Gracias A Mis Amigos

Gracias A Mis Amigos

Saturday marked our first venture out of the comfort zone of flipping hamburgers (and pancakes) on the BBQ and into the world of international cuisine.

The Refuge hosted our MEXICAN FIESTA on October 11th and served up a generous helping of fun and games and yummy food.

The grounds were decorated in bright colors and the kids activity center was abuzz with happy children who enjoyed making donkey ear hats, playing put the tail on the donkey and taking a swipe at the pinatas that were filled with candy.

A few donkeys were dressed up in fiesta fare and Max wore his pack saddle for all to see.  The donkeys lined the paddock fences to get their scritches and to delight the visitors with their antics.  Favorite donkey stories were shared at the new barn.

Under the Fresh Is Best canopy, volunteers prepared and served burritos filled with spanish rice and spicy beef and beans. On the side was a generous helping of tortilla chips with all the fixings.  If you have wondered how many enthusiastic volunteers it takes to deliver a burrito meal, the answer is 7.  And we all worked like a well-oiled machine.  Okay - we are human - there were are few hiccups but we handled it.

It was so rewarding to listen to the happy hum of our visitors as they enjoyed their lunch at the picnic tables.  What fun!

At the end of the day, it was clean up time and in a few moments the Refuge looked as pristine and organized as it did before the busy day began.  Then it was time to leave the donkeys behind, and give Rob and Shirley a few moments of well deserved rest before chore time.

I don't know about the other volunteers but for me it was feet up and eyes closed moments after hitting the couch at the end of a very long and wonderful day.

A huge thank you to the volunteers, the visitors and, of course, the donkeys! You are all AMAZING!