Life is Good, Friends are Many and 2008 is Wide Open For EVERYTHING!

(I adore my donkey friends Poppy and her daughter Petal. They're precious and shy at times. Here are the girls I'm working with and discussing below.)
I was thinking about "fun" today. Fun is a word that is fairly relative. What I considered "fun" at 10, 16, 22 and now 45 are totally different. The past few days have been fun for me because they've been calm, quiet, without pressure and light hearted.
On Sunday, I made a call to some friends in Alabama that I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like, but we stay in touch via email. So, out of the blue, I made a call and had a great conversation with my friend. We covered everything from simplicity to the Waltons! It was a great conversation.
Later, I talked to an old friend from college who has a farm in Stanly county. We tried to figure out how old we are now...which Dean concluded that he is 32. I do hope he's right! If that's the case, I'm 31 now, as he was a year ahead of me at Western!
A friend dropped by today. We checked out the grille of the truck. We talked about animals, laughed at the goats and had a great time. I don't "visit" much. I LOVE company...but I am very much a homebody anymore. I've just gotten quirky like that. Company, however, is a whole different matter. I do love lots of friends and visitors. Our friend and neighbor Winston drops by and checks on us often. We talk a little music, catch up on stuff going on in the neighborhood and share a few laughs. Sometimes he just watches Wayne work. (Must be a man thing! I'd be bored to tears!) But those are the best kinds of friends...they can visit and you don't have to "entertain." You can just "be" and even if you're doing something, those kinds of friends don't mind at all if you continue. Wayne's a hard one to keep still, so Winston has figured that out by now. He's like an uncle coming by to check on us kids and we love it!
The WORLD'S GREATEST UPS GUY, Leon, paid us a visit today. He had a delivery. It's always so good to see our pal Leon. We love him around here! He makes sure that cardboard packages are well out of the way of goats who think of cardboard in the same way I think of chocolate! Today, he took a minute to say hi to most all of the menagerie. When the donkeys were HEEE HAWING at him, it brought a big smile to his face. That too was FUN!
Another bit of fun was feeding the animals last night. Sophie, my only female goat LOVES to ride on my ATV with me. Who knows why...she just does. Since she was little, she'll hop right up in the seat and ride while the other goats run along side knowing there's FOOD in the back. Sophie thinks she's a princess and has the attitude to go along with it. So, after I fed, she got back onto the ATV and refused to get out. So, I took her for a ride! We spun out in the mud, we flew down the drive way with our hair and horns blowing in the wind with full abandon! We baaaah'd and laughed and spun out in the mud some more! I was laughing like mad and Princess Sophie was having a ball. At the end of the ride, I had to make her get off the ATV anyway. I guess she'd still be riding. That was great fun!
As for more fun from today... I have a couple of very shy donkeys. This evening, I fed everyone and then just sat down in a trough. Soon, two curious but very shy mom and baby donkeys were sniffing around me. I just sat there...pretending I was Jane Goodall and apes might as well have been crawling all over me. Donkeys like to do things on their terms. So, sitting and letting them sniff and root all over me was exactly what needs to happen in order to build trust. So, I sat in the trough. Poppy and Petal sniffed and sniffed. I never reached for them. I just sat still. Pretty soon, not to be outdone, TOTALLY SOCIAL Muffin, the youngest foal, was all over me. She rooted the others out of the way. She firmly believes that ALL petting is to be reserved for her. (Her mom, Cinnamon, is very social too...so, she's always up for lots of TLC!) Again, that was fun.
Right now, I'm in my red thermal pajamas and wearing them is FUN!
All the animals have everything they need. We have everything we need and all is right with the world today.
We are blessed with caring friends and neighbors, great pets and a loving family.
What more does anyone need?
Have you done anything FUN lately?

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