Dentistry for horses! Time for Joey

Time for the big boy – Joey –  and true to form for big strong men he needed one and a half ‘wee drams’ before being willing to submit to the dentist!

 

Yes I am old and long in the tooth!

 

And I am not going through with this willingly either!

 

not one bit!

 

But with a dentist this good what can I do?

 

Just look at me!

 

Even the school children get in on the procedure

 

This is the last thing any young stallion wishes to ever see!

 

The twitch being demonstrated

 

Friends taking Joey’s pulse

 

Friends taking Joey’s pulse

 

 

Dentistry for horses! Mocha

Next up was Mocha who was so well behaved she didn’t need the jab to steady her nerves like the others!

 

Mocha and supporters

 

Mocha being good for the dentist

 

Dentistry for horses!

 

 

Well done Mocha!

Dentistry for horses! Squirrel First

Our friendly veterinarian was round to be the dentist for the day for our horses – plenty of children around to watch and learn.

 

The mechanised rasp for horses teeth

 

Feeling the motion of the rasp

 

Squirrel with the special bit in place to allow the dentist to get safely in!

 

Like this!

 

Who was braver the veterinarian or the horse?!?

 

 

Having a good look

 

Plenty of interested onlookers

well done Squirrel!

The little monsters of March

Here are some of our own little monsters – most found in and around ground level in the garden, here in Troutbeck.

 

Insect pollinated flowers

Insect pollinated flowers

 

 

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

 

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

DSC_9630

 

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

 

DSC_1348

Caterpillar common in the garden here

 

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

 

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

 

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

 

Insect pollinated flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

Aloe flowers, Troutbeck, Zimbabwe

 

A spider with a sense of humour

A spider with a sense of humour – smiling back!

 

How to build a trinomial cube out of lego

For those times when a binomial square is not enough The Troutbeck School shows you how to build your own trinomial cube of (a + b + c) out of lego. There is a nice long step by step guide on the school site:
http://thetroutbeckschool.com/how-to-build-a-trinomial-cub…/

 

lego trinomial cube a layer

lego trinomial cube a layer

 

lego trinomial cube dissected

lego trinomial cube dissected

 

lego trinomial cube completed

lego trinomial cube completed

Tree House Number 2: The Porch

The porch foundations were a bit more complicated than the main tree house. The porch is supported by what I may call an inverted 3D roof truss which spans between two tree stumps. Below you can see Didymus balancing on the mid point of the truss (temporarily supported at each end).

Didymus balancing on the inverted 3D truss

Didymus balancing on the inverted 3D truss

 

To make matters more interesting you can see that the last tree stump (on the right – below) was way too short.

Inverted 3D truss

Inverted 3D truss

 

The last stump was too short

The last stump was too short!

 

Thus we used an “Alpine” style cross made of  simbi (metal) by Soko. This anchored the centre of the truss firmly into the tree stump with the help of some cement. So technically the tree house still doesn’t touch the ground (yet) – it just has a steel-cement support in one tree stump.

 

Metal cross inserted into hollowed out tree stump

Metal cross inserted into hollowed out tree stump

 

Cement being added into the stump

Cement being added into the stump

 

Now a well anchored inverted 3D truss foundation

Now a well anchored inverted 3D truss foundation

 

Porch floor and steps up

Porch floor and steps up to main house

 

Porch window

Porch window

 

Looking north through the porch

Looking north through the porch

 

Working on the stairs up

Working on the stairs up

 

Working on the stairs up

 The banisters

 

Looking north again - with roof in place

Looking north again – with roof in place

 

Porch roofing structure

Porch roofing structure and lintels

 

Its taking shape now

Its taking shape now

(Just in time for the phantom rainy season –  its a drought year)