Month: August 2011

I found this in my drafts from March 29, 2010!!!  Time to get it out of there. Abscesses Every once in awhile our sheep will develop an abscess.  We’ve actually had two ewes develop them on the side of their neck recently.  I’m still looking in to that a little more to see if there is a certain condition that causes abscesses in that area.  In any case, treatment for an abscess is basically the same.  An abscess is a boil or a pocket, usually containing purulent (pus like) material.  They usually form when their has been a puncture that scabs over and cannot drain. It helps if someone else can restrain the animal, giving you access to the wound.  Wipe or gently soak the area with an antiseptic.  I use a  Chlorhexadine solution.  If there is an obvious scab you can try to loosen it by applying a warm compress of the antiseptic  solution.  If I can get the scab off most of the time the pus will drain out from underneath.  If there is no obvious scab or wound I pierce the area with a 20 gauge needle to let the pus out.  Then I usually flush the

I’ve decided I’m just calling it the junkyard.  The area out back behind the shed and shop was everybody’s dumping ground before we bought this place.  Brian always comments when we find things that his family took to get rid of for him:  they didn’t take anything very far, and then we got it all back.  It looks terrible back there. Funny, you wouldn’t believe it but it is a big improvement over how it looked when we moved in.  Brian has hauled tons of junk away.  This year we fenced it off and turned the sheep loose in there.  That helped a lot, now it looks like we mow it.  Unfortunately, now that the weeds are gone you can see every little piece of anything that is scattered around.  Beer can anyone?  Old rubber hose?  Rotten boards that are way older than me?  A lawn mower… with no mowing parts.  A shopping cart!?  (Okay, we actually moved that inside the shed and out of sight, but it used to be out there.) I’m not sure how we ended up working on clean up back there this week.  We were talking about how we get sick of feeling like the

I’ve always wanted to participate in Foto Fridays over at Renaissance but it hasn’t ever worked out until now.  I saw this last night and just had to catch it so I could share. Our friend came and held the baby so I started weeding the potatoes while we visited.  Brian joined in and with the two of us working at we got almost through the patch.  The potatoes are a whole story on their own.  The short version is that we fought the Colorado potato beetle and the beetle won, and then the weeds came on fast when I was busy learning to be a Mom.  The plants are pretty much annihilated but luckily they didn’t succumb until most of the growing was done so there are still some potatoes to be dug.  We pulled up some potatoes with the weeds and set the potatoes on the clothesline – out of reach of the dogs.  Eventually the clothesline was full plus some. Here with a little cropping, just for fun. Be sure to check out the other Foto Friday posts and share the love!

If you’re like me, you intend to get in the Bible more regularly.  It sounds so nice in theory:  sipping on your morning coffee tea while reading a passage and mulling it over.  Quiet words with God.  Starting your day with a fresh perspective and the reassurance that comes with knowing He is there at your side.  It sounds good but who has time!? Quit putting it off. Stop waiting for tomorrow. Let’s carve out a little bit of time NOW.  Not next year, or the one after.  This year. I probably know less of the Bible than most anyone reading this.  I didn’t become a Christian until I was 17, but that’s a story for another day.  I only mention it now because I don’t want you to feel intimidated about reading the Bible or joining a Bible Study.  You may be surprised to find a lot of other women don’t know or understand much of it either.  All the more reason to spend time with the women who know more and can teach us. Any time reading and studying will benefit you.  The problem I’ve had in the past is falling off the wagon a few days or

Just popping in to say I’m still here.  I’m still doing my baking day and working out the kinks in my routine.  I’ve been taking lots of pictures so if I get the chance to update I’ll have things to share.  We had the last of our meat chickens processed this week so I’ve been busy getting our own supply in the freezer for the year.  I’m committed to eating only our own chickens from now on, except eating out.  In the past I have still picked up chicken breasts on sale and, even though it makes me  a hypocrite, I kind of love those chicken patties from the store.  Anyway, it’s stupid for me to spend $$$ on that stuff when our only chicken is readily available and so much healthier, not to mention they actually have flavor. Be back eventually!

In keeping with my newly expanded routine I spent a lot of yesterday in the kitchen. What I did: 1 batch of Silky Chocolate Pudding 1 batch of Homemade Vanilla Pudding  (She also has an excellent tutorial on How to Make Homemade Pudding) 4 batches of Freezer Macaroni & Cheese The puddings are both absolutely delicious.  I dish them up in little single serving containers so they’re ready for me to grab when I’m famished. Brian likes the chocolate for his lunch, too.  They are both easy peasy.  If you make the vanilla you really need to try it with some farm fresh eggs – the rich golden yellow color is amazing!!  If you live around here I might even know where you can get some eggs like that. 😉 I’m not sharing the mac & cheese recipe yet, it needs some tweaking before it’s worthy.  I did make a quadruple batch though which means we had some for dinner last night, leftovers for my lunches this week, and 3 more meals of it to go in the freezer. I had intended to try a new dinner roll recipe but our food club called and reminded me that my order