I paired our beautiful Derrick Morgan (torte mini lop) with both Extra Stuff (broken black French Lop cross) and Sweetie Pie (white New Zealand White / Lionhead cross) for March litters. I figure if they're not finding homes and I've had to feed them through winter, they can at least provide us with some babies. That means those two does will no longer be available for sale until after kits are weaned. If all goes well, two litters of lop cross bunnies should be arriving around March 20th!
I had my much awaited doctor appointment today and left with several follow up appointments with a variety of other specialties. It's been a long road but I think I may finally be on my way toward some diagnostics or at least ruling things out to get to the bottom of my health issues. Here's hoping anyway.
I paired our beautiful Derrick Morgan (torte mini lop) with both Extra Stuff (broken black French Lop cross) and Sweetie Pie (white New Zealand White / Lionhead cross) for March litters. I figure if they're not finding homes and I've had to feed them through winter, they can at least provide us with some babies. That means those two does will no longer be available for sale until after kits are weaned. If all goes well, two litters of lop cross bunnies should be arriving around March 20th! We've had a lot of change going on behind the scenes over the last couple of years, so I apologize to those who'd been frequent readers of the blog and may have been disappointed by the sudden lack of content. If you'd like to help support our little homestead, please consider checking out our offerings on eBay, Mercari, and RedBubble. I am considering setting up a GoFundMe but I doubt we'd be able to gather up enough to save the homestead. I'm doing the best I can on my own, but it's been a struggle.
We are having an unseasonably warm winter, and despite it being the middle of February, the only snow left on the ground is in the shade of trees or buildings. I'm not going to complain, I prefer a mild winter. The geese have been enjoying continued foraging, despite the grass being dry and dead. We did lose one goose last month to a coyote (rest in peace Goose-Toph, mother of our five yearling geese). It's about that time to start thinking about winter sowing and selecting what seeds to start for our garden this year. Our future here is uncertain given personal and financial issues, but I'm going to keep functioning as though I'm staying and hope that things will work out as we go. I'm not sure if I'll be winter sowing or just starting seeds indoors this year. Maybe a combination of both would be best. I have two new small raised beds (5x3 and 4x2, only 10-12 inches deep) that I hope to fill with the old manure I shovel out of the barn in the spring once it all thaws out completely. I also have the pool garden I put together with cloth bags last year. I'm hoping that by starting earlier (and an earlier spring) will help the garden be more productive this year. It'll also help if I can keep the geese out of the garden this year... Tonight I managed to make a slow cooker meal in a pinch that delighted everyone. I'm writing this down more for my own records, but feel free to try this recipe as well!
4 chicken breasts 1 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar 1/2 c. BBQ sauce 1/4 c. soy sauce 1-2 Tbsp. minced garlic 1. Lay chicken breasts at the bottom of the slow cooker 2. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl 3. Pour sauce over the chicken breasts 4. Cook for 4 hours on high 5. Serve over rice After much thought, I have decided to sell off all of the rabbits. We only have four at this time, but I can no longer afford to feed them through the winter. They're currently eating grass and weeds from the yard. If they don't find new homes by fall, they'll go in the freezer and that would break my heart for a couple of the nicer ones. If anyone is looking for a good rabbit - I have two that would be good meat breeders and two that would be excellent pets. Asking $30 each for them. I also have a few spare geese available if anyone is interested. I believe they're Pilgrim but they may be crossed with Embden. They're nice birds, pretty quiet, excellent parents, used to free ranging for a bit every day. Good birds, the babies from this year are already full grown. Looking to sell one adult male and two young males. Asking $30 each. We are looking to downsize our house pets as well, so if you're looking for a house cat, please ask about what we have available! We have four or five that need to find new homes as I am forced to cut costs.
On the flip side, if you'd like to help fund our little homestead, please take a peek at what we have available in our Mercari shop and on eBay. The last surviving baby bunny is doing well. We've named her Xerox, because she looks like a carbon copy of her mother. She's eating and drinking on her own, and has been reintroduced to her mom full time. She's ready to go to her new home soon. I'm asking $50 and I'm looking to find her a good indoor pet home. She's well socialized, actively seeks out human affection, and loves snuggles. Some of the plants in the garden are finally flowering. I think it may be too late in the season for most, but here's hoping that the late start and the geese getting into the garden - twice - won't destroy all hope of some harvest. The Fur Crusher cucumbers are growing, the Little Greasy beans are flowering, and the various squash and watermelon varieties are starting to flower. Here's hoping for at least some harvest. Home grown food always seems to taste so much better!
