My Million-Dollar Donkey by East Ginny;

Author:East, Ginny;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-63505-138-4
Publisher: Heartwood Press

“I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theatre, that my life itself was become my amusement and never ceased to be novel. It was a drama of many scenes and without an end. “

—Henry David Thoreau

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, SANS THE HUSBAND

Raising animals may be called animal husbandry, but in my case, tending to the farm creatures was entirely a wifely pursuit. Sometimes, I felt foolish taking on so much unnecessary work in the name of experimentation. The mud, effort, commitment, and endless routine of animal care curtailed my freedom more than I ever imagined. More than once, I tallied the time and cost of keeping animals, imagining just what kind of vacation in Europe we could have taken instead, if only Mark been up for the trip. But he had made absolutely clear that he wasn’t planning to take me anywhere anytime soon, so I focused instead on the meaningful lessons I might discover in each barnyard endeavor. I was contemplating not just man’s relationship with animals, but all human food sources and man’s impact on the natural world. These were lessons my soul longed for, an in-depth awareness of nature’s basic mechanics beyond the surface education I was given from schoolrooms or a book.

I was fascinated with small discoveries, such as the fact that chicken eggs are not fertile until several days after the hen has mated because a rooster’s sperm doesn’t affect the egg already half-formed inside her, and instead impacts the egg yet to be developed. The chicken maintains ‘reserve sperm’ and her eggs might become fertile for weeks after one mating. See, I never knew that.

A drone (male bee) has no stinger. Neither does a bumblebee. You can hold them up to your arm and nothing will happen. All those years of my running away from anything with stripes and wings were for naught. A worker bee will indeed sting you, but stings are good medicine for arthritis. Many people use sting therapy to heal themselves. See, I never knew that either.

A horse is pregnant for 11 months.

It takes 39 days for a duck egg to hatch, 31 for a chicken.

A rabbit is pregnant for 39 days. A queen bee can live 7 years, but her workers only survive a few weeks.

Slowly and surely, despite many mistakes, I was learning about the natural world. I could doctor wounds and groom, medicate, and train all manner of creatures now.

My attitude regarding animals could all be summed up by my relationship with the donkey. After months of tugging fruitlessly on Donkey’s lead rope to get the stubborn beast to budge, I discovered that if I stood calmly beside him, he would walk side by side with me anywhere I wished to go. When I tried to force him to move, a frustrating battle would ensue. Only when I treated him as a friend and partner would he eagerly follow my lead.

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