Saturday encore ~ A Thanksgiving Playdate

The post below is from last Thanksgiving, which George, Alan and I spent at Morning Bray Farm.
You may have heard by now that Justina and Don and all the residents of MBF will soon be relocating to Virginia.
Yes, our hearts are broken, but we'll always have fond memories of playdates past until we meet again.

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George, Alan and I traveled to Morning Bray Farm on Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving. Obviously we are not slaves to the calendar. 

I took 420 pictures. Don't panic–I won't post them all, but be forewarned that this story might have several chapters.

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It was 8:30 Saturday morning. Since every trailering experience for George and Alan heretofore had landed them at the vet,

I was pleasantly surprised ecstatic when they hopped right in and we got on our way. 

The weather was perfect and I knew it would be the best Thanksgiving ever. 

As many times as the donkeys of MBF have visited the 7MSN for playdates, we have never taken it in the other direction, 

so this was a momentous occasion. The welcoming committee came out in force. Bernard (on the left) seemed the most curious 

about the strange trailer being backed into his driveway, while Ellsworth (in the middle) explained the guest list to Buck. 

Buck was never willing to hop in the trailer to go to the 7MSN had never met George and Alan.

Alan: Whoa. We're not at the vet. Cool.

We gave George and Alan a few minutes to get their bearings before we merged the herds.

They took in all the new sounds...

...and new smells.

Enough with that crap. Let the games begin. 

Bernard was first out of the gate.

He headed straight for our trailer.

George: What's he doing?

Alan: Is he planning to go home with us?

Me: Stop worrying and enjoy yourselves.

George: It smells different here.

Me: You're being rude. Relax and go play.

The herds mingled without incident in the pasture. 

Gracie Belle showed a passing interest in George but played hard to get for the rest of the day.

Nigel seemed a tiny bit threatened by Alan. Was there room in the pasture 

for two dark and handsome BLM burros? Time would tell.

George: I still think it smells funny here.

Me: Get over it!

About that time, everyone looked around and came to the same realization.

Where was Bernard, the life of any party?

Justina: Bernard, please get out of their trailer. You're being anti-social. 

Bernard: No, I'm not. There's hay in there and I want a snack.

Will Bernard relent and join the play group? Will George stop embarassing me? Will Justina, Don and I 

find time to break away from the herd dynamics and eat turkey? We'll find out in tomorrow's episode, and the next day's, and the next day's.