We noticed a week or so ago, that Lulu and Fanny, bored by the snow and ice that has kept them in the barn, began eating the barn. Life with donkeys is a life of animal chess, they do something, we do something.

Then they do something again.

Something is always doing something to something.

That’s what a farm is like, almost every day.  And donkeys are wicked clever, they love to annoy people and outsmart them.

The first thing we did is to drive to Chauncey’s in Arlington, Vt. for pancakes. The high winds are supposed to strike tonight, and there’s an even chance of losing power. So I want to get my writing in  early, when the winds get up over 60 m.p.h, as they are supposed to do tonight, I turn off the computer.

I put the trash cans and winter shovels in the barn, and secured everything that might blow around. The dogs and other animals will not like tonight, those winds are close to hurricane strength, if they do, in fact, come.

But back to the donkeys. We have no put chicken wire up all along the interior of the pole barn, this gate is the last thing and it is half-chewed.

Maria, handy in so many ways, went to the hardware store with me, we bought staples and chicken wire. I emptied out the water bucket and cleaned, she went to work on the gate. She got annoyed and asked me to take a video of her working, she likes to put a video up every day now if she can.

It went smoothly, I had to run to the hardware store for a different size staple – the problem was solved – and Lulu and Fanny took a great interest in what she was doing. They know what she is doing, we all know that, and I am curious to see what their next move will be. It will not be to behave.

Lulu and Fanny are huddling right now planning the counterattack. We like to think we are smarter than our donkeys, we also know better.