Monday 19 November 2007

donkey news x

after a weekend with no broadband connection, it suddenly dawned on me how much time i spend online.
some time spent updating my websites
some time emailing
but most of the time blogging

so this weekend i achieved so much more than usual!

but of course the highlight was meeting the donkeys x

a few miles up the road from our new home live a couple who have dedicated their lives to donkeys - they are not a registered charity, but they do buy donkeys from Russia that arrive in a very scared and nervous state.
they do not question how these donkeys are kept as they want to keep the line of communication open and friendly so that more donkeys can be given a home in the Highlands.

last Winter was hard - they had a lot of donkeys to look after
it broke their hearts to not be able to give each donkey the love and time it deserved each day
so this year we are so pleased to be able to offer a hand
we will take two or three donkeys at a time - they will come to stay in our new stable block and have our land to graze.
they will be thoroughly spoilt with warm deep beds, daily treats and lots of love and fuss
i plan on doing nothing else!
then they will go home and another group will take their place

we are to become a donkey spa...........

eventually we plan on owning at least one donkey of our own - we will wait until he or she chooses us x

so - that makes a pig , donkeys and sheep (borerays arriving Thursday - we hope)

mmmm - what next?

now as Monday evening approaches i sit and cannot believe how lucky i am - all i ever wanted was to surround myself with animals
i have never needed a fancy car or a huge television or designer clothes
just the animals
even if we have to eat nothing but baked beans - any animal that comes to stay with us will only have the best housing, food and kindness


so that was the weekend - hours of meeting donkeys
in the rain

but today was bright and breezy, so i took the girls on the nearest towns river walk





they just love it
a path full of new smells




reed beds to investigate



birds galore



sunshine
and just us three x

talulla really did not want to come home......

but - i had work to do

wonderful new wood toys to unpack, photograph and pop on the websites



scales, fruit and vegetables - i stocked these in my shop and had a set on the play table - children of all ages had great fun!




fantastic new puzzles - really simple shapes and colours and so tactile




ans a little learning whilst having fun......




they all come from a fantastic company that give a portion of their profit to build schools for children in the third world



great quality toys that do not cost a fortune
and that help others

so much nicer than plastic x

t x

14 comments:

Kitty said...

Wooden lift-out puzzles are fabulous for small people - my two had plenty of them and loved them.

Love your new header by the way.

Take care :-) x

Ragged Roses said...

Oh Tracy I bet those donkeys will be queuing up to be looked after by you! They won't want to leave and I suspect you won't want them to either!! It is lovely to hear that you're at last able to have the animals that you wanted. Take care
Kim x

The Honourable Billy Blunt said...

I am sending you a big hug 'cos you are just wonderful and soooo kind,
I think what you are doing is amazing and I wish you every success.
I would like to make a donation to help with the donkeys,it won't be much cos it's xmas and I've 3 children but it might buy some carrots for them.
Do you have paypal ???
Loved your pics,adore your dogs.
Kat xx

dragonfly said...

We stayed on a farm in the summer that had 2 donkeys - I hadn't seen one for YEARS. It's sounds fantastic to be able to take some in and look after them. They are now on our 'will have one, one day' list!
Your brilliant photos always remind me how big the sky is... it never seems that big here in London! So thank you for that...

Cape Cod Washashore said...

I can't wait to see photos of your donkeys! A donkey spa - how wonderful!

My hubby and I are both animal lovers. We've taken in many a stray since we've been married. Sometimes I think the animals around my home eat better then we do sometimes! =) Hubby saves all the pan drippings, puts them in the fridge in a can to form, and then leaves the solidified fat clumps outside in winter for the critters when their food supply is scarce.

GenerallyGemma said...

Amazing isn't how much you get done without the internet! Ours was down for a week recently! The house was spotless!!

Can't wait to see the Donkey spa, sounds blissful, do you take humans?

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

Hello Tracy
Donkeys always make me feel sad for some reason.
I think they are beautiful creatures and deserve better from man as they are treated appallingly worldwide.
This of course applies to lots of animals.
Please give the donkeys a hug from me.. if you have the time!
On a completely different note.. have you got a Not on the High Street page?
Saw your lovely little fawn yesterday.
Michelex

the vicious chicken said...

I love the idea of a donkey spa :o) Lucky donkeys, I say. And those wooden toys are very lovely.
VCx

annie's abode said...

I love your new banner!

I love animals too - I would love love another dog as I do not have any room for anything more here! You never know what we might have in Ireland!!!!!

My sister is a manager of services for those who have a learning dissability and she has recently got some donkies - a Mum and her baby. The users love to pat them and make a fuss. Apparently they do not care much for donkies in Ireland and just give them away - how sad is that!

I can imagine you won't want any yours to leave - I bet you end up with loads of them!

Ax

mollycupcakes said...

Those Donkeys are going to live in the life of luxury with you. They are very lucky to have found such loving people like yourselfs and the rescue centre. Well honey, I just love donkeys, I always have.
Gorgeous photos today and Molly wants to hug Talulla in that photo lol
I remember those scales and veg set, the girls loved it all and it gave me time to chat and look around the shop.
I miss visiting it and you.
But it's great to chat and keep in touch on here and email.
Hugs.
Catherine x

Nonnie said...

I love the idea of a donkey spa! Lucky donkeys. They will all love to visit and be looked after by you. I look forward to seeing photos.
The wooden toys look great. I'm thinking of ideas for my nephew at the moment for Christmas so I'll have a look in your shop. He loves jigsaws already so one of them may be ideal.

Anonymous said...

I am the same way. We live in a rural farm community in the mid-west and my only dream is to surround myself with animals. Right now we have 7 cats and 2 dogs - only 1/2 acre of land at the present, but hope to have more once the kids are out of the house and on their own. I'm so happy for you and for your fuzzy babies - enjoy them and love them !

Anonymous said...

So proud.!!
Proud mummy.xxxxxxxxxx

acrossthepond said...

I am really glad that someone else feels the same way about animals as I do. We live in a city (Ottawa) and cannot have very many animals but we still have 6 cats, 6 rabbits,6 guinea pigs,2 chinchillas, a hamster and fish! I feel I belong WAY in the country and have always wanted goats and a sheep. I don't feel such an oddity now I have heard about your passion for animals too! I love seeing all your animal photo's.
I'm an old friend of Katy Twinkles. We share the same birthday and used to live together in Faversham many many years ago!