Tea on Tuesday

Boy, Tuesday rolls around fast, and sadly, it seems that is the only time I post lately.
Sad commentary on things, when I don't find time to write, when there is always sooo much to talk about!!!!

I don't even have a photo of my teacup or tea today..........it is a lovely bone china mug- my mom found a pair of them in the thrift store for $2- not old, floral, dated 1996. Even tho' I have a pantry full of teas, it seems I always fall back on Lady Grey in the a.m., drowned in local honey..........

This morning, I thought, since I have already bored everyone on FB with my pictures and videos of my new baby donkey- that why not spread the wealth and bore everyone in blogland with the same?????

This past Saturday morning was the day - the day that Finnegan, (formerly known as Li'l Stevie) came to live with us!

Finn was born in January- I met him a few hours after he arrived  into this world.

Just born 1-20-12

a little pinto donkey

He has been living with his parents for 8 months. Altho' his big brother Yoshi, was over a year old when he left his mom and moved here- River and Ocean's owner, Jean, decided it was time for (Li'l Stevie) Finnegan to move in with his brother!

Mom, Ocean, with Li'l Stevie in the backround- getting ready to load him up this Saturday

The first few days of his life, Finnegan was thought to be a Fiona.......then it became quite obvious that HE was not a SHE!

As soon as his tiny hooves hit the ground, Finnegan was feisty and fierce, or as Katie calls him - FEROCIOUS ! He was not afraid of anything and would nibble and bite, and drive his parents crazy! Yoshi, on the other hand, was very quiet, retiring, and so laid back. I was hoping for similar personalities!

Saturday morning, Mr. Green Jeans drove the trailer over to pick up Finn, who needed a little convincing and some pushing from the rear, to get him on the trailer. AS we all know, donkeys won't move, if they don't want to - no matter what their size!!!

He rode very nicely, with Jean in back with him.

Altho' not lead trained, he walked off the trailer like a little gentleman, and into the paddock. We kept him separate for a while, so the horses and Yoshi could get acquainted thru the fence.

first meeting thru' the fence

at 8 mos old, Finn still has his baby fuzz

By lunchtime, I let Yoshi in with his little brother. For a few minutes they played it cool, then Yoshi decided to show Finn who was boss around here and chased him around the paddock for a solid 3 minutes. They were both worn out- it was a bit hot out. They took turns following each other, with Finnegan nipping at Yoshi's neck and face, and Yoshi letting loose with a few well placed kicks, to put this little whippersnapper in his place!!

                    Video


                                             The first day, Finn stuck to Yoshi like glue.

Yoshi's expression reminded me of a well loved Robert Louis Stevenson poem, from A Child's Garden of Verses, circa 1913

 :

I HAVE a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

By day 3, they act like they have been together forever, altho' Finn still sadly tries to nurse, and looks very depressed, and occasionally brays in response to the donkeys who live a few fields away. It seems like he is asking, are you my mother? I am probably anthropomorphising, but weaning has to be hard on these little guys.

Video

Finnegan being a bratty little brother!

Playtime

The horses were mildly interested in this new arrival. They are kind to him, and I hope he does not start chewing on their tails!! We got Yoshi over that bad habit, and the tails are starting to look good again!!! Time to get out the NoChew spray again!!!

Now, I have a goal to outlive these little donkeys, who can live for 35+ years, but most likely they will be left in the will to my daughter, so they are assured of a forever home together!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please drop by for tea every Tuesday, and visit Patty and Kim for a list of other tea lovers

The Sketchbook - A Confession

I have been working on and off, on my sketchbook for the 2nd year of participating in the Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project Tour 2012.

It's not due til the end of January. 2012.

                                 My sketchbook was not going as well as I would have liked.
                                         

                                        Then it took a different turn - it became Yoshi's story.

                                        Now, I've decided, I do not want to part with it!

