OUR STORY: The follow-up to "Ears & Emprise", this book tells the continuing story after our small family, predominantly-furry family left Colorado with our horse, Belle, and gentled burro, Noel, on military orders for our next duty station. While "Ears & Emprise" focused on the monumental project of gentling my newly-adopted burro, "Eastbound, Two Equids in Tow" looks at the adventure of our Permanent Change of Station (PCS) through a wider lense. Like "Ears," the events of this book, just like "Ears & Emprise", are true. Our orders to leave Fort Carson, Colorado, and report to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania came as a surprise, with a much tighter deadline than most other moves. Moving an entire household across the country at the drop of a hat is no small feat for any family, but this move was complicated by a variety of factors, including the small detail that it was my first time transporting any equine long distance, and burro Noel's first trip as a domestic animal.If you read this book as a military spouse, you'll understand and appreciate the obstacles we faced making this move a reality. If you're not associated closely with the military, you might become a little more thankful for your ability to plant roots, and you might wonder if we're a bit crazy for choosing to drag a small petting zoo across the country with us every few years. Crazy or not, this life is our reality, and we are choosing to live it to the fullest!ABOUT TESS ZORBA: "Tess Zorba" is the pen name for a pair of talented equine named Belle and Noel who spend their days creating a variety of literary projects. Belle, an American Quarter Horse, was born in Texas and grew up in Indiana. Belle's mom was named "Tess." Currently enjoying her life in Colorado, Belle shares her paddock with a formerly-wild burro named Noel. Rounded up in southern California by the Bureau of Land Management as a two-week-old foal, Noel spent part of her youth in a burro holding facility in Utah. She later moved to a government holding facility in southern Colorado, eventually finding herself at a horse rescue in Fairplay, Colorado where she was adopted into her forever home, fulfilling Belle's lifelong dream of having her own little sister. Noel's name while she lived at the horse rescue was "Zorba."Belle discovered her talent for writing in the winter of 2018, and was quite pleased to find that her new little sister Noel is a skilled artist who enjoys illustrating their work and crafting coloring pages by hoof. In their spare time, Belle enjoys basking in the sun and eating carrots. Noel is quite athletic for a small donkey, and can often be found running, bucking, and jumping around her paddock, much like a rodeo bull. Her favorite snacks include bananas and flax cookies, although she will eat anything she deems to be edible. She often chases down tumbleweeds and consumes them stick by stick.
