Introducing Clive and Rufus

As majestic as my Friesian horses are, they have nothing on the two newest equine additions to the Bedford stable: Clive and Rufus, the adorable one-year-old miniature donkeys. They arrived at my farm just a few months ago from Harry Witteveen, my horse breeder in Ontario, Canada, and since then they have already logged countless hours of frolicking in their paddock. Native to the Mediterranean coast of North Africa and the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, this breed of donkey has not been bred down in size, as is the case with most other "miniature" animals. They are simply diminutive creatures by nature, standing anywhere from 31 to 38 inches high at full height, as measured from the ground to the withers -- that is, the space just above the shoulder blades, where the neck meets the back. Right now, Clive and Rufus, both jacks (male donkeys; female donkeys are jennets), are a few inches shy, but they still have a couple of years to reach maturity, which generally occurs at age three.

Greek Getaway

Vacations may sometimes be a break from work, but they are never a break from learning. On my recent trip to the Greek islands, I was lucky enough to be joined by my friend Carlos Picon, the curator overseeing the department of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His scholarly interjections brought every statue and every ruin to life. Back in New York, the art history lessons continued when he invited me to see the museum’s exquisitely redesigned Greek and Roman galleries. If you’ve ever sought a reason to come to Manhattan, this is it: With some 5,300 works in 57,000 square feet of exhibition space, this is a near-complete lesson in classical art.