Kitten VS Donkey

JuJu the donkey made a new friend. Sort of. He seemed to be just chasin' tail!

XoxoXOx

Magical Carrots::: ft. bruiser, juju and jen

My friend jen came to visit me and the animal crew today... and she brought JuJu her own bag of carrots. They really helped JuJu with not wanting to stomp on Bruiser the Dog...
Here is a video of how the carrots work like magic...



Thanks Jen for coming for a visit! You are such an awesome friend !!!
XOxoOX

Just Me and JuJu (the donkey) and Chickens

the gang. today.

Xoxox

Gettin' JuJu Back Home, On My Own....

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I thought I couldn't do it by myself... but like all human invention, necessity is the birth of all brilliance. And really, i did nothing brilliant except to work with what I had, and that was not alot.
A truck, a short rope, and lots of sweet talk/encouragement.
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Usually in these tough cases with JuJu not wanting to come home, i have a longer rope and tie it to the back of the truck. Then one person drives the truck while another keeps the rope in check (making sure it doesnt tangle in the truck tires!)
But... sometimes its a lonely rainy day... and sometimes I get determined to do it all on my own. Hard headed? Reclusive? Loner? Not in spirit, but in action.
*
So this time, I drove right up to where she was staying (under my neighbors house/porch). JuJu was happy I had come over since she really wants us to move there (she greeted me with a long insane Hee Haw), but we are not moving there... i took her rope without a word and brought her to the truck, I got in the door and hooked the rope on my outside truck mirror. This was not planned ahead of time, i worked this on a moment by moment basis ...
I really thought as i did it --- !!!kiss that mirror goodbye, she is gonna rip that piece of crap right off!!! ---- but...

instead, we were liberated! We were a team...

Watch here...



xoxoxx

JuJu the Donkey's Buck Wild Hike (ft.) Bruiser the Dog

Today was the first time i have dared to take JuJu the donkey on a walk, since her last run away stunt to the neighbors house. In our case, the grass really is always greener, cause we dont really have any grass. So, she has a point.
Our odd herd (trio of unlike species- human, donkey, dog) had an awesome time hiking to the top of "bob knobs" ridge and overlooking one of the most fantastic parts of Western North Carolina.
On our walk JuJu really made the saying "buck wild" come to a reality (watch video below)...
Once we got to the top,
JuJu ate grass, Bruiser was the ever ready body guard, and I listened to headphones, felt the wind, handed out treats and enjoyed it until the cold felt less good then the view.
On the way home,
JuJu did run away AGAIN... and ya'll know how that goes.

Anyone wanna come help me get her back home?



xoxox

Morning & Evening

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here is my morning...



....
and then my evening...



everything in between was cold wind.

xoxoxo

JuJu the donkey Comes Home For Valentines

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Mission : Get JuJu and bring her ass home!



Thank you SOOOOOOO much Jenn and Ian for helping me get JuJu home in an easy, non violent way! Ya'll are great friends! :)))))

xoxoxox

JuJu, Lost and (sort of) Found

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So this morning when i got up all was quiet. Too quiet. No hee haw's coming from outside the cabin and I thought maybe JuJu was really busy digging on some hay, but when i called her and walked all around the property she was no where to be found.
I whistled, i yelled, i started to cry. No donkey.
We had snow last night and locating her tracks was a little confusing at first because the snow had filled them back in some, just enough to make them sketchy to identify while i was in a panic.
Eventually there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow....
or a donkey in heat.
And trying to tell a donkey in heat what to do is like trying to direct a tsunami.



xoxoxo

Beep Beep the Chicken RIDES JuJu the Donkey

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JuJu the donkey gives rides to Beep Beep the chicken.
I LUVVvvvvVVVvVVVvVvVvvvv freakin LUV them!!!!!



xoxoxo

Talking With My Ass (donkey!)

xoxoxo

Snow Walk (ft.) JuJu the Donkey

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Me and JuJu went for a walk today in the snow, looking for sunshine and finding other fun stuff like turkey tracks, ice in the creeks, pretty waterfalls of water.
But then JuJu runs off with some kids and I have to go find her in the dark.



