Life is draining!

I knew life would be harder, with a lot of amazing rewards.  I just didn't realize HOW hard it could be!  We had a major answer to prayer, calls to the universe, etc.  Last week my sister-in-law left for Oregon where she got a job.  Yes!  The trip wasn't the easiest for my in-laws, but we're all hoping things pay off in the end. They took her so that they could pick up a '66 Chevy pick up truck.  It's caused a few headaches so far, but it all seems like it's starting to work out.  Another call in to the universe is in order!  It looks like Bella's truck from Twilight (though, my brother-in-law pointed out some difference about a step up or something ... whatever ... lol) and I can totally see taking it out for a date night spin sometime!  Too bad we don't seem to have a drive-in movie theater here, I mean, how perfect?!

While they were gone, my wonderful hubby turned 27.  So in love with him, still!  In a couple of weeks we'll celebrate our 7th anniversary AND, around the same time we celebrate 9 years together.  NINE!  Crazy.  I feel like we just met and fell in love and I also feel like we've been a part of each other forever.  He is the piece I was always missing.  Add in parents that I absolutely enjoy sharing a home with and I am lucky.  Oh, and don't forget that little monkey of ours!  I truly don't know what I did to deserve it, but I'm not going to mention it!

My mother-in-law's birthday was a few days after B's and monkey and I made her a chocolate mousse cake.  We used my brand new mixer (that I LURVE) and had a lot of fun learning about directions and measurements.  We talked a lot about how we have to do things in a certain order and not just throw it all in at once. :)  He did great and let me tell ya, that kid loves to cook!

and clean ... 

... and clean some more ...

and I'm always happy to get a nice smile from my love!

As for farm life, well, it's been trying lately.  The first week with Rhia went really well.  I groomed her every day and took her out for a short ride.  She was a little pushy for treats, but that first week I just brushed it off.  And then she decided that I should have brought treats during one of our walks and she reached back to bite me and then turned and knocked me over with her hip.  I have been desperately trying to keep things from crashing this last week.  I've tried to go in every day and be as confident as I can be (but, I'm not a confident or self-assured person ... the thousand pounds she has on me doesn't help).  B ran her the other day for about 20 minutes and she settled down quite a bit that day and we ran both horses again today.  She's gotten much more dominant over Lilly, my assumption is that because I'm not letting her assert dominance over me any more, she's asserting it where she can.  

I worked with her for a bit today while B worked with Lilly, but I can only do it for so long.  If she starts to get pushy it is usually my cue to make an exit.  Today, B had Lilly tied up so he could work on brushing her, so I couldn't just leave (Rhia would have got into the middle, which isn't the safest place for B or Lilly for that matter).  I worked on staying calm and collected before B's mom came in and worked with her.  She did nip at her, but M is so much more confident than I am.  I am hoping that a good friend of mine is coming to help me out for a few days early next week.  I miss her tons anyway, so it'll be really great if she can make it.

Oh, and added to all of that, it looks like Miss Lilo is nesting.  So, looks like we'll have a few more little bunnies arriving soon.  We're all trying to watch over her, make sure she has lots of food and water, not to mention treats, so that she has a better start this time.  

And, that's it from the farm!  Happy Homesteading!

Live and learn

Just after my last entry, we sadly lost all of the kits.  We aren't positive why, there are a lot of factors.  Since we didn't know that she was pregnant, she was not only kept from making a nest, but she was also moved immediately after.  For all we know, it could've been her first litter and she just didn't know what to do.  More likely is that she was stressed from the situation.  It seems like she suffocated the kits.  Very sad, but hopefully things will be better next time.

We've kept them apart, however, there was some time right after birth that they were together.  (I know what you're thinking, ladies!)  Apparently they can immediately become pregnant again, so we're watching her carefully.  If she doesn't deliver any kits by the 22nd or so, we'll put them back together for a bit and see if we can't get another litter.  Anyway, it was a good lesson and monkey handled it very well (better than I did!).

What else is on the horizon?  HORSES!  Yes, we found 2 horses.  Good prices and we each really were happy.  B's is an Arabian and quite malnourished.  Originally we were going to say no, but after some research and a couple of days thinking, he knew that leaving the horse in that situation wasn't an option.  In fact, we'd get him today if we could.

As for me ... oh, horsey love!!  She's a Tennessee Walking Horse, very sweet and perfect for a newbie like me.  The owner hadn't brought the mare's saddle, so she tossed me up and I rode the horse bareback.  It was seriously amazing!  Neither of us can stop thinking about these two.

