The big and nasty horse flies have arrived, right on schedule, and behind the small and nasty black flies, (the ticks are here all the time, Maria found one on me today)  they are loving the heat and humidity and rain and they hatched by the thousands this weekend, one of the annual plagues that strike a farm and the animals there. We can see them, but the strongest tell-tale sign is the moisture that pours from the eyes of donkey’s and horses. They rub against us, love to have their eyes rubbed and washed with moist clothe. We have tried numerous kinds of donkey masks, but they love taking them off of each other and they succeed. We have ointments, sprays and creams, homemade conctions that sometimes work for  awhile, but never for very long.

In the real world of real animals, there are just some things they have to endure.

The flies will be around until after Labor Day, they make animals miserable at times and we will bring out our arsenal tomorrow. In the meantime, Simon pressed his head against me and Lulu ran to Maria for some comfort.