A Wee Babe

As some of you know, I am taking a writing class as part of my post-grad program I started this semester, so you can expect occasional random posts like the following story about the birth of our conceived-in-the-wild, but homegrown burro boy, born May 18, 2004:

I remember when Assteroid was born... each morning I would be the one to get up early and go out and feed. We had only had April a few weeks, and even though we knew she was pregnant, we didn’t expect her baby for at least another month maybe six weeks. She wasn’t really tame yet, and although she would come up to us for treats, she was very timid. I always wanted to go to her first, to reinforce that contact with us, and because she had such a quiet, timid nature. I think she was already my favorite.

We had partitioned off our upper pasture for her, the one with the shed Glenn had build before we got our first donkey, Rose. That was to give her a private space while still in sight of the others. To get there, you walk out through a narrow, green alley of overhanging branches, then you are directly in front of the gate to the pen.

Suddenly, I noticed something was odd - April is a dark brown-black color, and there by her side was a pale grey miniature donkey, with still-wet curls of fluffy, downey hair! I shouted for Glenn.

He (we didn’t know it was a boy yet) had spindly little legs but was standing stoutly by his mother’s side, so pale and shiny next to her darkness. It was so unexpected, it was as if he fell from the sky (hence his name).

We wanted to check to see if girl or boy, so Glenn and I went into the pen. Mama was pretty defensive and almost nailed him with a kick because he got into a corner accidentally to close for her liking. Later, our friends came to help us clean his cord and just to sit around in lawn chairs and admire the wonder of birth in spring together.

First morning nap.