And We Grow

Our family has grown to ... TWELVE!  Yikes!  The doe we got last week was apparently pregnant.  Wish they would have told us, but thankfully B went down first thing in the morning to check them.  The kits had been pushed out, either by the buck (Stitch) or by the mama (Lilo) trying to protect them.  The other fortunate thing was that we'd finished the big hutch yesterday and it has a box for the babies.  We got them moved over and we're hopeful that all four will survive!  P is overjoyed except he doesn't understand why he can't hold them yet.

Mama feeding her littles

Lilo seems to be pretty calm and we think she's fed them.  B starts school today, so P and I are going to head in with him to pick up a few things for her.  And, we'll need to build another hutch in the next month or so to separate all of the bunnies out.  I think 6 bunnies is plenty!!  I'll get better pictures soon to share, but here is one of Lilo in the box feeding the kits! :)

Our 4 little kits

So, today has been a big learning day.  I learned that bucks don't normally kill their young ... on purpose, that is.  Often when they do kill their young it's because they've trampled them or shoved them somewhere unsafe (like onto the basement tile :/) because they're trying to mate again.  Horny little devils!  After sharing this information with the rest of the family, I found out that Stitch was indeed  mating poor Lilo.  Which means that it is entirely possibly the poor doe is already pregnant again.  We will be making another hutch in the next few days, maybe two of them, so that we can separate the kits out as the grow and to also leave this hutch open for Lilo if she does have another litter.  Looks like we may have some Easter bunnies to share!  There are a few kids on our street that may enjoy a bunny and, if not, we'll try and find other homes (in the event there are more growing).  

I learned how to feel (palpate) for the babies, though, I'm not sure if I'll be able to feel it the first time, we'll see.  But, that might help to know.  And, this time we'll at least be aware and watching her behavior in about 28 days which is when she should start nesting.

I thought I'd share in a little more detail how the last few days have been.  Since we've only had the buns for a week, they're still getting used to us.  P spends a lot of time downstairs with them so even though he's a lot more rambunctious than any of the rest of us, they are far more comfortable with him.  While they run from me, I usually don't have too much trouble catching them to put them back into their cage.  However, the past couple of nights, Lilo has been a terror.  In fact, 2 nights ago she was so adamant about not letting me near her, she ran right into the leg of a table.  I was surprised she didn't knock herself out and left her for another hour.  Then, yesterday afternoon, P came upstairs and said that she'd ripped up a book (just an old book from his pre-k that was only paper).  She had shredded it in a corner next to a bookcase in the schoolroom and I should have known.  But, I just assumed that she was trying to make a nest, not for babies, but because she didn't want to go back into the cage.  I cleaned it all up and tucked them in for the night.

This morning B's sister saw the food container in the middle of the cage, empty.  She came up and told Ben and he went down to get it.  When he got to the cage he saw the babies outside on the floor.  Trying to be funny (and I think a little excited ;)) he ran upstairs and meant to slide into the living room to get his mom.  But, he overshot it and fell!  So silly!  She got downstairs and pulled Lilo out and put her into a little canvas container I have for odds and ends.  Lilo had pulled plenty of her fur out, but it was also pushed out.  So, M got the babies tucked in near mom and covered them up with the fur.  Surprisingly, Lilo seemed fairly content in the little container for the time it took to get the hutch in.

B came up to wake me up to help ... at first I thought he was saying there was a storm and the hutch had blown away.  But, then I realized what he was saying and P woke up to hear there were new babies!  B and his dad had to take off the nesting box trying to get the hutch downstairs.  It was turning in to a mess and I realized there was just no point.  The hutch could find a place in the living room.  And it did!  Maybe not the most stylish piece of living room furniture, but we're all enthralled with these little creatures that it is the absolute perfect spot for it!

Lilo is doing perfect.  She's still pretty anxious, though, since we got her pregnant, it's hard to tell what her non-bred personality is yet.  But, most important is that she isn't smothering the kits and she's eating.  She's also been far more calm with me.  She still jumps and sometimes hops off if I pet her, but she knows that I'm the one bringing her treats, so often she waits to see if I have food or not, if I do, she'll either eat it out of my hand or just go about her business while I set it out for her.  The kits seem to be fed, though, I learned that her milk may not come in for up to 48 hrs and to give her that much time to see if they are getting fed.  I've been told that their bellies should be slightly round and they shouldn't be wrinkly.  But, I'm thinking that's relative right now.  I mean, they're tiny and hairless ... how can they NOT be wrinkly!?  So, we'll see how they're doing by tomorrow night and if they seem to be skinny, we'll hand feed them.  

