Donkeys are iconic; they are fascinating, spiritual animals who have worked with people even longer than dogs, it is believed. I love taking their pictures, and today, I noticed I had taken several, and rather than waste two or three, I’m putting them up together—a new idea when I have multiple pictures of an animal.

I’ll kick off the idea with one morning’s photos of Donkey Art.

This morning photo shows Maria recording one of her now famous and always beautiful Monday morning videos, which appear on her blog and YouTube page. They seem to know when to pose.

Donkeys have a well-earned reputation for stubbornness. If they knew I wanted to take their photos, they would not cooperate. Everything has to be their idea. They love attention when they want it and especially love being brushed and groomed. Maria does it every morning, and I do it two or three times a week. They think it’s their idea.

My best idea of the week is combining flower photos with donkey photos. That works for me.