Boston Lake Pier

It has been a very dry summer and the lake is down.   The old timbers that were once support for a pier at the south end of Boston Lake are visible once again. 

 

When the original forests were logged off a century ago, the huge logs were floated across the lake and loaded onto the rail spur that bordered the south shore.  The submerged timbers, and the rail bed that became Boston Lake Road, are some of the more noticeable reminders of that era.

 

Our farm shore is in the upper left distance.  Those tall white pines are the trees I often photograph with the sheep.  And the spruce spears are next to our house.

 



Sunflowers

I don't have my wildflower field guide handy to correctly identify these flowers. 

 I just call them wild sunflowers. 

Such a cheerful, Autumn flower.

 

Blue Moon

The Blue Moon rising above Boston Lake on August 31, 2012.

Needle Felted Bible Characters

My facebook friends have already seen these pictures.  But I really wanted to post them to my farm blog as well.

I made these Bible characters to use for the three days I taught the pre-school kids at our church's Vacation Bible School.  They are made from doll pins (clothes pins), Shetland wool for the hair and certain bits of clothing.  I also used fabric scraps and an old white t-shirt.  :)

The Story of Adam & Eve

Moses & The People of Israel Wandering in the Desert

The Crucifixion & Resurrection of Jesus

(Ministry, Crucifixion, Tomb, Resurrection)





I don't know when I'll find the time...but I definitely want to make more of these.  It is fun to design different charachters.... and I like having props when I teach Sunday School and VBS.



It Worked!

We took Nhu's homemade fly mask off and discovered good healing happening.  No more open wounds!  She still has some puffiness around her one eye.  And there is a large area of bare skin on the bridge of her nose.  But all in all, very good results! 

We applied aloe healing cream to her nose and created a new fly mask for her out of the other sleeve.  This time I cut away fabric from both eyes so she has full vision now.  She doesn't seem to mind the mask a bit.   I'm very happy with my little experiment.  :)

Injury-Please Advise!

About a week ago we noticed Nhu had terrible gashes on her face.  Every summer she is the one sheep that is terribly bitten up by flies...almost as if her skin is thinner than it should be.  The gashes across the bridge of her nose and from the front corner of her left eye forward seemed to be from her scratching at her face with her hind foot.

Of course our main concern was fly strike... But our favorite topical for that problem - SWAT - was out of stock at the feed store.  So we bought some aloe healing cream and a different (runny) anti-fly med.  Because the wounds were so open we opted for the aloe cream first to get a scab going. 

front veiw of mask

Nhu, however, continued to scratch and keep the wounds open.  Nothing was healing up at all.  So last night I created a fly-mask out of a sleeve cut off a long-john shirt.  I figured if horses could wear them...why not sheep?  My design is certainly not perfect.  But Nhu is able to eat, chew, and see out of the one eye.  My goal is to keep the wounds free of flies long enough for them to heal up some.  Then I will start using the 'pesticide' topical.  Hopefully by then the store will have more SWAT in stock.  It is a much thicker product that stays put longer.

wet spot is from aloe cream applied before mask

Anyway, the mask is not ideal.  Nhu's wounded eye is completely covered, which could eventually cause irritation to the eye.  But I'm less worried about that, at the moment, than fly strike.  The mask was still in place this morning.  But I have noticed Nhu scratching her wounded areas against trees.  And blood has soaked through the fabric across her nose...so she continues to keep the wounds open.

 I slit the fabric under the chin to keep it from being too tight on throat



Does ANYONE have any ideas for how to keep her from scratching?  Or should I just keep the area moist witht the aloe cream and hope for the best?  Please comment with your advice if you have any.  Thank you!

Busy Summer

I don't remember ever being this busy.  Soccer, soccer, soccer... Business trips for Clancy.  A new part-time job for me.  The boys working for their grandpa at the sawmill several days a week.  Extra-hot weather that seems to make daily activities feel like twice the effort....

But there is MUCH to be thankful for.  We have had just enough rain to keep the pastures from drying up.  They aren't growing a lot...but it is not brown here yet.  Just the lawn is brown in places.  I am so grateful for the rain!

Lleulu came to us mid-June.  Isn't she just precious in this photo taken with Asa on her first day here?

The "precious" has worn off and it has been replaced with "exasperating."

In spite of her "puppy-ness" and tendency to pull my drying towels off the clothes-line....gggrrrrrrrr....Lleulu is developing into a guardian.  She makes the rounds with Shachah.  She has barked at some suspicious things.  And she seems to have a lot of common sense for a pup.  :)

Shachah is doing well.  And he is actually bonding with Lleu.  He definitely thinks of her as HIS responsibility.  I'm sure he wishes that she wouldn't pester him so much.  But all in all, he's being a wonderful mentor.

And he also blew his coat...so now he feels a lot cooler in this heat.

Evidence that there is a little peace and quiet around here once in a while.  The above photo is a good example of how Lleulu tries very hard to imitate everything Shachah does.

Our sad news is that dear Betty Bird died yesterday.  She was about 19 years old, but we had only had her for the last 6 years...ever since Leif brought her home from school in 4th grade.  We will definitely miss her.  She was like a bright little bit of sunshine in our lives.