Johnny and June

 

Johnny and June have been misbehaving.  They are getting into the neighbor’s pasture to visit her horses.  Astrid and Logan have tried to fix the fence.  The donkeys are crawling under.  A part of the fence needs an extra barb at the bottom.  I have referred to Johnny and June as donkeys but this week they’ve been “little asses”.  I think the kids have finally fixed the fence.  They put a hog panel in a spot where there was a ditch.  Johnny and June are not happy as they loved visiting the big Appaloosa.

What's a donkey? A donkey is a domestic member of the horse family. Today's domestic donkey is a descendant of the African wild ass, and these hard workers have been hauling goods since 4000 B.C.E. . Donkeys are related to horses and zebras, although they're often stockier, stronger and have much different personalities.

Unlike horses, donkeys aren't easily startled. Even when they are, they don't panic. Donkeys stop to assess the situation, a trait that's commonly confused with stubbornness. This surefootedness paired with strength — they can carry up to twice their own body weight — make them ideal beasts I’d burden.   These creatures are still used for transporting goods around the world, although other common uses like sheep and cattle protection play into the donkey's strengths. Once a donkey bonds with a herd of sheep, cattle or goats, it will protect the animals as it would its own, keeping dogs and coyotes at bay.

A jackass is just a male donkey. Before "donkey," there was ass — a word that comes from the Latin phrase asinus, which refers to the animal. While ass is interchangeable with donkey, "jackass" refers specifically to a male donkey. This derives from the male donkey's nickname "jack" paired with the original donkey terminology "ass." Female donkeys are called "jennies" or "jennets," but a female ready to breed is known as a "broodmare."

A wild donkey is a burro. "Burro" is the Spanish term for the common working donkey in Spain and Mexico; it likely entered the English language in the U.S. when Spaniards brought burros to America's southwest in the 1500s. This means unlike the jackass and mule, burro is actually just another way to say donkey.

For starters, those living west of the Mississippi River often say burro while those to the east use the term donkey. Others use burro to refer to smaller donkeys or wild donkeys still roaming rangeland in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Oregon.