I looked out the window this morning and noticed that Lulu and Fanny were spending a lot of time standing right by the pasture gate, I got suspicious. Donkeys are the Willie Suttons of the animal world, they love to break out of gates and fences, then they immediately try and break back in. For them, the point is that they’re not supposed to it.

Donkeys are frighteningly intelligent and intuitive, I have seen them unravel chains, dismantle hook and eye latches, open doors. I was right. They were eating the wood on the barn and pushing the rear post on the gate out – it was almost off, a couple of days and they would have had the gate off and been wandering around the yard. With us on vacation. Maria swears they knew we were going away, it’s possible. My first donkey, Carol, unraveled the chain latch at the first Bedlam Farm, opened the gate, game to the rear of the house when I was away, nosed open the back door and came into the kitchen.

When I came home, she had opened the cabinets and some cereal boxes – Cheerios, I think – and was munching away. I had to spray her with a fire extinguisher to get her out. Lulu and Fanny have led a number of successful breakouts, they always come back, they are not fools, they don’t leave their hay and treats, but they are mischievous and smart. Maria came up with a scheme to put up a temporary fence to keep them away from the gate. Jay Bridge is coming over the next few days to repair the damage. Donkey madness.

Fanny was intensely curious to see what Maria was doing, she is planning her next move. I call it donkey chess.