It has rained for over a week, with just a few hours of sunshine breaks here and there. Our poor little animals are running out of dry space.
This is the second or middle pasture….it looks like a lake. It rained over 2 inches last night. Most of the past week was just rain….but not last night. We had thunder and lightening and the rain poured. The wind was blowing so hard that it looked as if it was raining in a horizontal position.
Viola -front left, Lucy -front right, Frieda- back left, Mary Jane -back right and behind Mary Jane is the back end of Buster Brown. This was often how I found them last week. They would huddle up under a roof of one building or another. I suppose they didn’t want to stay in their house all day long, so they sought shelter wherever they were. Once the rain let up…they would move to the next location…and huddled up again.
Yesterday, we took Mary Jane and Buster Brown across the street. Our neighbor had an area that needed to be “weeded” . What better way than to have real weed eaters….right?
They were VERY happy to enter their new buffet. However about 10:45 last night, Billy and I heard the most awful screaming you could ever imagine. We looked at each other like “What in the world”? Then we immediately recognized that “scream”. Billy ran to the back door and standing there soaking wet and screaming to the top of her little lungs was Mary Jane. She had apparently been horrified of the storm and decided to come home. Buster Brown wasn’t too far behind her. We let them bed down in the garage for the night. They were pitiful. I dried them off with a towel and they just loved every minute of that. We didn’t hear a peep out of them for the rest of the night.
This morning I was concerned about all the animals at the farm…so I headed that way.
That is when I saw how high the water was. I made my way around a lot of the pasture but most of the animals were in places I couldn’t get to easily. I went to one area where I could at least get a peek at them from a distance.
I was watching my surroundings so I wouldn’t get stuck in the mud. I noticed something on the ground, someone had delivered a baby!
Now… I had to locate everyone and see who it was.
I found out that it was Zippy!
When I came around the wood pile I saw them. It was like seeing the calm after the storm. I hardly noticed all the water damage….I just saw the beauty of this precious new life.
Zippy is very protective, so I keep my distance. It sure is a cute little thing, I’m guessing it is a girl….but I cannot say for sure.
Zippy looked good and healthy…and so did the baby.
It has very distinct black markings on it’s ears….
and the mane has a lot more black in it than any of the others.
I kind of feel sorry for Moses….Zippy doesn’t want him anywhere around. I wish she wouldn’t act like that to him.
Jack and Moses decide to just leave Mama alone.
Jack has grown so much….he is almost as tall as his father.
I noticed that Zippy’s eyes look tired here, but she did just have a baby after all.
I will have to say that I was a little surprised that it was her that gave birth. Jack was born last July 4th. I have read that donkey’s carry their babies 11 to 12 months. Most articles lean toward 12 months gestation. I knew Zippy looked “ready” as far as being big and waddling, but I thought we wouldn’t have a baby until August.
Now, as far as the cows go, Zsa Zsa is our last one. She is getting close to delivery too, but I am not about to guess on that one.
Zippy is a great mother. She stays right with her baby…with the exception of running off Moses and Jack!
While she was doing that….I did get this one picture of the baby by itself.
But then….Mom was right back….
ready to protect and take care of her baby.
I've Gone Country 