We lost another bunny last night, the one that didn't seem interested in nursing. We have two left. I brought them out to the barn this morning and both were quick to get under mom for breakfast. Feeding this evening was less productive, both babies were under momma but they didn't get the full bellies like they did this morning. I will continue to shelve these kits until either they are weaned or until they die. I'll give them every opportunity I can to see them thrive. The remaining bunnies have opened their eyes, they've started grooming themselves, and they are active. One is a broken tri color and the other is a broken black. We are hoping for the best for them.
It's been a rough week for baby bunnies. Our litter of eight is down to just three after losing another two today. I decided to try shelving the kits - where you take the baby bunnies away from momma-rabbit and only return them twice a day for feeding time. Unfortunately, upon taking the last three out tonight and giving them ten minutes with momma, one bunny started to get cold and lethargic and refused to nurse, and the two who actively latched on and nursed (audible suckling noises and one got dragged when mom moved) did not have full tummies. They're too young to be without milk, but it would seem that momma dried up. I have offered them cucumber in an attempt to keep them hydrated but they don't seem interested. I will see what tomorrow brings, but as it stands, I don't think we will have any baby bunnies by the end of the week.
In a related note, all loses are put in the freezer to be offered as reptile or BARF/Raw dog food, in case anyone is interested. Happy 4th of July everyone!
I'm going to be real honest here, I'm struggling financially now that I'm single-parenting five kids. I am trying to diversify as much as I can, but I'm already spread thin. Today I got a few old books listed on eBay, which join some 90's Christmas ornaments, and a few glass fitters for light fixtures. I also posted some homeschool books on Craigslist. I have baby geese that I could potentially catch and sell. Bunnies will be ready for new homes next month. I have some old losses in the freezer (rabbits and such) that I could sell as dog food. I've got tons of handcrafted stuff I'd like to sell, but it seems my Mercari shop doesn't move a lot of items. I'm great at making things, but I'm not so great at promoting and selling them. I need to start increasing my sales or I'm not going to be able to afford pet food and toilet paper much longer. I'm not looking for a handout, but if anyone wants to help support me and the kids and the homestead, I could really use some sales. Local / in person pick up sales, or sales online through Mercari or eBay or Bonanza... If I can move some stuff out of the house and have money to pay the bills, I'll be happy. Right now it runs about $300 per month just to feed all of the animals... that doesn't include Frontline or vet bills, that's just for food and cat litter. I have swapped out indoor lights for LED, and installed solar security lights. We rarely eat out (and if we do it's a treat that my son pays for). The rabbits are currently eating freshly harvested grass and weeds from the yard and kitchen scraps to cut out pelleted feed expenses all summer. I've cut every expense I can without having to get rid of our pets. I don't know what else to do. If you'd like to help me, the kids, and our homestead, please take a look at what I've got for sale right now! On eBay I've got some 90's Christmas ornaments, some 1940's-1960's school books, and some old lamp fitters. On Mercari I've got a small selection of some of my handmade items (earrings, key chains, bracelets, crocheted hats). I'm trying to get time to list more on both sites, but again, I'm spread thin already. The bunnies are a week old now, and they're doing great. Momma rabbit is doing a great job. There are eight in the nest box. The goslings are two weeks old and are adorable. I'd be willing to part with two of them - if I could catch them. I've been working hard this month to get seeds in soil. Yes, it's late to be planting, but better late than never, right? Here's to a long season and a bountiful harvest! I planted Canada Crookneck Squash, Honey Boat Delicata Squash, Patisson Golden Marbre Scallop Squash, Odessa Squash, and Dwarf Grey Sugar Peas in the strawberry bed. I also planted Marvel of Four Seasons lettuce and Table Queen Acorn Squash, but I suspect the local chipmunks had a snack as none of them came up. I planted Grey Zucchini, Black Beauty Zucchini, Fordhook Zucchini, Golden Zucchini, Hmong Speckled Squash, Dolya (Share of) Pumpkin, Interception Pumpkin, Titovka Melon, Malachite Watermelon, Bozeman Watermelon, Kentucky Wonder Bean, Little Greasy Bean, and Ever Blooms Bean seeds into grow bags in a broken plastic kids pool. I planted San Remo Melon, Mexican Sour Gherkin, Boston Pickling Cucumber, Blue #2 Cinderella Pumpkin, and Cushaw squash in a raised bed near the fence. So far only the San Remo has come up. I planted True Lemon