happy bunnies

the bunnies seem to like their new digs. tucked under the maple tree in back, they seem to have the right mix of sunshine, shade and privacy. i've been throwing weeds and bolted salad greens in for them to snack on. happy bunnies, happy neighbors, happy garden.

bunnies in the night

more rain

poor little guest-bunny clyde

bunny love

moses and cholo, together at last

animal update: bunny friends

on wednesday cholo the bunny got loose.
moses the bunny was already loose.

unable to catch either before work, i prepared myself for a watership down experience in my backyard.

over lunch, there was a lot of loose fur but both bunnies were located with no visible signs of blood.

and there it is. the bunnies are now tolerating each other.
guess all that time i just needed to calm down and get out of their way.

bonus? both the bunnies can be loose now. its adorable.
and surprisingly enough, they aren't doing too much damage in my garden. strawberries and peppers mostly. and even then, mostly the plant part of anything. not the harvest part.

bunny almost-friends!

never a shortage of projects

this past weekend i spent all the time i could farming.
i think its my new plan for the next few months.

for one, it keeps me from spending money.
and i probably earn some good will, fantastic veggies and other treats in the meantime.

i mean, g&t's at four o'clock on a friday after playing in the dirt? nice.

the house and garden itself is a disaster zone lately.
fence still down from tree endeavor, sod not removed (pretty sure dude bailed on that), branches to be burned, fire pit to be dug. the baby chicks were moved into the bunny hutch so that my house no longer smells like chicken. and since the bunnies have yet to be neutered, moses is roaming free while cholo stays cooped up. the chickens are cooped up now that i have seeds planted. the water barrels have yet to be made.

all around my house, my projects mock me.
should have worked in the yard yesterday, instead i slept.

but at the farm things are looking lovely!

progression towards a goal

this weekend i finished the rabbit hutch.
only one major snafu—it was too long to get out of my house. fuck!

the worst is that my grandmother repeatedly asked me if i'd be able to get it out of the house. anyways. so, i cut off the handles i so lovingly thought out. but it was better than the alternative—deconstruct it and reconstruct it outside. no thank you.

its outside now. charleton heston in residence.
he seems to be happy now and i am glad. i'm glad i made the hutch long enough for him to hop around, stand up and climb on things. the hutch looks good. when i have a chance to buy more wire i'll fix up the door a little better. but for now things are good.

the fence is coming along so i'm told.
i've been fielding and fending-off a variety of questions, suggestions and subtleties. it makes me chuckle a little to listen to her wheedle me and try and convince me that what she wants is actually what i said i wanted. i chuckle a little but mostly i just groan.

i'm a person that says what i mean, does what i want. when i need help i ask for it, when i'm wrong i admit it. i'm working at thinking things through better and am finding myself to be successful. plus—its my house. so. back. off. (sigh.)

by next weekend my house will have a whole new look!

i'm making my move

i am just going at it like gangbusters around the house.

tomorrow the guy comes to start working on my front lawn.
i spent most of the weekend working on a rabbit hutch, should be done very soon. then i will be moving charleton heston outside and cholo upstairs. (cholos hutch will come eventually, just not at this moment.) then i'll be cleaning out the bunny room and bringing the firewood inside to better cure. with the firewood out of the way i can get the trees trimmed and then my shed installed.

can you believe it? i can barely believe it.
sometimes you just have to relinquish yourself to the fact that money must be spent. at least i could make sure i spend it on activities that provide tangible progress. maybe seeing results will improve my follow through.

regardless of the groundhog

just like last year, i have a lot of work ahead of me in the yard.
why do i do this to myself? this time i am striving to actually follow through.

sadly, everything takes money. follow through takes money.

my goal is to rip out all the grass in the front yard, put up a two foot picket fence, add a two or three foot strip of garden and then fill in the lawn with a no-mow lawn (fescue or hair grass). just ripping out the lawn alone will be a considerable job.

in the back i need to build a bunny barn.