Xoxoxox

Hell Froze Over, A Snowball Has A Chance

When I woke up this morning I had this horrible vision in my head that my animals would all be dead and frozen despite all I have done to make this storm OK for them...
Maybe cause the other day when I drove to town for supplies I saw a horse somewhere in Leicester laying on the ground in a big field, appearing to be dead, after the last snow storm. And I thought, PLEASE gawd don't let that happen to JuJu Bean.
*
The last ten years here in western north carolina had really been pleasant during the winter (on a hot sauce scale it was the bland, mild, without spices) - until last year's hell-a-cious snow frenzy. It seems this season has picked up right where last year left off it's white fluffy drama (on the hot sauce scale it's now spicy, tongue burning, tear jerking, nose running, red HOT).
Except, it's FrOcking cold.
So frigid in fact, the water i filled up in my tub INSIDE my cabin is now frozen solid.
The spring water for the animals to drink finally froze over too. A thick layer of ice formed which i crushed hard by kicking it in with my boots then lifted pieces up outta the way. Unfortunately, not much water was underneath, and I had to smoosh the pot into the cold mud to gather anything. I also had to smash/slam the hell out of the pot against a tree trunk to get the frozen water out. (A rebel yell or grunt makes it easier when swinging!)
*
JuJu the donkey is now limping also. Which worries me, i kept scraping snow off the favored hoof and breathing warmth onto her ears. As I pushed my feet through a foot of snow back to the Luck Cabin I was thinking about tropical islands( yes, mmmmm), i was finally 'getting' why people are obsessive about moving to costa rica and some such places. I was longing for my hometown of New Orleans, if only for a lil warmth and sunshine. I was also thinking... building a sustainable place to live, all alone, in a frigid cold harsh winter'ed location is NOT a good idea. (Note to self: Dont ask if you made a mistake cause it's too late!) Too hard, unless you have a partner who is there to help each day and minute with the unforeseen trials and tribulations of this kind of lifestyle.
Until then I can go between laughing and crying when i fall down in the snow over and over, and beg all powers in the universe to spare my animals.
Not much is making me feel better....
but Billy Idol helps. Thanks BaBY JEzuz for keeping Our ELECtricty On! ;)


Xoxoxox

JuJu the donkey Luvs Her Neck Scarf

This is a lil' story about JuJu and her love of sassy neck scarves ::::

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For the last two months I have not been able to go for walks with JuJu because she had found a way to jump a neighbor's decorative fence and roam their pasture. Mr. Dontlikedonkeys next door was more then unhappy about it, and since he'd caught her on his surveillance cameras JuJu the donkey was guilty as charged for her trespassing offense.

A sad long 2 months passed as we waited to come up with the right solution to the problem, and built a small fence this past week along the creek to block her from her habit. Yesterday was our first day to go for a walk again, and she was more then ready to get outta her fenced area - she was pushing with her head on the gate and jumping and swinging things- so when i took out her halter to put on her face (the ultimate symbol of "walk time") she grabbed it in her teeth and shook that donkey head in a big resounding YES YES YES!!!

I put the halter on her face and we were all ready to go...

but then... JuJu went inside her barn stall and stood there... patiently...staring at me. She would not budge. We stared back and forth in silence.
I was confused.
"Are you scared JuJu? Do you not remember? DO you want to go for a walk?"

JuJu then pointed her soft nose to her special blue neck scarf tied to the side of her stall and gave it a nudge. I had taken it off that morning... and thought, does she really want it back on?

I took the possible cue and pulled the silky scarf down and tied it around her neck. Then i stood back and walked towards the gate...

She now was ready to go for a walk, and followed me at almost an excited run right out the gate!

All she wanted was her pretty neck scarf on before she went out in public...

........... I dont know where she gets it from (the fashion sense OR the trespassing?!? ;)

Xoxoxox

JuJu The Donkey Smiles

And it's not a trick of the camera. She really does smile. It's heartbreaking how a face can make you love the whole spirit so much.

Xoxoxo

JuJu the Donkey Discovers Her Own Reflection

On our walks together, JuJu has discovered many new things... things that are sometimes big and scary, things that are loud and noisy, fake animals, real animals, so many humans, so many creeks. Most of which she must slowly approach, each new situation is assessed in her mind for safety and potential fun before she can fully relax.
So when she discovered her own reflection, I thought possibly something terrible had happened.
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I was picking chestnuts with my neighbor Nancy (at another neighbor's house who was out of town) when JuJu the donkey suddenly took off running! At the rate JuJu was going I thought she might run clear straight home, alone! I gave her a whistle and she soon came trotting back. Literally trotting like a freaked out show pony. She ran back behind the house we are at...
I assumed there was a large animal, either in the flesh or by scent because the only time I ever saw her run like that was in the threat of a bear nearby. Nancy wanted to know for sure and walked back behind the house only to discover JuJu looking at herself in the giant reflective windows!!

