QUALITY TIME AT THE REFUGE

Rosie this past summer - how pretty is she?

Yesterday was lovely at the Refuge.  Shirley and I spent time discussing business (aka fundraising) and also formulated the upcoming AMAZING newsletter that will go out in mid-November.  Then it was off to the new Refuge to check out the bathroom that our Director, Brian Baker is building in the residence basement (soon to be the new home of our office) and to pick up brochures and calendars and Hope For Chance storybooks to sell at the Carlin Hall Craft Sale on Nov 8th.
Then.....you guessed it.....time with the long ears.  I think they might be missing visitors already!  It was raining and all of them were in the dormers keeping dry.  The minis looked quite funny.  They were lined up along the dormer walls, most of them facing the middle of the dormer.  A few non-conformists were face to the wall and behinds inward.  It all looked so uniform and correct.  Then my former nemesis turned sweet sweet girl, Bea and her sidekick Franny broke rank and marched through the center of the dormer and it became a swirl of donkeys.  I did notice that by the time I had finished visiting the other herds, the minis were back as they were when I arrived.  Too cute!
I spent a bit of time with the standard donkeys.  Rosie was first to greet  me and to get her hugs and scritiches.  All others followed suit except for Nova and Julio who seemed more interested in watching the rain fall.
The mammoths on the other hand were very pleased for the company.  Even Cotton came rushing over for attention.  He and Sampson are particularly interesting as they come boldly forward then hesitate when you go to touch them.  Given their extreme shyness when they arrived earlier this year, the fact that they now seek attention is wonderful.  Their hair feels so thick and soft now that the winter coats are growing in.  Ollie had fun licking my hand - a new experience for me. I guess I must have tasted okay because he then decided to try to eat my sleeve and then my collar.  He did let go with no harm done but it was pretty funny. Ruby was in a cranky mood and kept pushing her way in - not to get hugs but apparently to make sure no one else got them. Cheeky girl!
Anyway, the quality time was QUALITY TIME and I loved it.  Looking forward to next Thursday to see even fluffier donkeys in their winter attire and to spend time with these amazing creatures.  Even a short time with them makes my heart soar!