I think the sketchbook project is a great thing - and I was proud to participate in it last year.
And, it's certainly not that I think my original art is too good to be included - quite the opposite!!LOL There are some extremely talented illustrators and artists participating this time around!! I don't know how they can part with their works of art!!!

Overall, on the tour, my first sketchbook was only seen by people who actually knew it was there. It kind of got lost in the thousands (literally) of books in the tour. I am proud to have it there - that was the first time I had ever attempted anything like that.


And, since, I am not the most prolific artist out there - I decided I really like these original preliminary "yoshis" too much to let them go!!!

Having procrastinated  on what the book should have in it, until the last month or so, helped me in that decision - but mostly, it was, I like my sketches too much!!! I hope that doesn't sound vain- I am just attached!!!LOL

So, I guess Art House can consider my entry fee a donation- 'cause I am keeping the "yoshis", to work on at my leisure!!

Here are a few of them - just beginning - done with pencil and watercolor pencils, some will be finished in Pigma pens.

                                                        Baby Yoshi, mini donkey - born Feb 2010

Yoshi with his mom, Ocean

  Now, this little Yoshi below, was taken at the proper angle- blogger refuses to acknowledge that - tried to crop, then rotate, save as, etc - blogger will not show this upright!! Frustrating!!!!! It was taken exactly as the others were, and they are loading properly.

                                                  Almost 2 year old Yoshi - he eats well!!!!

Naughty Yoshi - I discovered he likes to nibble on tails - two GORGEOUS flowing tails are now "trimmed" on the outer edges!!!!!!

There were a couple more, but they are not loading properly, so I will save them until another time.

A Mini for a Mini !

Last week, when the hay rack got dragged out for the winter, the question came up - what about Yoshi???

I thought I would probably just pull a board out of the hay rack, so little Yoshi could get at the hay. Right now, he can reach the full round bale, if he stretches his neck, but when it gets eaten below the top rail, he'll have a problem.

Not to mention, when the big guys eat, he comes away covered with what falls out of their mouths!!!

             So, Mr. Green Jeans made a Yoshi sized square bale hay stand to match the large round bale one he made for the big guys!

                                                         A surprise to me - and Yoshi !!!

                                   Mr. Green Jeans making last minute adjustments to his creation!

                            


                                 Yoshi..................wake up............we have something for you!!!!

 

Ears forward- all cautiously checking this thing out!!!

Hmmm- just my size!!!

Cisco, the buckskin, is checking it out also. If it has food in it, he's right there!

A few seconds after the above  photo, Yoshi got a bit closer, Cisco ate some hay from the big rack, and dragged it across the little tin roof. The nails on a chalkboard sound sent Yoshi flying (below)!

But, he was soon right back, checking out the hay in HIS little rack!

 

Spoiled? Yup!!!!

Yoshi

A while back, I decided we needed to get another little critter- to keep my old horse company.

I wanted to do this partly to fill the hole left by my miniature horse Miss Lilly's passing, and mostly, because my daughter's 30 year old thoroughbred needed a companion when left alone.

We have 3 horses. Two people cannot go out and ride at the same time, because Mycon is so beside himself when left alone.

So, 
           here
                  comes
                              Yoshi!

I saw Forest Creek Yoshi when he was first born, a year ago, and he was a spindly, adorable little thing. But, he was not on my radar at that time. Fortunately, he was still living down the road a piece, with his parental donkeys, and was still available!
So, we waited 'til he was gelded, and got his tiny hooves trimmed for the first time, and last night he was delivered to our barn.

At first, I thought it might be a good idea to have his dad donkey come along, to help make the transition easier- but his dad had other ideas! Dad donkey absolutely refused to get in the trailer- even sitting down on his butt to avoid being pushed into doing something he did not want to do!!! And kicking his owner!!!

As it turned out, and all things happen for a reason, dad donkey was not needed.

But, old Mycon, being true to his Mycon self, saw this little donkey and totally flipped out!!

