EEEyaEEeyaAAAhhh

After two great days of sun and even warmth, yesterday was rainrainrain and muck and mud and more mud.

But I always get tickled with Donkey when I am milking. I milk in that shed picture a couple days ago. Cow is tethered in corner with food. I sit on stool and milk. I give half the grain, milk, then give the other half the grain. Donkey figured out there was grain in there some time ago. So he comes running when he figures out I'm milking. I keep the extra grain very near me, under my right leg actually, while I'm milking so he won't just eat it all. But when I give the cow her second portion, I leave a handful in the bucket and give it to him.

If you haven't ever heard a donkey trumpet, they really do go "EEEEeyyAAAAAhh". Sometimes they hiccup, "EEyeeyEEyeey" before letting go with the 18-wheeler airhorn "AAAAAAhh". Our Donkey, aka Burrito, gets impatient to get his grain but he is too smart to let go with an full fledged trumpet standing right next to me in that shed. So he siddles up behind me, stretces out his neck, and slightly whistles "eeyeeyeey" with his nose almost touching my head. When I turn my head to look at him, suddenly he acts like, "Oh, what are you doing looking at me? Are you looking at ME?" When Junior the cat strolls into the shed to see if I'll squirt some milk at him, Donkey lowers his head, pins back his ears and tries to chase the cat out but the cat just moves toward the cow because the donkey will not mess with the cow.

But if I am ever late getting to milking, it is Donkey and not the cow who hollers for me. Perhaps the airhorn EEEyaEEEyaEEEyAAAAAhh is more effective than mmmmoooooo.

The little hothouse has onions and alpine strawberries seeded in it. The agricultural year at its new moon phase.

This morning when I milked, Donkey missed it. So Ralph the kitten was emboldened to come in the shed and attempt to steal milk. Eventually he gave up that persuit and climbed on the stool, up my back, and settled on the tip top of my tobboganned head as it rested against the cow's flank.