"Leslie, you better get back here I think she is going to go through the window, she seems really upset!"

I jumped down off the rock ledge from the chestnut tree and ran back there to find JuJu looking at herself in the window, and showing the reflection she was now IN HEAT!
Opening and closing her mouth, breathing out, making chewing sounds, lifting her tail (all symptoms of a donkey in heat)! She got hawt for her own beautiful self mirrored back to her!

Drooling and wiping her snot nose on the out of town neighbor's windows... she then took a piss and 2 big shits on their lawn too. Nicely mowed lawn.

JuJu was fully smitten with that "donkey"!

It took a LONG time to get JuJu to leave her reflection. I thought if the sun went down we'd be in luck, but it turned out the windows were tinted to be reflective on the outside regardless of light. The amount of coaxing I did was going no where. Treats were going no where. Nothing is as powerful as the urge to mate, I began to think, as I paced back and forth along the road hoping she'd come. I finally went back and waved my arms in front the window to make it seem hazardous. I tried stomping my foot, i tried pulling her rope. Running her off. Finally I just cursed, got mad and stormed off, thinking I had no idea how to get out this pickle.

Then, JuJu came running behind me.

I suppose there are some things stronger then the urge to mate. I am not sure what you call it though. She did Hee Haw back in the direction of her new friend half way home, just in case they might want to join us. :)

XOxoxo

JuJu the donkey and Beep Beep the chicken

The best eva'. Cute Overload, you can eat this for breakfast! Lunch! and Dinner!

Xoxoxo

Rain Walk: Things Me and Mah' DOnkee Liked

Me and all my animals (chickens, a donkey and one cat) have all been cooped up (so to speak) for the last few days with the constant fall rains. Even though it was still overcast and a drizzle came down on my hooded head I invited JuJu the donkey to go for a walk with me...
She totally wanted to come. On with the halter and out the gate, we ventured not too far from our home but far enough to feel freedom from the gloomy confinement.

JuJu is one of the most alert, consistent, and reliable guard animals I have ever seen - she hears things from farther away then I can even imagine them and is always right on target. She knows when they are just something to notice or if they are a true threat (which a donkey will kill or injure), she always shows me whats far ahead when she stops short of walking, flares her nostrils, and takes on the stiff, high eared pose she has in the pic above.

A lil' further up, I saw what she heard over some hills and hundreds of feet away...

wild turkeys!!! (See them in the pic below, making a run down a nook in the meadow...)

Along the road we also came upon something that is fairly new... someone set up a wood stove for outside cooking! I happen to love this idea, because I have a really old not serviceable wood stove on my porch and have been dreaming of using it as an outside fire/cook stove for Spring, Summer and Fall when it's too warm to fire up the one inside the house.

The wood stove I have is missing a front door, and I thought it could be turned into a Cob Oven! (Read HERE how to build your own cheap outside oven.)

Remember the 'pink trailer' I (didn't) trespass at a few months ago...

JuJu has a thing for the retro trailer too. Everytime we pass it she wants to walk all around it, look in the windows, nibble on some charcoal in a burn pile out front, and just generally chill out there...

I am so glad she doesn't look in the windows of my neighbors who are actually home! ha.

The same someone who must have set up the wood stove, placed two animal skulls side by side on a mossy log. Then I found the plastic daisy. I like old plastic flowers in a weird way, even though I am not sure I should....

The thing me and JuJu like the most though, is the forest in general. The bigger picture, the adventure, the all encompassing balance of it, the safety & the dangers, the sounds, the peace, the tall trees, the wet bark, the weather, the wild plants-

the feeling that things are completely right.

Xoxoxox

Obstacles Overcome: JuJu The Donkey Don't Need No Lead

Me and JuJu the donkey have had only one major obstacle to overcome together, and that was coming home. Whenever I put on her halter and took the lead rope we'd happily walk together UNTIL she began running from me when we'd make the trek back towards the cabin. Understandable, she wanted the walk to go on forever... or at least alot longer, but I didn't or couldn't so the whole runaway game was really sucking for me.
In everything else she was gentle - lifting hooves, putting on a halter, making friends with strangers, walking through new (even scary) places, learning new tricks like how to roll a bucket or open a door with her nose, she even walks right through the creeks here.
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Yesterday I dared to take her on a hike with me and Bort (even though it could have made it a stressful disaster) - it wasn't till we reached our destination ( the round house) that I learned something about JuJu that I am so excited about I am still about to piss myself in amazement...