He apparently forgot that he used to live on the premises with another donkey- but this little mutant horse like "thing" just put Mycon in a state of abject terror!! As I recall, so did the first donkey he ever saw years ago!

Mycon has never been fond of anything other than horses, hounds, and humans- if it does not fit into any of those three categories - he will do his best to get away from it- and in a big hurry!!!

Last night, Mycon did NOT disappoint!!!

He caught sight of the mini donkey,  pulled away from my daughter, and was literally shaking in his stall, with a heavy chain stall guard across his escape route to the paddock. From almost a standstill - this 30 yr old retired hunter jumper propelled himself over the 45 inch high stall guard and thru' an opening that was about 3' by 3' in diameter! Clean thru'- legs tucked in perfect form!!!

UNbelievable- the old guy still had it in him!!!!

Yoshi was put in a separate paddock, and everyone approached the fence- with big brave Mycon peering over everyone's shoulders - to check out this odd little newcomer.

We went out to check on them this morning- and little Yoshi let out a bray that echoed off the mountains!!

He was so glad to see a human - he really did want to be in with the big guys, not all by himself behind a fence!!!

He is absolutely adorable, and learning to take treats and be brushed, hugged, and loved- and he is apparently our  new
                                                          "early warning system"!

As soon as he sees me (or my daughter) he lets out a huge braying hello!!! His former owner barely ever heard a peep out of him!!! I guess his parents did all the "talking" for him!!

Anyway, I put all 4 together this afternoon - it took just overnight, for Mycon to overcome his fear. Surprisingly, he was the most curious, walking up close to smell this little foreigner!!!

Yoshi is dwarfed by them all.

Cisco, the kindest of our lot, was actually the one who tried to bite and chase poor Yoshi- so Cisco has his grazing muzzle on.
Prince John, the boss of the group, is pretty unimpressed, and doesn't really care about the donkey, as long as the donkey knows his place, and who the ruling Prince is!!LOL

Now, Yoshi can live 35+ years- he's only a year old - so barring any misfortunes(fingers crossed) I guess he will be in the will- to be left to my daughter!!!

Tea on Tuesday in April

I have a headache today - so this will be an odd assortment of pix!!!Fortunately, I preposted most of this!!

I am sipping my mugicha barley tea, in hopes of spring and summer actually showing up at some time!!!



If you have never visited Robyn Gordon's Blog- it is a MUST!!!  This link  is a recent post of hers- that is just perfectly suited to today!!! Make sure you check her other posts - she is an accomplished carver, and always has wonderful artists and links to explore.

My recent hrift store finds: this is a cool 1920's pot, the top finial pulls up with the tea strainer attached.

 Definitely a keeper, altho I wouldn't use it!!! A bit too much age and wear on it!

Here is another aluminum vintage, even mini-er, teapot/coffee pot, with a tiny red handle to remove the strainer.

I am going to have to start hanging these teapots from the ceiling!! Alot of them are turned into wind chimes, but these are too cute- I'm leaving them just the way they are.

Some tea related stuff I made for gifts and for Julieanna's shop - business card cases, chalkboard trays, and some tea drip catchers. The drip catchers are a great way to use up left over fabric scraps! I wrote about these in an earlier post- Donna makes some adorable ones for sale- see her blog.
I bought some from her, and played around to make a couple for myself (I gifted away the ones I got from her!) I've been making my with 3 half circles instead of 4- so far, it seems to work since I have smaller scraps to work with!!!
  The chalkboards are made from vintage, tarnished silverplate trays. The one pictured is an old pewter tray.

The business card cases are all different- can be found at Julieanna's or ordered thru me.

And for some non- tea photos - here is a soon to be new member of our equine family:

His given name is Forrest Creek - he is a one year old mini donkey- his every day name will be Yoshi.  He is tooooo cute!!!!


Please drop by any Tuesday for tea - visit Patty or Kimmie for a list of other tea partiers