Red has figured out how to work the pasture. He burrows around like a mole rat – so do we – and has tunnels and paths everywhere. He disappears into the snow banks and pops up where he wants to be. I sat down with him in one of our growing snow tunnels this morning, I wanted to see the world as he sees it. This is a good vantage point for him, he can keep an eye on the sheep in the feeder and move them around if he needs to.
He seems to know where all the tunnels are, the sheep don’t. When I show and dress, Red is by the front door, poised in his work stance, eager to get out. The snow is just another element in his work life, he is a dog engineer in so many ways.
Fanny and Lulu are hardy, as donkeys are. Donkeys require much less care than dogs or cats, they just need hay in the winter and hooves trimmed every few months. They don’t mind the heat or the cold, they navigate the snow, they are skilled at soaking up sunlight.
With Simon gone, Lulu and Fanny are re-emerging. They are the Sweet Sisters in my mind, they also love people and attention, Fanny is beginning to bray loudly, Lulu has settled down quite a bit since Simon died. As sweet as he was to us, he was not so sweet to them, and there was quite a bit of tension – kicking, mounting, nipping – that has gone since he left. Every morning, Lulu and Fanny had to kick Simon in the head to keep him in his place. And that didn’t work for long.
I suspect the Spring will see a real coming out for these two, they love to get their morning hugs and carrots, unlike domesticated pets donkeys like to amuse themselves, they like some attention, they like to be left alone. Lulu and Fanny are sisters, they have never lived apart from one another.
People insist to me that animals grieve like humans, but I have never seen an animal of mine grieve. As Simon lay dying, Lulu and Fanny were grazing five feet from his head, and they barely turned around when he was buried. Life is not easy for female animals around males in many cases. I suppose it isn’t that easy for human females being around males either.
But there was no sign of grieving, they never lost their appetites, were calm and affectionate after Simon’s death – more so, perhaps.
I will be glad for them when they can forage and graze again, I think it is the only thing that bothers them about the winter.
