(no subject)

We spent a couple of hours at a mule and donkey show with Alan's mom this weekend. I had never been to one of those before. Donkeys and mules are much smarter and hardier than horses, but they are less athletic and don't have that 'How high?' temperament. While their greater intelligence makes them much less likely to come apart at nothing, they're also much less likely to do what they're asked, and don't rush into anything. Given that, I thought it was kind of lame that the show included walking and trotting races and the like. Getting the critters to go in one direction fast involved dragging and sometimes whipping. One girl had a friend stand behind hers and beat two sticks together which apparently frightens her animal. It beat the rest of the field as it was acting under its own impulse, but, rather to my satisfaction, it outran her as well after dragging her in the dirt, and was disqualified. Not to say that I thought they were doing any more than annoying the animals with the whips for the most part, giving them a reason of their own to move in one direction or another, but it wouldn't be my kind of thing. I wouldn't try to race my cats, though I can imagine that many people would find a cat race amusing. But these are just my own hang-ups, I don't care for being pestered or frightened for others' amusement. I can't imagine that the donkeys are all that bugged as long as it's not done very often.

Connor knows his letters now and can count to two. He doesn't let that limit him though. If there are more than two things he counts: 1, 2, Y, P, Q, O, T ... Alan says he's counting in hexadecimal, but I'm skeptical. He can also read some words, but still barely talks.