Molly is a dustbath ham, part 1
Except for the halter, she looks more like a big Great Dane than a miniature donkey. Check out the dirt on that muzzle and the gleam in her eye: she is having a splendid time!
Except for the halter, she looks more like a big Great Dane than a miniature donkey. Check out the dirt on that muzzle and the gleam in her eye: she is having a splendid time!
Time for a roll to ensure good coverage. Look at that big white belly and the little oval of color in the middle.
The herd down the road has a jack named Jimmy. As boss donkey, Jimmy knows he'll get carrots, if there are carrots to be had.
What a difference a few months make! This little one is now almost as big as her (or is it his?) mama.
This just goes to show the power of a recessive gene. Both parents have a classic white donkey muzzle, yet the baby ends up with a brown muzzle.
On our way back from the grocery store, we passed the herd down the road... and remembered the bag of organically grown carrots we had just picked up. Well, a few carrots more or less don't mean so much to us, but this old gal sure did appreciate a nibble.
This sweet young fella is about six months old. He's not one of ours, but is their younger cousin still living at "home."
After a good roll in the dust, Ambrose enjoys a big yawn. (He looks like a one-eared donkey from this angle, but happily that is not the case.)
Almost done! Mollys loves dandelions, roots and all, which is fine because they're packed with nutrition. (I like 'em, too!)
Anytime is nap-time when you're a donkey - and any place will serve when it's time for a lazy sprawl. Actually, the donkeys prefer mid-afternoon naps, and they even get cranky like toddlers if something interferes with naptime.
We let the donkeys celebrate the arrival of Spring by presenting them with the last of the Christmas wreaths to nibble on. They sure love a piney wreath!
Molly, Keith, and Ambrose enjoy some carrot treats on a sunny day after the donkey's first real experience with snow.
This one's good for establishing a sense of scale. Our minis aren't tiny, but it still surprises us to see how small they really are.
If you had carrots, you couldn't help but share them with this little fella, right?
Beware: Keith is exercising poor carrot-feeding technique. Instead of letting the carrot rest in the flat of his palm, he makes it too easy for an accidental nip - Ambrose can't always tell where the carrot ends and the fingers begin!
This is an example of what happens too often when I try to take photos of Molly and Ambrose. They want to get up close - and inspect for carrots.
He's not as frolicsome as a pup enjoying his first snowfall, but he enjoys it well enough. And it tastes pretty good, too!
Molly is getting in on the heavy-coat look, too. You wouldn't believe how incredibly thick her mane is right now! And that furry brow is too cute for words. She is beginning to look like a little burro. Would that make her a burrito?
Now that truly cold weather has set in with a vengeance, Ambrose is returning to something of his former shaggy look.
Ambrose doesn't often get the chance to sling his neck over the taller Molly's in a gesture that is both comforting and dominating, but when Molly took a drink at the trough this morning, Ambrose made the most of the opportunity.
Thanksgiving started off raining hard, then finally the sun came out - well, for at a few hours. Here Ambrose and Molly await their hay breakfast by standing outside the hay storeroom.
Creatures of habit, Ambrose and Molly like to take rest breaks at about the same time each day. Here, Ambrose has just enjoyed a dust bath, that mutes the chocolate brown of much of his coat. He's just inside the manger door, where he can keep an eye on our activities if nap-time proves too boring. Doesn't he look so small and cute when he's laying down?
It's darker in the manger, but even this dim image leaves no doubt as to how much Molly loves her indoor dustbath. She also makes the most satisfied-sounding grunts and moans when she rolls like this. It is sooo cute to watch.
And here, Molly does her impersonation of a roadkill deer. Molly is such a scamp.
Finally, an image that gives a good view of the difference in size between Ambrose (on the left) and Molly (on the right). Molly is a couple of months older than Ambrose, but we think she'll continue to keep the height advantage. Ambrose's sire was a small jack, too, and that's considered desirable. Slightly larger jennets are good from the perspective of their not having such a difficult time with foaling.
With the cooler weather, the hair on Ambrose's muzzle is already noticeably shaggier. He's starting to get "Clydesdale legs," too.
Notice how Ambrose is able to do a near 180 degree turn with his neck in order to grab Molly? This is an example of what we're talking about when we say donkeys have strong necks! Ambrose will get Molly in a hold like this and will "walk" her around. Not to worry, she is bigger than he is, and she soon breaks free to pay him back with interest with playful kicks and nips. (Yes, we know that Ambrose is practicing for more adult donkey activities.)