Cucumber, Seagull Melon, Mulatto Watermelon, Sugar Magnolia Sugar Pea, Blue Lake Pole Bean, Guicoy Squash, Fur Crusher (F1) Cucumber, and Armenian Cucumber seeds into buckets in the small fenced garden - so far everything has sprouted except the Armenian cucs. I planted Chicago Pickling, National Pickling, Marketmore, and Dragon's Egg cucumbers, as well as Beni Kodama Watermelon, Golden Crispy Melon, Zolotinka Zucchini, Svitozar Zucchini, Graduate Student Zucchini, and Burpee's Stringless Green Pod Bush Beans in grow bags in a new garden area beside the barn. Last week #3 was able to get several varieties of flower planted too. It looks like we will have sunflowers and zinnias and butterfly / pollinator mix flowers growing in the new garden and along the west side of the house by the fenced garden. An excellent balance of edible and insect friendly seeds planted for this year. Last week we welcomed five new goslings. Our flock more than doubled overnight! The new babies join their mom (Goose-Toph), and their dads (A-Goose-Tus, and Freckles). They're a week old now, and aside from getting stepped on frequently by the adult geese, the babies seem to be doing well. They eat commercial crumbles, grass, and I tossed in some strawberries the other day which were gone by the next day. Today we welcomed a litter of eight baby bunnies. Mom (Extra Stuff) made a good nest in the nest box and didn't mind me reaching in to count them. Looks like it'll be a nice colorful litter. A couple dark ones, a couple spotted ones, some pink ones, a few that might be brown. Mom is a broken black lop mix, dad is a torte lop mix. I'm excited to see how these babies look as they get bigger. If all goes well, these bunnies will be ready to move on to new homes in 6-8 weeks depending on how they're doing with eating and drinking on their own. Right now all four of the adult rabbits are on a grass-only diet. I cut fresh grass (and weeds and whatever else is in the yarn) to give them every day. They do seem to be maintaining their weight and they eat until they're full, munching away all day long. The geese appreciate the grass that falls underneath the cages. I have a new eBay account if anyone wants to take a peek at what I've got up for sale. I'm going to try to be more active there as I clean out the garage. I need to find new income sources as our family has changed a lot in the last year or two and I'm really struggling to make ends meet right now.
In other news, our dear #3 graduated high school and is looking into out-of-state colleges for this fall. Congratulations #3! I am so proud of you! I received a package from Seed Savers today. They have a program where you can select up to three varieties of seed that do not have a description, and they'll send you the seeds - free of charge - in exchange for your notes at the end of the season. You grow them out, make notes about the seeds, germination, vigor, growth, productivity, flavor, and so on. They get more data on their collection, and you get to try out up to three varieties you might not have access to anywhere else.
I received Speckled Hmong Squash, Little Greasy Beans, and Ever Blooms Beans. All are varieties of seed that are over six years old, and as a result, they graciously sent double the normal amount. I will say that the Little Greasy beans are not the variety I requested - two of the accession numbers are transposed for the variety I requested (Zargana Beans). Regardless, I will be growing the Little Greasy beans out and documenting how they do. If anyone has Zargana beans, I'd love to try them! I planted two of each seed in the seed starter. I transplanted all of the sprouts that I'd started in paper towels following the failure of the last seed starting kit. I'm hoping that with this head start (sprouting before going in dirt), they may do better. I hope so anyway because some of these seeds were the last in my collection - I have no more to try again. I have added the three new varieties from Seed Savers to the Research page, as well as the Seed Stash inventory. I may consider trying these varieties in winter sowing containers, as well as direct sowing once the weather permits in spring. I want to give these seeds the best opportunity to grow and thrive so I can get good observations. I also want to taste them, especially the squash. Today I started some more seeds in paper towels, including:
After much deliberation, I have decided to make Mercari the home of my new Handmade Shop. It's slow going, and an uphill battle for sure. By my best guess, if I got every handmade item listed for sale, there would probably be somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 listings. Considering the last shop took me years to get stuff listed and I was just over 600 listings (all of which could fit into a few boxes)... it's going to take me a while. I am trying to dedicate some time each week to getting items listed, but I also have kids and pets and other stuff going on. In the meantime, please take a peek, and feel free to bookmark the site to check back.
