Where Will Donkey Go?

This street is in my neighborhood very close to our home. I go along it almost every day - at the end of it, before the meadow, I have to make a right turn. Every time I drive or walk here I enjoy the view of the meadow, seeing the green grass and the trees. It's a little oasis and right here it turns up to the hill and the forested area. It's beautiful.

You might have seen it in the top photo - there is a big sign on the fence. It was installed a few weeks ago - and it's very disturbing.

The meadow is for sale. Almost 4 acres are offered up for development. A kind of development we don't know what it will look like. Will it be an apartment complex? Single family homes? Probably not for businesses as this is zoned for residential buildings.

The meadow across the street is for sale as well. Here goats used to hang out, very sweet and curious black goats. They have been gone for quite a while. Sometimes they shared the meadow with a donkey.

However, the donkey lived on the other meadow most of the time, often sharing it with the deer. He is still there, but I wonder for how long? And where will he go once the meadow is sold?

This donkey is a beloved part of the neighborhood. Young mothers with their small children visit him. I heard some elementary school girls lovingly call him Don Quixote. Kaefer and I simply call him Donkers.

He is the sweetest guy, very mellow and always comes galloping down the hill when you call him. Of course he expects some treats like apples or carrots. He also loves grapes. When he realizes that the visitors haven't brought anything but a few cuddles he lets his frustration know, loud and clear. I always know when he's angry because I can hear it in my house.

Every now and then - rather seldom - Kaefer and I feed him carrots or apples which he chews slowly and thoughtfully. Nothing can distract him from eating. I do think his teeth need a thorough cleaning.

What will happen to him? What will happen to the meadow?

We do have a huge housing crisis here. Affordable housing is more than difficult to get - but I doubt that this meadow would be a spot for affordable housing. I'm afraid it will be the location for some high end housing projects that we really don't need anymore. It will do nothing to lighten the housing problem to low income people. And I don't believe that it is zoned for apartment complexes.

We can only wait - and hope that they will build new housing, whatever it is, in a sustainable way. I hope that a good part of the trees will survive. I can't stand thinking of all the little critters who call this meadow a home right now. They, too, will need to go somewhere else. And once more, their habitat gets a little bit smaller.

This is the view of the upper part of the meadow from our bedroom window. What will we see from there in a year from now?

Since these photos show quite some fences I'm linking up to Theresa's Good Fences. I haven't done so for a long time.

The Spring Meadow

Spring is in full swing here on the North Coast. I took these photos a couple weeks ago when this meadow was in full bloom. It looks lovely, but the allergies are BAAAAD. I think Sonoma County is one of the worst areas for allergies - my consumption of tissues as well as eye drops is huge at the moment.

But it is beautiful, isn't it?

The trees are leaving out right now which means that the pretty winter silhouettes will be gone very soon. I love our trees in the winter, however, they're gorgeous in the summer as well.

Oh, and just look at these thistles - aren't they wonderful?

I'm linking to Theresa's Good Fences at the Run A Round Ranch.

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