"Animal Attraction"

 You may remember I mentioned in my last post we were planning a road trip for Thursday if the weather was good. Well, we couldn't have asked for a nicer day! A little drizzly in the morning but by noon the sun was out and it was around 60F. Our destination was PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary in Roseneath. Owned by a lovely lady, Shelia Burns with the help of around 23 volunteers. They take in abused, neglected and aging animals, primarily donkeys. Every Thursday and Sunday afternoon they have an open house so people can come and see the animals and learn about them too.
As with most farms there were a few cats around. We had just started the tour and were standing beside a fence to meet one of the donkeys when Cleo the cat jumped up onto Chuck's shoulders. There was no way she was budging so Chuck carried her around for most of the tour.
I believe they now have around 20 or 23 donkeys, It was hard to count as they were moving around quite a bit enjoying the sunshine. The donkey on the far right with the green halter is blind. He has a donkey friend that watches out for him. The large mule is the background is Molly.
This is PrimRose. Shelia adopted her 21 years ago and started the sanctuary then. She, PrimRose I mean, is 43 years old. According to our guide Chris donkeys can live to be 50 years old.
We then were led into the barn which was quite large. It was built in the 1870's I assume along with the house. To be honest I didn't even notice the house! Which is VERY unusual for me, I was too busy looking at the animals.
There were only three animals in the barn as it was such a beautiful day . I believe this sheep was having a health issue along with a goat in a coat that was sharing her stall. Down the barn a bit was a large pig named Ruby. She is blind so spends much of her time in her stall. She does have her own little pig yard but she doesn't use it much.
The barn was lit  by chandeliers and as Chuck said "Every conceivable kind of light fixture" (electrician don't you know!) Cleo was still along for the ride. Two other ladies were there for the tour too.
Enjoying the sun!
Lovely sign on the side of the barn.
This is Vanna the goat. She was named that as she always smiles like Vanna White.
Chuck with Phil the miniature donkey. By now Cleo had run off in search of food.
This poor little guy was recovering from a leg injury. This was his first day outside in  a week. Behind him in the little barn were two of his friends. Chris the tour guide stated they had been miserable being separated and had been hee hawing back and forth quite a bit to each other from  the fields to the barn.
This is Gordon. He was very friendly and came over to the fence to visit with us.
Here is Chris our tour guide. Gordon was snacking on her jacket. He had ripped off one of the pockets the day before.
I've forgotten the cats name. Apparently there are two of them that look exactly alike right down to the six toes on a couple of their feet.
We spent about an hour there visiting. I brought along a case of cat food and we also left a donation for the donkeys care. We will be back! Heading out of town we decided to go the "back" way home through all the little towns and villages. Not much snow left up here!
So many beautiful farms and lots of horses and cows. A farmer we spoke to said they really hadn't had much snow this year. He was worried about his well and the moisture in the soil.
We stopped in Morganston (I think!) at an Antique Store. It was housed in the old Post Office. There were two of these shelves built in the back wall with all the town residents names on the cubbies. It was run by an older gentleman with very reasonable prices. We will be heading back there too.
Beside the Antique Store was this empty Church. The stained glass windows were beautiful.
A wonderful afternoon ended with a lovely sunset over the hills.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. Sorry so many of them!
Oh, by the way if you are on Facebook PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary is there too. They put great photos in, including (hopefully!) the first one with Chuck and Cleo. Check it out if you get a chance.

Take care and have a good weekend!
Robin

  

Comments

  1. Good Saturday Morning! I am so happy that you had nice weather for your trip. What a lovely way to spend the day. I love animals. I had no idea that donkeys could live such long lives. Your photos are all so sweet. That is funny about Cleo taking a liking to Chuck. I hope you have a nice weekend. xoxo

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    1. Hi Mildred, good morning to you too! Thanks for your kind words about my photos. I took something like 187 but with the animals moving around so quickly I think I ended up with 60 or so that weren't blurry.
      Have a wonderful weekend too.

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  2. !!!

    Cleo and Chuck!!! He seriously is a cat whisperer, especially for the ladycats. :-D

    What a wonderful sanctuary, Robin. All those sweet donkeys, and a couple of (fat) ponies too, it looks like. Plus all the cats!

    I wonder if they just installed any fixture they could find -- hope it's all wired properly and that the barn is safe.

    Even your drive home was wonderful, lots of spots to explore.

    Fabulous, loved this post. Oh, I bet the barn smelled heavenly! (Well, it would to me. LOL.)

