Wednesday, July 29, 2015

There just aren't enough blogposts about donkeys...

Here's my attempt to do something about this interweb crisis. Allow me to introduce Ozark and Isabelle:



They live on my uncle and aunt's farm in Nova Scotia. We've just returned from our family summer vacation in the Maritimes, so prepare for photo posts over the next little while. It is pretty tough to take a bad photo in the Maritimes...it is such a scenic part of our country!  Okay, so donkeys.


Ozark is still getting used to his new stable-mate Izzy (witness ears back in top photo). Both of these cuties are rescue animals that now get to live a lovely life in a gorgeous barn and pasture, along with Bailey the horse (photo below). My aunt Karen is such a compassionate animal-lover and she's taking very good care of these donkeys.  She recently lost her first rescue donkey Owen and everyone was very sad and missing Owen and his hilarious personality terribly. A farrier alerted her to Izzy, who was suffering terrible neglect. Luckily, Izzy recently got to come live at her new home and she's settling in just fine.


Look at that face!!! She's a character like no other. Karen's been trying to find out what kind of donkey grows hair like a llama.  Apparently there is a very rare breed of long-haired donkey, but a large rescue centre in Ontario thinks it unlikely that Izzy is that kind of donkey, just because they are indeed so rare.


She likes to fill up her hair-do with dust.


Ozark seems mystified and rather embarrassed for her.


They both loved the love, though. I think Ozark's ears are back just to maintain his reputation. He really does seem like a sweet fella.  We had such a nice visit - it was my first time seeing the farm since they'd moved there. D was all smiles because she got to ride around the pasture on Karen's horse Bailey.


I took a zillion photos because a farm is too good a photographic location to pass up!  I rode and had my own horse all through high school.  I miss being around horses regularly.



The chickens get to free range all day and bring themselves inside every evening.


This is the neighbour's old barn next door.

After our visit we drove to a well-known lobster supper spot in Hall's Harbour for dinner. The tide was high when we arrived, but dropped about 6' during the 2 hours we were there!




Here's B with our dinner. You choose your lobsters from the tank in the gift shop, then walk them outside to the boil shack where they are prepared for you.  D couldn't quite reconcile the tank to pot scenario, so she chose to eat lobster mac & cheese instead.

I never imagined writing a post about donkeys with a side of lobster, but there you have it. More Maritime goodness to come. I hope you are enjoying your summer.








14 comments:

Dianne said...

I do love your travel posts!
I'm with D on the whole live lobster to hot pot thing. Weird given that I was raised on a farm and no stranger to how we obtain our food. But there you have it -= lobster mac and cheese it is!
:)

Barb said...

Love it

Dawn said...

OMG.....what great photos! And who doesn't love a donkey or a horse or chickens for that matter??? lol What lucky critters that they get to live the rest of their lives in luxury. Thanks for sharing parts of your vacation.

paulette said...

Ahhh who doesn't love a good donkey tale! Loved the pictures and yeah to the Lobster Mac and Cheese...bet it was yummy!

Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts said...

The moral of the story: it's better to be a donkey than a lobster. I love that the long haired donkey is using dry shampoo, very clever. Izzy will win Ozark over in the end, I'm sure. I'd love to know if Izzy is that rare donkey, and I'd also love to know if you can spin Izzy's 'wool', just like you can with llamas/alpacas. Hmmm.

Jenny M said...

A beautiful donkey story ~ so good to see them in such a loving home. How could anyone neglect a donkey is beyond me!

myBearpaw said...

You are so right there aren't enough blogposts about donkeys! I love donkeys! My plan is to have a donkey (or 2!) here at Shangri la Farm once I retire. These 2 are gorgeous, and so are your family! Thanks for all the lovely photos - keep em coming!

SarahZ said...

:) I wondered when we would get the scoop on the donkeys! It looks like a wonderful time!

Teresa Duryea Wong said...

You don't see too many quilter blog posts about donkeys! Love this. They are lucky to be rescued. I also rode horses through high school and I miss them too. You took some great photos of the area.

Carol Browne said...

I agree. More donkeys! We are heading out to the Maritimes tomorrow and I can't wait. We'll be on the South Shore, AND we will eat lobster. It's the only thing on my spreadsheet of things to do in NS. It is a beautiful place, isn't it?

ann said...

Fun post and the photos are wonderful just as you said they'd be. We've done the Halls Harbour lobster dinner too. My BIL is in Halifax so on a cross country tour several years ago we treated him to lunch as he had kindly put up with our motley crew for a week. How were we to know lunch would cost over $250 for 7 with one opting for a burger ? It was delicious however. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

trudys_person said...

Crisis? What crisis? Love your travel photos. The donkeys are adorable!

mohamed said...

شركة تشطيبات ودهانات ودهان وبويه بالرياض
شركة تركيب رخام وجرانيت وواجهات حجر وجميع اعمال المقاولات بالرياض
شركة لاعمال السباكة والكهرباء والانارة والبناء بالرياض
شركة ديكور بالرياض
شركة ورق جدران بالرياض
شركة صيانة بالرياض
شركة أعمال جبس بورد بالرياض
شركة ترميم بالرياض
شركة تركيب حجر طبيعي بالرياض
شركة مقاولات بالرياض
شركة كسر رخام بالرياض
شركة تنسيق حدائق بالرياض

paulette said...

Hi Krista!
I just HAD to write and congratulate you on your Sprouts Quilt being in Homespun Magazine! I stumbled onto your post about it from another blog...so of course, I wondered how I missed it??? But I see it was on July 15...wedding week for my daughter! haha I 'guess' we were busy...:o) It is such a beautiful quilt...I remember it from the Blogger's Festival. Anyways congratulations! I will be on the hunt for the magazine...and please thank your friend for posting the directions on how to make the block! This quilt has been added to my To Do List!! (I better live to be 200 so that I can make EVERYTHING that I want to!!) All the best!
Pxo