So, so cool!!!  Welcome to the farm!! =D

They Say it Snows

But, it sure has been nice this past week!  Today we did A LOT of yard work.  I feel like I was run over by a truck, but it felt so good to be out there working!  My in-laws built the rabbit hutch, P and I cleaned up the yard (but, mostly he just rode his bike "delivering" things to everyone!) and B fixed the brakes on the truck and cleared out the old firepit and cleaned the chimney ... yikes!

There is, for some reason, a ton of metal, glass, screws, pipes, wood, etc, out in the yard.  Mostly it seems to be in the firepit area and behind our garage.  So, I cleared out behind the garage and then we started pulling all of the volcanic rock and flagstone that was around the massive pit.  B shoveled all of the junk I couldn't pick up (small pieces) and we'll take it all to the dump.  Tomorrow we're going to clear out a new, smaller fire pit (seriously, it was probably 8 feet in diameter, at least!).  We also need to paint the bunny hutch and cover it in chicken wire.  I'm thinking they'll go outside during the day for fresh air and sunshine and

No, the ladder does not actually reach the roof ...

then come back inside at night.

Then, B had to climb up to the roof to take off the top of the chimney and clean it.  Lately the smoke hasn't been going out unless it's been a windy day.  No good!  But, to see him up on the roof ... scary!  Our house is covered with metal and two stories, not to mention the ground is very uneven and covered in rocks!  Yikes!  But, he was safe and the fireplace is working like it should ... phew!


Onto gardening ... we planted several herbs and flowers the other day, along with two lettuce varieties and some giant pumpkins!  I really love the peat seed starters, but no seedlings in there yet!  The lettuce is a cold weather veggie, so I started those in a long window box and was surprised to see a bunch of those guys growing!  I can't wait to be able to pick the food we've grown ourselves!

Still working on a plan for the outside garden.  We're thinking we can start the greenhouse sometime in March or so.  I don't think it should take more than a couple of weekends to build, so hopefully we'll have our garden growing in April ... yes!

Romaine and Butter lettuce growing away!

A long day has been had here, so time for bed for this newbie homesteader!  Oh, quick bunny funny.  Tonight when we were putting the bunnies to bed, the male hopped right up on the female ... well, P was wondering what the funny looks were from us, so, we gave a 5 yr old version of bunny love.  He immediately goes upstairs and says, "Papa, the brown bunny climbed on the black bunny and that's how they make baby bunnies."  He was just so serious, like he was passing on such important information!  No denying it ... I adore that kid!!

Meet the Buns!

Mommy, Lilo and P

Stitch (m) on the left, Lilo (f) on the right

We would like you to meet the newest editions to the family ... Lilo and Stitch!  They are SO stinking cute and cuddly!  Terrified at the moment, but getting more and more comfortable as we get to know them and they us!  Pagan is not so sure of them yet and they seem to be happy to tease him as long as they are safe in their (temporary) home.  He got down to play with them.  I'm thinking he is convinced that we have discovered and procured moving squeak toys for him ... so, for the time being we keep him away when they're out LOL

Lilo

P adores them.  If he could cuddle up and sleep with them and Pagan, he would be the happiest boy ... until, of course, he decided he needed even more fluffy babies right next to him!

We are going to finish up the hutch tomorrow, BUT, I'm not so sure about leaving them outside.  Completely outside is a no go because of our vast coyote population, but the garage isn't used for vehicles (except the motorcycle), so they'd be safe there.  I'm just not sold on the idea.  Maybe if we have 10 bunnies one day, but for now I can't see why they aren't good in the basement.  We tried them in our room last night and me and Pagan jumped every time they made noise ... for different reasons, I'm sure!  I was sure he'd go poking around the cage and I think he was sure of it too LOL  So, no bedroom.  But, he won't go downstairs and that is where P's toys are, so he likes it.

Stitch

Yesterday we had a hell of a time trying to catch them and this morning was even worse ... I'm not kidding, they would get to the middle of the bed (underneath) and go to sleep, somehow knowing we couldn't reach them!  That's the other reason we took them downstairs.  There are places for them to hide, but nowhere that we can't get to.  And, by bedtime tonight they barely tried to get away.  Progress!

It was funny hearing P yelling, "Don't forget, Daddy, the poop goes in the compost!" LOL  So funny!