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    1. Hi Kim, It seems if there is a female cat around they will find Chuck. It was a heavenly place, I could have stayed there all afternoon!
      Chuck did have a quick peek at the wiring and it looked good. They state on their website that they are looking for a volunteer handyman. I wish we lived closer, Chuck said he would love to help out.
      I was paying attention to the barn and it did smell wonderful. Like outside and animals and a little fusty. I was expecting the barnyard to really smell but I can't say I even noticed a smell. We did remember to bring our rubber boots!
      We will be going back again.
      See you soon!

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  3. What a lovely place, I love how the blind donkey has a friend who looks after her. Cleo looked like she was enjoying her ride around, I thought it was rather sweet xx

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    1. Hi Cheryl, it was a wonderful way to spend a gorgeous Thursday afternoon. Every animal is loved and so well taken care of. Cleo was a hoot. Chuck tried to put her down about half way through the tour but she would have none of that!
      Enjoy your weekend!

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  4. I love how the cat jumped up and wanted a ride around!!!!!!

    What a delightful place to spend some time. And what a wonderful service, this place is doing.

    Nice to go home, "the back way"!!!! And look at what you found, going that way. :-)

    It would be lovely, if someone would purchase the old church, and re-use it. Around here, old churches are converted to apartments. The outside still look the same, and the insides are being used. And the lovely old buildings are saved.

    But our city, has become a Liberal yuppie place to live. They have the money, to do such things. Which is fine. But they love it here, come here to live, and then want to CHANGE it. ????????????????????

    Ooops, got OT. Excuse me.

    Luna Crone

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    1. Hi Luna, we did so enjoy ourselves and were blessed with such a beautiful day. The church was really right in the middle of no where so I don't think it would be a good candidate for an apartment conversion. We did see more than a few abandoned houses and farms.
      Take care.

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  5. What a wonderful place to spend a beautiful sunny day. Love seeing Cleo hitch a ride like that. So sweet. Grand photos.

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    1. Hi Robin, glad you enjoyed the photos! I didn't think we would have a chance to go up there until the Spring as the weather is never that great here in a February. We lucked out with a sunny, mild day that just happened to be an open house day.
      I want to go back already!
      Hope you are getting some sun too!

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  6. I've heard from my friend that the PrimRose Sanctuary is a wonderful place to visit and it is on our list of daycations this spring. Glad you mentioned Morganston as we love to browse in places like that. The pouring rain today is washing away the last of the snow. Enjoy the weekend.

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    1. Hi Linda, I hope you get a chance to go. Remember your rubber boots! It is very easy to find too.
      The rain certainly was heavy this morning. We have no snow left in our yard now.
      Take care!

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  7. Great farm tour! Love how Cleo the cat rode on Chuck's shoulder the whole time. Love it!! Also, what a great shot of the sun rays streaming down in that last photo. That always makes me feel good. Like seeing a shooting star or a rainbow. Just a little something special Nature has to offer us.

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    1. Hi Marcie, glad you enjoyed the photos. Cleo was such a sweetheart, well all the animals were!
      I was happy when I downloaded the photos and saw the last one. It was a perfect ending to a lovely day.
      Take care and enjoy your doggy walks!

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  8. Hello, Mildred above has helped me to find your blog. I love the donkeys and would love to visit this donkey sanctuary. The animals are all so cute, the kitty looks like it has found a friend. Great photos. On Saturday's I host a Critter party where bloggers link up their post and photos on any critters. Just letting you know, this post would be perfect. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Hi Eileen, thanks for stopping by. I would love to volunteer at the sanctuary but it is an hour away. Maybe in the summer when the weather is better for driving.
      I will try to link up to your blog. I don't really know a heck of a lot about how to do it but I will try!
      Take care.

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  9. Sounds like a great day out. What a wonderful place for the animals. I didn't know donkeys lived that long!
    How nice that the one that is blind has a friend that watches out for him. I've heard of other animals that have done that too.

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    1. Hi Karen, it was a wonderful day from start to finish! Having a donkey is a big commitment. That's why so many end up at this sanctuary.
      All the animals get along really well. I asked if it was hard to introduce a new donkey to the resident ones and was told no, they get along pretty well right from the start. Maybe they sense that the new donkey needs some loving. 😌
      Have a good evening.

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  10. Another great day's adventure. You seem to have endless interesting places to visit. I'm sure you'll be going back again when the weather is warmer. Although it sure doesn't look all that cold in the pics. Have a great rest-of-the-weekend

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    1. Hi G.M., it was a wonderful day! We do have many great places to visit. It helps having a willing sidekick too! 😜 Chuck is pretty well up for anything.
      We will be back again. The temps were up in the 60's. I was just in a light sweatshirt the whole time. It was very mucky though. Glad I remembered our rubber boots!
      Take care.

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  11. Great pictures of all the animals. I can't believe Chuck carried that load of a cat all day. LOL That is one MASSIVE CAT!!!!

