The donkeys love our fire ceremonies in the Spring and The Fall. They love rolling in ashes to scratch itches, drive off flies and ticks and clean their coats.
Last week, we celebrated the Summer Solstice – the longest day – and they kept their distance from the flames. They are nothing if not adaptable, they use what they can find.
It’s an animal way of taking a bath after the solstices.
They wait a week or so to ensure all the embers have gone out and then roll around in the ashes or dust, get up and shake themselves off.
Fanny went first, and Lulu followed. It’s always interesting to see how animals like donkeys figure out how to adapt – they can’t shop on Amazon or go to the hardware store.
Looking at Fanny’s belly, she is too fat! She needs to lose some weight or she will have problems with her legs/hoofs, etc, in the future. The next time your vet is out, ask him for help/ideas on how to do this. I would hate to see her life
shortened because she is overweight.
Judy, our vet, who was here a few days ago says our donkeys are quite healthy and in perfect condition. Our farrier says the same thing. It’s natural for them to gain weight in the first weeks of the Spring when they have sudden access to fresh grass. Their eating is limited to grazing for two or three hours, twice a day. We believe them to be in fine shape, I’m not a big fan of diagnosing animals from online photos or by non-professionals. We listen to our vets.
Anytime Jon reads, what he thinks is a negative comment, he becomes very defensive. Fanny is definitely carrying some extra pounds.
Ah, yet another online vet is born. You wouldn’t believe how many I delete. Poor Fanny. She’s just trying to get the bugs off her coat, and the yentas pounce. I don’t see it as a negative comment at all Don, you should read some of the other comments. I just don’t agree with it, truly. Sorry, but there is a difference, you don’t seem to get that.
I did get a chuckle out of your message and thank you for it. I love your referring to “Jon” in the third person as if it isn’t my blog. Don, you are a new name to me here, and I guess you don’t know that your comment about me is absolutely true, you are about the 200th person to notice it and comment on it, but sadly have nothing new to add to it.
I’m trying to figure it out myself. Believe it or not, I’m getting better, although easily provoked with many provokers.
I started to write “duh,” but that would only have generated more comments from the very eager Jon Katz analysts who are annoying but often perceptive and lecture me about being mean and telling me what to say (Hopeless, but they seem to have lots of free time.) For most of my life, people thought I was a wuss and a sissy and said so, but here, people think I’m a big nasty bear. I suppose the Internet often does to me what it does to them. Lessons to learn.
Wow! Who knew?! I have to ask, do your dogs roll in the ashes too?
Zinnia will roll in anything, give a chance…not the others.
Birds love to bathe is ashes. I save ashes from the winter in bags and put them out back for the birds throughout the spring and summer.