Welcome to Podcast 13, Katz and Wulf On Bedlam Farm, Life With Donkeys.
I never once imagined that in my life, I would learn to love donkeys and would live with them and see them ten times a day.
Donkeys are the most remarkable animals I have come to know in my life on the farm, from Grumpy Carol to Famous Simon to Sweet and Deeply Spiritual Lulu and Fanny. No animal has been more central to human development than the hard-working and often oppressed donkey.
Our lives with donkeys have been rich, warm, sad and profoundly spiritual. Like dogs, they have lived with human beings for thousands of years, and were once the mainstay of commerce and agriculture.
Donkeys have fallen on hard times, replaced everywhere by machines and development. They make the most wonderful pets, easier (and cheaper, and hardier) than dogs. They know people well, and like cats, keep their dignity and independence while also capable of showing great affection.
A lot of donkeys in America need homes right now.
I got donkeys as guard animals, and they have done a wonderful job. We are surrounded by coyotes and foxes, and sometimes, even stray dogs.
We have never lost a sheep to any predator. As vigilant as they are on the farm, they are capable of great compassion and intuition. We love them dearly.
For me, Simon was the emotional epicenter of my life with donkeys he was rescued from near death and starvation by the New York State Police and given to us on the first Bedlam Farm. I wrote a book about him called “Saving Simon,” and he had a pretty sweet life before he died of a sudden stroke.
We couldn’t erase all of the damage he suffered, but we could give him some wonderful years.
Maria and the donkeys have a profound kind of communication that is so deep it is visible even in photographs. She talks about what she is feeling and hearing, and about her great and continuing love of Lulu and Fanny, who she calls “my donkeys.”
Come and listen. This is one of my favorite podcasts.
You can download the podcast here. Or you can listen to it live here.
It is also accessible at the top of the Farm Journal Page or at the bottom of this post. Thanks for listening, our podcasts are not an integral part of our story-telling. They are available on Itunes and Google as well as my blog an Maria’s.
I loved Saving Simon. It further endeared me to these sweet (sometimes stubborn) animals. That’s why it saddens and sickens me to hear about the latest “craze” in China. They are literally slaughtering donkeys by the thousands to make FACE CREAM! This is not fake news, it’s a google search away. Poachers are stealing people’s donkeys in impoverished areas and skinning them alive – so as to not damage their hide. Not to sound racist or xenophobic but something is wrong with this country. While many countries are despicable in their treatment of animals, including the United States, China rises above all others as leaders of the next extinction. Perhaps you could use your platform and knowledge of the “donkey world” to raise awareness and help raise money for these sweet animals. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/30/716732762/donkeys-are-dying-because-china-wants-their-hides-for-a-traditional-remedy Thanks, Dolf
I work with animals and what Maria describes is where it happens – we have to clear our minds and calm ourselves to reach the deeper levels of our soul and share animals. When we do that, it is so amazing. They read minds and since telepathy is communicating in pictures it makes sense an artist would have that ability in spades.
I am deeply in love with donkeys. One of the special people who helped my friend through her cancer journey was a massage therapist who had a child stomped to death by a wild donkey. Which is awful and yet never stopped my love of donkeys, I felt it was no accident she came to help my friend when she was desperately ill.