Simple Solutions
6
Contact Lens Case
Even if you have 20/20 vision, you'll find a contact lens case indispensable. Because they close tightly, what you put in them stays in them. I've left a case in a car on a sunny day, and nothing leaked out. They're thin and fit easily in a pocket or purse. So, what can you put in them? Here's what I have in the case I use in the barn.
1. Ointment for when an animal or you have a cut or other small wound. Because the contact lens fits so well in a pocket, you'll always have it with you when you discover a cut on an animal or wound on an animal. Putting a bit of ointment on the wound as soon as possible can prevent infection.
2. Lip balm for lips exposed to wind, sun and cold.
3. Use your imagination and you'll think of several useful things that fit in a contact lens case - medicine, makeup, chili powder, and the kitchen sink. Well, maybe not the sink.
Barn Bag
We've all arrived at the barn to discover something we need in the barn is still at the house. Keep a tote bag by the door in the house. As you think of something that you want to take to the barn, put it in the bag. Grab the bag as you walk out the door. As you work in the barn, put items you want to take back io the house in the bag. I've used my tote bag to transport newborn kids from the pasture in the rain to the dry barn. Meanwhile I'm dragging a screaming doe determinted to return to where she kidded. (Why do they always have their kids in the rain?) Get in the habit of carrying the bag to and from the barn, even if it's empty. You can use a bucket, but I find the tote more adaptable and easier to sling over my shoulder, leaving my hands free to work gates. Some items I always carry in my bag are:
* lightweight rope to be used as a lead
or even fashioned into a horse halter
* wire cutters which make extracting
goat heads from American wire so
much eaiser.
* whistle to call for help, especially
when cell phones do not work on a
farm
* pencil for jotting down notes. I prefer
a pencil because it never runs out of
ink or freezes.
* gloves
* spare keys to all vehicles and the
house
* contact lens case with my ointment
and lip balm
Everyone has an ingenious Simple Solution that makes life on the farm easier. Please email me your ideas and I'll share them in a future edition of Simple Solutions.
contributed by Hope O'Toole