following "remember donkeys are intelligent, resentful of the unexpected and
have a peculiar sense of humour that you may not appreciate –such as
avoiding a patch of mud themselves making sure you have to slosh through it"
. Over the years Joseph has been a source of great amusement and
frustration. We had some German visitors recently who spent their mornings,
I thought watching the river but no they seemed to find the activities on
the farm much more to their liking. I went to check on the young cattle I
was baby sitting for the dairy farmer and to my horror found only one
lonesome calf. My eyesight is questionable but not that bad so where were
the other 10 calves. Apart from the lonesome calf Joseph the donkey was
chewing the cud peacefully, although I did see a slight glint in his eye so
I hid behind a tree and watched. After checking I was nowhere around Joseph
with great gusto charged at the calf and herded her not only over my
neighbours fence but also the next farm. Following the flipping furry
Shepard I found the rest of the calves two farms down the river and one very
amused donkey. The Germans had watched this and thought this was normal and
very amusing.
Well the calves have gone back to the dairy up the river and Joseph now has
his eye on Lunch and Supper the two sheep on the farm, He like nothing
better than to chase them until they collapse in an exhausted heap. Of
course he makes sure none of us are watching and if we are he farts, kicks
his back legs and is off like a shot .Brat!!!!!!!!!
What Joseph likes most is the children that come and stay on the farm. He is
so in tune with them that between him and the children they can convince the
parents to part with 90% of their food especially baby Woolworth carrots and
juicy organic eighteen Rand a kilo apples. Woolworth strawberries send
Joseph and Oskar the horse (and side kick) into vocal harmony and its almost
guaranteed these two will be at the chalets bright and early heehawing and
waking up the family begging for breakfast. Most days I pretend they don't
belong to me.
Next week Daisy our pregnant cow comes home after a sabbatical up the river.
She brings with her abundant milk and the manure which we are always so
desperate for. Unfortunately with the severe drought we have had to plan a
crop rotation feeding scheme to ensure she gets enough food. The one field
in front of Apple tree has been ploughed and after the fence and donkey have
been moved further down the farm, we will be able to plant Lucerne. Children
will be able to help milk Daisy and get to drink "real Milk".
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