i also need to cage up the chickens, rip up the chicken yard, lay down some pasture seed mix and let it grow into a thick jungle of lawn for the chickies and the bunnies. i also need to fortify my chicken fence so they don't wreak havoc on the garden this year (or ever again!)

sigh. baby steps. baby steps.
first things first, the bunny barn. because, frankly, i don't think the ground is warm enough to germinate any seeds at this point. maybe i should learn how to kill my lawn as well and find someone to build me a fence.

i'm feeling a little overwhelmed. just like any spring.

bunnies

i was mistaken.
what i took for rabbit fraternity was in fact cholo doing his best to prevent bunners from eating or drinking anything.

yesterday he looked funny and i picked him up and he was skin and bones!

i feel like a terrible bunny mommy.

i was considering finding bunners a new home, but i think i will just make do. there are baby bunnies on the way and perhaps both of them can have some companions. until then i'll make do. poor bunners.

small pleasures

i am delighted to announce that the rabbits are now friends.
this is excellent news, since that was my intention in getting a second rabbit.

i can now leave them alone without bloodshed.
have you seen rabbits fight? its quite...furious.

better yet? i only need to build one bunny hutch!
i have been toying with the idea of fortifying the chicken yard and allowing them to run around it some times. this seems like a good way to lose a rabbit though, so i am not so sure what i think of that. it would just look so darling!

the other good news is that i may have found a trick to keeping the chickens in freezing weather—i added maybe ten granules of rock salt to their five gallon tank the other day and thus far it seems to be keeping water flowing. and none of the chickens seem to be showing any adversity to the slight increase in salt.

so all in all, a good weekend.

a day in the life

today i spent about fifteen minutes trying to catch the bunny. not something i recommend—bunnies are tricky and quick. guess that's how they survive. still, little...fucker.

i should have some photos up shortly.
then you will see how i haven't been overstating my crazed garden. these days its a full blown operation to pick tomatoes at any given time—bobbing and weaving and reaching and stretching.

more chickens are laying. margaret thatcher and rosa parks have been added to the mix. so, more eggs are around. the amerucana eggs remain small and that is too bad. i was hoping they would be larger. unfortunately, maude lays sporadically and iphegenia has been broody for the past two-three weeks.

so that is the status. lazy chickens and a busy garden.
yesterday i strung up peppers and dried tomatoes. today, more tomato drying and some stewed tomato making. tomorrow? who knows. i'll think of something. they say "it takes a village..." well it takes a village to maintain my house. trust me, there is always something.

the animals are all safely tucked away.
cholo bunners bunny in his cage, the chucks locked up, the rooster in the basement. aesop and milo, fed the tasty tasty wet food and locked up for the night. assuredly, they will be harassing me come five a.m. to go outside. bitches.

its been 107 the past two days. dear god.
the plants seem well, the animals are decent.

the house is in good shape, nothing like impending house guests to light a fire under my ass. i've found me some house and yard slaves that have been cleaning shit up for me. its fabulous.

nearing the end

the weather is thwarting my plans today. but only slightly.
i'll pick up the supplies and pick up (where i hoped to start) tomorrow.
we'll see how far i get. i'm usually too ambitious.

played with fluffy bunnies last night. i can just imagine me having some eventually. i think i am making up for being so unfairly animal deprived as a child. or being unable to have a farm right this minute.

i am looking into local CSA programs but they might be too much food and too much money for me. i will need to feel it out a little. they have a volunteer/discount set up that i inquired to today. it would be so lovely to be able to support local business, eat fresh, and learn a little. but only if i can afford it.

money makes the world go round, the world go round...
BLEGH

the chickens are producing 6 eggs a day.
i'm finally in the position to give them away freely.

yesterday i got one so large i think it might have two yolks....
i'm eager for the weekend. saturday i'll have some time to spend in the yard as well as some time to spend with the chickens. its gotten to the point where i can't identify all the eggs, and i'd like to be able to. so perhaps i will be able to refresh my memory tomorrow.

fall is here. winter close. its going to be a cold one.
soon my green thumb will go into hibernation.