chair and watched Maria brush the donkeys, as she does faithfully every day It is grounding for her and for them, a sacred part of our day. They cluster around her, await their turns. She does it in every kind of weather except pouring rain, and then they usually go into the pole barn.