THE STORY::::
Bort found a gravity fed spring water pump at the round house and turned it on to see if it would spray water. Up until this point I had held the lead rope, and JuJu walked fairly quickly sometimes pulling me... but when that water sprayed it spooked her and in an unusual donkey fashion (cause they usually freeze & stand still) she decided that the spray of the water pump was terrifying enough that it was time to haul ass! I tried saying "WHOA" and "STOP" but she was too scared and ran even faster, so I let the rope go.
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In that moment I felt myself give up - give up completely the struggle because the donkey would always be stronger then me and would always know it. She ran a good ways back up the trail we had come from and in my surrender I decided to try something different then before. I decided not to go find her, but to wait and see what she would do. Within about 5 minutes she came back on her own accord, and from then on EVERYTHING changed!!!! I rewarded her for coming back and then tied her lead rope back so it wouldn't drag on the ground and I didn't touch the rope again. I let her decide to follow us as we hiked. That's when we all relaxed and started to really have fun! Gathering wildflower & tree seeds, while JuJu grazed.
JuJu went at her own pace, sometimes getting ahead of us, but mostly happily walking behind us, stopping when we would stop, sometimes wondering off to sniff & nibble - but always running to catch up and never wanting us to be out of ear shot or sight. I did not touch the rope. She walked all the way home, with no issues, she jumped over the larger creek, she hung out outside the cabin and around the pond eating grass...
and the clincher....... she went back IN THE GATE on her own.
Holy SHIT!
The Fanny Pack full of treats, all the scratching, singing, love and care I have been putting my heart into has finally created the bond I had hoped for! JuJu is my herd and my friend. (I jus' hope she wasn't showing off for Bort!)

Xoxoxo

Fanny Pack, A Donkey's Dream Come True

When I first realized I needed a Fanny Pack to help with (peacefully) training JuJu the donkey, I thought about most people my age with kids... and how dorky they probably feel in their mini van carrying diaper bags instead of sexy handbags. I be-moaned my new dorked out stage in life publicly on my facebook status and was miraculously rewarded with the CUTEST vintage fabric handmade fanny pack ever from artist/writer/crafter Autumn Wiggins!
YAY! Let the non violent, reward heavy, totally hip fanny style donkey training begin!!!

My first Fanny Pack goal was to get JuJu the donkey to lift her hooves for me - this is so I can start the ritual of cleaning them for good hoof health, and for later trimming. I cut up a pear as a super special treat and filled the fanny pack with it. The fanny pack makes it fast and easy to reward the donkey WHILE she's doing what you asked instead of after, or too late for the donkey to understand which 'thing' it did right.

I have never done this with a horse or donkey before, and was learning from watching youtube videos and reading the Donkey Companion book... there was also no one around to show the little nuances to this trick so if you are an expert you will notice I was standing backwards (but it did work). I simply relied on JuJu's past experience of most likely having done this before & the fanny pack full of treats.

I have been spending alot of time rubbing JuJu down in a sort of "show and scratch" game i call "Itch and Scratch", where she shows me where her itches are and I scratch them - this has made it so she doesn't mind me touching her legs to begin with.

For doing hooves, I say the word "HOOF" as a cue, I begin to lift her leg and as she starts to lift it up in my palm I hand her treats from the Fanny Pack. I also hand her another treat from the F Pack while she stands letting me hold her hoof for a while... so that she understands she will need to stand for a longer time eventually while I clean the hooves - the treats are to help her build up good feelings about this activity with me and it certainly works... she started pointing to her legs after asking me to lift them so she could get more pieces of F Pack pears!

Success!

Oh FANNY PACK... hells yeah, you are my savior! Seriously.

Thank YOu SOoooooo much Autumn for the fabulous, functional, eco and easy to work with Fanny Pack! You rock!

Xoxoxox

JuJu The Donkey + Beep Beep The Baby Chicken= No Longer Enemies

Remember the attack, when JuJu tha' donkey felt strong murderous instincts against the baby chicken Beep Beep?

No longer a problem. :)

Xoxoxo