A few shots of my working donkey.

My ex father-in-law kindly sent me these first two pictures. The first is me, Jethro, and my ex mother-in-law.


This one was taken just as we were about to start off on a long tour of the neighborhood - the first with passengers in Jethro's new cart - we gave my ex's wife and two young children a ride around the neighborhood. It was a blast. (I should mention my ex and I divided a piece of land and he built a house on his part and I built a house on my part and the kids walked back and forth through the woods.) *CLICK* the picture to see the hysterical looks on the passengers' faces.


I ordered a used (very used, more used than I'd expected) pack saddle from eBay. When it came I was afraid to open the box for a while... finally I got Menticia to help me. We cut the box open and laid the whole thing out and tried to figure what the different parts were for.

It was awfully complex and very much too big for Jethro, so eventually I cut most of the leather off the wooden tree (the part in the middle) and started again. I made a very simplified rig that fit him. Then I tied big flowerpots to it.


What a success! We've spent a few happy hours on various days hauling rocks together. This is a job Jethro understands and he is eager to show me he "gets" it. He hustles down the hill to the rock pile, stands there more or less patiently while I load the rocks in his flowerpots, and then hauls them more or less effortlessly up the hill and waits while I unload them. Most satisfactory.


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