Donkeys have the richest spiritual and cultural history with people of any other animal on the earth, they have lived with people, worked with people and served them for thousands of years. They know us well and can read our intentions at a glance. They have lived and toiled all over the earth.

Their love for people is in service, they are not as demonstrative as dogs or as coy as cats. Their love is at a distance, they are always watching and studying us. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey he rescued, one of the first rescue animals in history. Donkeys have shaped art, literature and culture.

They have borne witness to the joys and travails of humanity. There are many great books – Cervantes comes to mind – about people and donkeys traveling the earth, the Kabbalah is filled with references to wise donkeys bearing truth and love. So many great works of art include donkeys as figures of restoration and resurrection.

Lulu and Fanny are out witnesses, they know what I have in mind the moment I set food in the pasture, they are almost impossible to fool or trick. They are affectionate, but on their own terms, there is always a slight skepticism about humans in their behavior.

Yet they are deeply spiritual. Maria and i save our time sitting alone with them in the pasture, their silent love and attention, their need for connection, their scholarly and gentle way of chronicling and marking our lives and our world. I’m grateful for Lulu and Fanny, they have enriched our lives and brought us meaning and peace, as did Simon, who died more than a year ago, but is often remembered.