Then There Were Two!

I really shouldn't look at the small ads! There is a particular on-line site I enjoy browsing, which is how I found my donkey cart; having a look through it last week I found another cart that was being offered so cheaply I though it must be in an awful state, but as it was very local we decided to go and have a look at it, thinking that if there was not too much work to be done we could smarten it up and sell it on.

Off we went last Saturday morning to find the seller's property. When we saw the cart we couldn't believe it, it was in better condition than the other one we had already bought! The man selling it explained he was doing so on behalf of someone else and he thought the price was ridiculously cheap and he was right. Anyway we had a good look round it but could find nothing really wrong so we couldn't really walk away, could we? On Saturday afternoon we took our trailer back and collected our latest acquisition, brought it home and unloaded. Richard decided to give it a good wash, and that made such a difference; without all the old dust and grime on it the varnished wood looked so much better, to the extent that we don't think we'll do much to it apart from changing the floor boards which are a bit wood wormy and making a new, padded seat and back rest.

Are we going to sell it? I'm not sure, but I don't think so! It is a cart that has a lot of character and a very traditional style for this area and can be used by either Mack or Mabel although I think Mabel, being taller, would suit it better. I still love the little gig we bought first so there is no reason we can't go out for a drive with a donkey each. We'll have to have young Eeyore walking alongside!

Eeyore, his mother Mabel and Mack

It's been a busy few days with the donkeys. We were just having dinner the other evening when one of the local lads knocked on the door to tell us the donkeys were 2 kms down the road. Panic stations! Luckily they had been turned into a field where the hay had just been cut and baled, so they were quite happy munching on the new grass coming through. I was a bit worried that they would not be interested in coming home thinking this place was much better than their own field, but they were as good as gold at standing and having their head collars put on and being led back to the road. Maybe they knew that they really shouldn't have been there, but there was no running around "you can't catch me" antics at all, for which I was grateful as the lad and his grandfather were both watching - the grandfather with a short cane in hand just in case it was needed, although I would not have let him use it.

Richard led Mack and Eeyore, then the boy led Mabel. I took the car home and walked back to meet them where I took over the care of Eeyore. Even when a car past us young Eeyore was not at all fazed by it, in fact I think he was enjoying the whole adventure! When we got them home I thought I better move the fencing to give them a nice new bit of pasture otherwise they might decide to go back to the other field again, a real case of 'the grass is greener' etc! Richard took the battery off for the night to re-charge it because I was sure they would stay put with all the new grass available. Wrong! At 7.00 am the next morning I heard a tractor stop and there was a beep, beep, beeping outside our window, I opened the shutters and the tractor driver told me our donkeys were on the road 'at the back'. Our house sits on the point of two country lanes, and the donkeys were on the road opposite to where the tractor man was talking to me. Pulling on jeans and t-shirt I dashed out, grabbing carrots and head collars on the way, went round the 'V' of the road junction and was greeting by the sight of three donkeys facing me spread out across the road as though to form a barrier to any passing traffic! When I called to them they, again, came walking to me (much to my suprise) and followed me almost to our gate. I had to put head collars on for the last few yards as Mack had stopped, and if he stops the others do too. By the time I had them back in their field Richard had appeared (he had been sound asleep when the drama started) and went to re-connect the battery.

Up to now they have stayed put enjoying their own grazing, long may it continue!

Why this blog?

Two days ago we bought home a gig to use with our donkeys and it needs some restoration/renovation. When I searched for information on the internet I was suprised that I couldn't find anything, maybe I was not looking in the right places, or asking the right questions, but decided to start this blog to chart the progress of the work that's going to be done in case any of it is helpful to others.