My boy, Beau

I haven't talked much about my new donkey, Beau, lately other than to mention his hoof and eye problems. While these concerns have taken up a lot of my attention, he is such a good boy that I feel he deserves to have a bit of blog attention that isn't health concern related.

My Beau is big for a standard donkey. He stands 48" at the withers, which is 12hh for any horse-people out there:

He turned seven years old in April. Almost everything he does is done with slow and deliberate movements. I'm not sure whether this comes from his size, his troublesome feet, or his personality - it could be a combination of all three. Regardless, his slow progress up and down our hills often reminds me of Eeyore from "Winnie the Pooh".

Beau and Chester couldn't be any more opposite in personalities. Beau's calm and quiet demeanor is an interesting counter to Chet's quick moves and big-n-sassy attitude:

Yes, Beau loves the carrot coins as much as everyone else here on Critter Farm:

Remarkably, the llamas are fairly easy going around Beau. Where this would never be attempted with Chester, Kai and Beau will often eat from the same bucket:

Beau, however, has been known to - accidentally, I believe - offend on more than one occasion. When this happens, the llama ladies don't hesitate to give him a good swift one between the eyes:

When Beau's goofy side shows up, it lightens my heart because it shows me he's finally feeling better than he was when he first arrived here:

Who doesn't love a good bear hug every now and then?:

One of Beau's favorite things to do is eat the moss off our big Douglas Fir trees:

He'll stand there for quite a while, slowly chewing, thoughtfully biting:

He's almost zen-like in his total absorption in the moss:

He's so absorbed, he doesn't notice Chester come up behind him. Can you see that look in Chet's eye? We'll talk about that some day:

From the looks of the bark on the tree, others have been nibbling here, too. Not good for the tree. Some chicken wire wrapping may be in order:

Now that Chet knows I've got the camera, he tries to get into all my shots. Especially if those shots appear to be centered on Beau. He's got a jealous bone, that guy:

Here's what's left of our Christmas tree:

Both Beau and Chester still love to chew on it. Giant toothpicks?:

Look at those chompers:

Watching Beau, as I have since he came to us in January, he seems to be a supremely gentle soul. Everything about him is just a little slower than every other animal here on Critter Farm. This allows him to observe everything going on around him:

He didn't bray when he first arrived here, but Chester has taught him what to do at mealtimes and he's got a great voice:

My boy, Beau: