Rain, muck and a broken tractor, all made right by the love of a donkey.

The first part of the day is undocumented because it was soooo frustrating. First the rain came pouring down and the horses blamed me. They gave me dirty looks and shivered. They ate but let me know that sunshine was preferable to the crummy wet stuff. Last night I had put Aurora, Chardonnay and Sunny in the barn because the wet weather makes them really cold. Aurora has a cough we are treating and we wanted her to be in for the vet to check.

Well, Jakester the jokester had opened the gates and pushed them out so he and Sweetie Pie could be in. The girls were cold so I shooed Jake and friend out and had to lead the other girls back to the barn in the pouring rain. Tied all the gates to keep Jake away.

Fed and watered then got ready to grocery shop. Shopping was a little different in that everyone was on slow speed. No one moved faster than Hector the tortoise. Then got the call that I had the wrong day for the vet and needed to turn out all the barn folks, excepts the girls and Tawny and Tory. We had put the Thoroughbreds in, too.

When I fed tonight CoralBelle the tractor decided to die, so I had to unload the hay trailer onto the back of the truck. That meant in and out of the truck and in and out of the bed of the truck.AAACK!!!!

Now for the good stuff. We decided that Trixie's name didn't fit her. She didn't seem to respond to Trixie so we listened carefully to her. We tried Arab names and she liked and responded to Amira which means princess. She is such a wonderful horse and did everything Helen asked her to do.

Jake is a magician. He can open any gate, undo the locks and sometimes untie the ropes we use. He's also a big baby and is afraid of "getters." I had to sneak up on him to get this picture. He is special to me because he was the first horse who talked to me . At least he was the first I heard, and I heard him in words. It was a very powerful experience. He was a PMU rescue and is about 6 years old.I love longears. They are so spiritual. If you need to be uplifted and believe in something just get in touch with a donkey.

Molly mule is a gentle soul. She is a little shy but is a great girl.

Every time I turned around today there was Jonathan. Now that he knows we love him, he feels free to love us back. He askes for pets and rubs all the time. He follows us to the house, to the barn, to the water tanks, to the calf pen. He even followed the truck as I fed. He's so itchy, but doesn't like grain so we can't add supplements. Maybe I can grate some carrots and get some goodies in to him. Isn't he wondeful?

Tomorrow will be a less frustrating day, I hope.

Home At Last Sanctuary POBox 4129 Yankee Hill Ca 95965

This Sunday we will be at the Paradise Horsemen's Arena for gold Nugget Days. Stop by and meet Babe the Pony of the Americas and Smokey the Rocky Mountain House .