Opal and I have a friend (Deb) who lives out in the country with a bunch of dogs, cats, two horses, and a donkey. Well, the sad part is that Spicy the 30-year-old donkey had a stroke, suffered nerve damage, and had to be put down on Friday. It was sad, but she knew it was time, and walked free of her body and on into the next world. Sunday Opal and I went up to mourn Spicy (and have lunch), and plant some flowers on her grave. Every time I visit, I take a little while to groom the hoofers, sadly this time around not including Spicy, but I still had the mares Angel and Baby Doll (the young and skittish) to take care of. So, took out the bag of carrots, attacked them with the soft brush (both are in pretty good shape, and it's not been wet enough for them to get muddy). One of the last things I always do is to clean their teats, and the skin folds around them, because they get awfully grotty with dead skin, sweat, mud, fly poop, etc.

So, I just finished wiping down Angel with a damp baby wipe, and start to do the same to Baby Doll (who's actually standing still for the moment). We were both surprised when she squirted milk on my hand! Here's the funny part. When I told Opal this last night, the FIRST thing she asked me was, "How did it taste?" She knows me too well. The answer is, "salty," but that could have been sweat as much as anything. Regardless, that made for a pleasant end to the weekend!

Rochndil, who enjoys spending time with his descendants...