(special thanks to John Henry and Agnes de Mule for the hunting mule photo. www.john.henry.org)
Surely there are those among you who remember how my FarmWife celebrated her birthday in June 2010—with the arrival of a brand new mule harness to share with me, Fenway Bartholomule! And if you don't remember, then . . .
Rewind!
In April of 2010 I announced, right here on Brays of Our Lives, that FarmWife wanted a harness. That she wanted to add driving to my list of diverse skills and accomplishments, and that I liked nothing so much as the idea of helping make her driving dreams come true. I am but a simple mule of humble means, and to have afforded a quality harness was, at that time, a wild fantasy. I crossed my hooves and posted a Paypal button, and the rest is history!
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| Budweiser Mule Team ~ Chicago, 1953 |
Surely there are those among you who remember how my FarmWife celebrated her birthday in June 2010—with the arrival of a brand new mule harness to share with me, Fenway Bartholomule! And if you don't remember, then . . .
Rewind!
In April of 2010 I announced, right here on Brays of Our Lives, that FarmWife wanted a harness. That she wanted to add driving to my list of diverse skills and accomplishments, and that I liked nothing so much as the idea of helping make her driving dreams come true. I am but a simple mule of humble means, and to have afforded a quality harness was, at that time, a wild fantasy. I crossed my hooves and posted a Paypal button, and the rest is history!
Readers, you worked a miracle. Between your generous donations in the amount of $675 and a significant discount from dear Janie of Chimacum Tack, a vendor with muleness, we were able to present FarmWife with the harness of her heart's desire by the beginning of summer. She was touched, and I was moved. Moved straight to the arena for driving training, that is!
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| Hunting mules |
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| Huntin' mules |
I've been teaching FarmWife to handle the lines since late 2009, and ground-driving and lunging skills have been in place since the beginning of this year. You may recall that I was a simple huntin' mule (as opposed to a hunting mule—contrast illustrated above) before FarmWife got me, so learning to lunge was more my challenge than hers. It's something she had done before. Now, I ground drive, lunge, pull rattley things, pull tires, and pull a travois. The latter is the thing I do best: I can walk with it, trot with it, turn with it, stop with it. I whoa on a dime, and stand like a statue. I can be abandoned to the whims of FarmWife's "stand" command without moving a muscle, which she says is good practice for standing to be hitched. Now, FarmWife and my human Grandpa Tim are working on making me a sturdy, safe training vehicle in which FarmWife may trundle along. Next year, a meadowbrook? A marathon carriage in 2013? We shall see!
I, Fenway Bartholomule, am very nearly a driving mule. I have you, dear readers, to thank, and I do thank you most whole-heartedly. And, remember—it is a noble and capacious heart.
Ears to you,
Fenway
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