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    1. Hi Dee, glad you enjoyed the animal photos. Chuck didn't mind carrying the cat around. Our last cat passed away around two and a half years ago so we have really missed having a cat. The volunteers stated a couple times they were running a special today for all visitors. A free cat with each visit! Cleo was a sweetie.
      Have a good day!

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  12. I would love to adopt one of the donkeys to love and take care of. I enjoyed all the pictures. Funny how that cat cuddled up to Chuck. That is so sweet.

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    1. Hi Henny, I did think of you as we were touring the farm. A little donkey would fit right in at your farm. Poppy might not appreciate me saying that!
      Glad you enjoyed the photos? I had fun taking them.
      Enjoy your Sunday!

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  13. That sanctuary is a joy to see. What wonderful people!

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    1. Hi Mitchell, it was a joy to see. The love the volunteers had for all the animals was very evident. Young and old, everyone was pitching in. I wanted to grab a shovel and help too! I do wish it was located closer.
      Enjoy your day!

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  14. What a perfect day! I really enjoyed all these pictures and the tour of the donkey sanctuary. I got a kick out of Cleo! I'm so glad to see this post! I'm going to now look them up on FB.

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    1. Hi, welcome to my blog. Thanks for dropping by! I'm very glad you enjoyed the post. We had been wanting to visit the sanctuary for a few weeks but the weather wasn't cooperating. Thursday was a beautiful, mild day so absolutely perfect!
      I hope you have a chance to look them up on Favebook. Lots more wonderful photos.Have a good Sunday!

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  15. The Hubby and I too like to make day trips to new and interesting locales! What a delightful rescue group, and of course I loved the friends cats as well as the donkeys and other farm animals.

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    1. Usually we have so many wonderful places to visit right in our own backyards! The Sanctuary was delightful and I want to go back again very soon. There were more cats but they were off enjoying the sun.
      Take care!

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  16. Replies
    1. It was! Can't wait to go back again.
      Take care.

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  17. I want to find a Sanctuary by me now! Your photos and text were delightful. I love burros/donkeys.

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    1. Hi Kathy, thanks for dropping by! We are very lucky to have this sanctuary relatively (one hour) close by. I love taking photos and I just write what I feel.
      Your blog is lovely too. All you talented ladies, wish I could knit!
      Take care.

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  18. Love the kitty hiking along on your hubby's shoulder =)
    I didn't realize donkeys could live to be fifty!
    A beautiful day !

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    1. Hi Maggie, if there is a female cat around it will find Chuck. Snowball goes crazy over Chuck while she treats me as the help!
      Not really, but kitties do love Chuck.
      Having a donkey is a lifetime commitment, explaining partly why this Sanctuary is in existence.
      Have a good day!

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  19. My friend Mildred sent me to this post because I am an animal lover especially donkeys' this is a spectacular post to me. all of the animals and the church and other photos are beautiful. thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Sandra, thanks for dropping by! I am so glad you enjoyed the post. I love animals of all kinds too. I photograph things I like to look at and hope you all will enjoy them too.
      Have a good week!

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  20. Oh my, I love love love this post! Especially the first part with all the animals. I love the cats and the one on Chuck's shoulder. And the cats lying in the sun and the two cats with six toes each. And the miniature donkey. And the rescued donkeys. We're having a terrible issue in South Africa where the Chinese in Lesotho are skinning donkeys and exporting their hides. Too terrible. I love this sanctuary caring for all the old animals. Greetings Jo

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    1. Hi Jo, so nice to hear from you again, I really am happy you enjoyed the post. I so had been looking forward to visiting this Sanctuary and we kept getting thwarted by bad weather. Horrifying what people do to innocent animals. If we lived closer I would love to volunteer there on a weekly basis.
      Take care!

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  21. what a total lee awesome post Robin !!!! thanx for sharing; I'm going to point marg in your direction as she has two dinkey; smoke and joe; I know she'll enjoy reading this !! ☺☺☺♥♥♥

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    1. Hi, I thought of Marg too while we were visiting. She does such a wonderful job with rescuing all her animals.
      I am glad you enjoyed the post.
      Enjoy your week!

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    1. The volunteers said they were having a special that day, a free cat for each visitor! She was a sweetie but I know she would be missed at PrimRose.
      Take care.

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  23. Oh, I would so have enjoyed this place....and love the kitty that wanted to be carried!

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    1. Hi Rose, It was such a wonderful place. The kitty was a feral and now loves everyone!
      Take care.

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  24. What a lovely trip! I post a lot of photos from each trip, but that way hubby gets to see what we've done!!! I love the silly cat!

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    1. Hi Jenn, I do like to take lots of photos too. I want a way to remember everything we have seen and done!
      Be well!

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