Believe it or not, I have wanted a spotted mini-donkey for some time now, so I am so very pleased to announce that this impossibly cute little jenny will be coming to live at Art Farm just in time for summer camp. This sweet little girl with the spectacular ears is about 1.5 years old and was born in Texas. She is very sweet tempered around children, and comes fully loaded with personality.
Also this summer, we are welcoming as an instructor Marilisa Markey, a wonderful local animal trainer who trains animal actors. Marilisa will be working with camp students on basic animal behavior concepts and introducing them to how you go about teaching a variety of animals how to perform simple tricks. Students who really pay attention can then go home and test their new skills on the family dog, cat, rat, etc. Apparently chickens are very trainable with clickers, so staff and students will roll up their sleeves and see what they can teach our resident adult chickens to do. We are also welcoming 25 baby chicks the first week of June — all “exotic layers” in hatchery parlance.
If anyone has a suggestion for a good name for this little girl, please post here. For some reason, the first thing I thought of was “Darlin’ Sportin Jenny”, because “Spotted Jenny”, reminded me of “Sportin’ Jenny”, from the old Irish folk ballad, “Gillgarry Mountain”. My mom used to play folk ballads for me and my younger sister on her acoustic guitar, many of them having to do with desperados of old, and this was one of them. My mom is the farthest thing from a desperado I can imagine (she also could play and sing all the songs from “The Sound of Music”), but we so enjoyed afternoons with her belting out these songs. To this day I love folk ballads. There are many versions to the “Gillgary Mountain” ballad, but these below are what I remember:
I have been a rover, I have been a bold deceiver And now I earn my livin' with my pistol and my rapier I don't know what I've stolen, but 'twould make a pretty penny And now I've lost it all to my darlin' sportin' Jenny Musha rig um du rum da Whack fol the daddy-o Whack fol the daddy-o There's whiskey in the jar I robbed Colonel Farrell up on Gilgarry Mountain I took the gold to Jenny just to help me with the countin' But Jenny called the guards, Lord, I've never saw so many I almost lost my freedom with my darlin' sportin' Jenny Musha rig um du rum da Whack fol the daddy-o Whack fol the daddy-o There's whiskey in the jar I'd like to find me brother, he's the one that's in the army I don't know where he's stationed, be it Cork or in Kilarney Together we'd go rovin' o'er the mountains of Kilkenny I'd swear he'd treat me fairer than my darlin' sportin' Jenny Musha rig um du rum da Whack fol the daddy-o Whack fol the daddy-o There's whiskey in the jar 'Twas early in the morning at the barracks of Kilarney My brother took his leave but he didn't tell the army Our horses, they were speedy, 'twas all over but the shoutin' Now we make our livin' up on Gilgarry Mountain Musha rig um du rum da Whack fol the daddy-o Whack fol the daddy-o There's whiskey in the jar Musha rig um du rum da Whack fol the daddy-o Whack fol the daddy-o There's whiskey in the jar
