Somebody's Teething

I've been neglecting my blogging duties, I know. It's just that this summer has been so jam-packed with activities, it's been hard to find a moment when I not too occupied--or too exhausted--to write a post.

No worries. I promise to catch everyone up on the summer's adventures.

As you know, when you have a baby--though it's difficult to call a 15.1 hand mule a baby--you get to experience a lot of "firsts." One of our most exciting "firsts" this year was Madge's first camp trip to Graham Corral near Sisters, Oregon.

Shortly after arriving at the campground, I unloaded the girls and tied them in the corral. Each mule was tied to the fence, where they'd stay for the weekend. After setting up water buckets and tossing some hay to get them settled in, I wandered over and visited with friends.

An hour or two later, the camp host asked if I'm move my rig to another location, a request I was happy to oblige. I hopped in my truck and drove around the campground circle to my destination. As I passed the corral where the girls were tied, I noticed Madge kicking her heels and racing around. A very short, wet lead rope was dangling from her halter.

No need to panic, I chuckled to myself. She was still confined by the corral fence, so the most she would do is pester the other mules who were now jealous of the only longear no longer tied to the fence.

After parking the truck, I grabbed an extra lead rope and headed to the corral. Madge trotted over as soon as I entered the pen. I quickly clipped on the lead rope, thankful that I wasn't going to have to chase her around the corral. I tied her tight to the fence post and headed back through the gate. As I closed the gate, I looked up to see her standing with the new lead rope already in her mouth.

"Drop it," I hollered, taking a firm step in her direction.

Madge promptly dropped the lead from her mouth, only to pick it up again within seconds. Needless to say, we're still working on the longevity of the "drop it" command.

Knowing that I don't carry an endless supply of lead ropes in the trailer, I started to consider my options for keeping her safely tied for the duration of the camp trip. I had a few stud chains in the trailer, so I grabbed one and headed back to the corral.

Madge patiently waited as I shortened her lead line and bridged the length between the rope and halter with the stud chain. As soon as I dropped the chain, it was in her mouth. She looked at me quizzically, knowing this definitely wasn't something she could chew through. Fortunately, she was only concerned about the length of line near her mouth. The rest of the rope was safe.

"She must be teething," said my trainer when I told her about Madge's antics.

"I don't doubt that," I replied with a laugh, and sat down to relax.

Madge was a doll the rest of the trip. You'd have never guessed it was her first time in the wilderness. She followed us down the trail like a champ, ponying quietly behind Maxine. Well, there was that one time she decided to take a nap (i.e. lie down) on the trail when we stopped take a quick break, but she was just making effective use of her break time.

She also provided us with a lot of entertainment by kicking her heels in the air whenever she was left alone in the corral or tied to the trailer. The first day or two, she was probably reaching the ten foot mark. By the end of the weekend however, her kicks had lost their steam, and her heels barely cleared two feet.

Maxine was much less entertaining. She stood quietly tied when she wasn't steadily carrying me down the trail. Maxine is priceless.

At the end of the trip, I loaded my two tired mules into the trailer for a long, satisfying drive home.

Photo: Madge, Me and Max, and Travis and Micah, the wonder donkey. I was so excited that Travis came up to ride with us for the day. I'm also thankful that my trainer let him ride her mom's steadfast donkey. It's so fun to have my husband along.