I make a wide variety of items. I get hyper-fixated on one thing or another until I get bored with it... so I don't crochet a few hats, I crochet dozens, and then I move on to something else for a while. I have necklaces, hats, amigurumi octopuses, paintings, scarves, pins, pot holders, earrings, dish cloths, magnets, hair accessories, key chains, bracelets, upcycled and repurposed items, coasters, and so much more. Sometimes I have handmade craft supplies to sell too. If you'd like to purchase an item, I'd be ever so grateful. Your purchase helps me to pay my bills and continue doing the crafty stuff I love. As of this blog I have eleven key-chains listed. It's not much, but it's a start! Today I received my Baker Creek seed order. It contained:
Phil's One Tomato Phil's Two Tomato Merlot Lettuce Datil Pepper Indigo Blue Chocolate Tomato Ozark Pink Tomato Tokyo Blue Squash Nicaise Squash Gulcoy Squash Odessa Squash Jigsaw Hot Pepper Golden Crispy Melon Mexican Sour Gherkin Cucumber Purple Ball Basil Persian Basil With the new seeds arriving, I was able to get my seed starting kit set up and planted. The line up for this year (so far)?
I labeled each seed part with both the name of the variety and the coordinating number, to better help me keep varieties identified. Yes, I'm only growing two to four seeds of each in one single starting pod. It's more of a taste test to see what I like and to compare a few varieties, less about growing out for seeds. Years ago we got the most amazing purple basil plant from the local greenhouse. It was the best tasting basil I've ever had. We've tried various other purple basil varieties but can't find that one. The greenhouse said it's in their catalog simply as "purple basil" - This year I am growing out all of my red and purple basil varieties in an attempt to identify the one we had so many years ago from that greenhouse - and to refill our stock of dried basil (that we use for spaghetti). I am growing out all of the dragon tomato varieties, all three colors of Peter Peppers, all of the D&D themed names, and I'm doing a head-to-head comparison of Gnome Fight With Shadow vs Dwarf Shadow Boxing Type 4, Hazel Mae vs Hazelnoottomaat, Vegetable Sorcerer vs Clairvoyant Sorcerer, and Spoon vs Post Office Spoonful tomatoes. There are four flower varieties there upon #3's request. Here's to a great growing season in 2023! Winter sowing should start sometime in February or March. Today I finally planted seeds in the new Aero Garden. The light went out in the last one and it took me a while to be able to afford a new one. Here's what we're growing! Monetka - micro-dwarf tomato Pigmy - micro-dwarf tomato Rosy Finch - micro-dwarf tomato Window Box Red - dwarf tomato Micro Tom Plenty tomatoOrange Hat - micro-dwarf tomato Mongolian - dwarf tomato Chives Thyme I ordered a few new-to-me seed varieties from Baker Creek this week. Once that package arrives, I'll be starting tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds indoors. I'll be growing a lot of dwarf and micro dwarf varieties this year. I'm also planning to grow out several varieties of purple basil in an attempt to figure out which one was the delicious nameless variety we got from a greenhouse many years ago - they said it was just "purple basil."
I had an issue with the site where I listed all of my handmade items for sale. Long story short, they ended up deleting all 600+ of my listings that took me years to photograph and list... I'm taking a little time to re-evaluate and then I will be starting to list items for sale again - sure to be a long process - on a different site. If you're interested, keep a look out for an updated blog announcement and updated links. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. Even when my heart is heavy, I have so much to be thankful for.
It's been a rough week at the homestead. I'm worn down and struggling emotionally.
Some time on Friday, Simon (one of the new barn kittens) died unexpectedly. My vet assures me that cats do not typically die from upper respiratory issues and that the 20 days between bringing him home and his scheduled veterinary appointment should not have resulted in his passing away. Regardless, this means that Ave (his sister) can no longer stay in the barn. Without another cat for body heat in the cold winter, she won't survive. So Ave is now a house cat. She's been quarantined in my bedroom until she can go to the vet to get a clean bill of health. Today was vet appointment day. Ave tested negative for FIV and feline leukemia, she received her first distemper vaccine, and was dewormed. She was given antibiotics that she will get twice a day for ten days to make sure she doesn't have the same respiratory yuck her brother had. Aside from some sneezing, she doesn't have goopy discharge, so I think her immune system is better than her brother's was. Miss Arya (our Saint Bernard) went to the vet as well. She's been having issues with being lame in her front right leg. Over the last few weeks the swelling around the front of her chest and top of her leg has escalated quickly, from a baseball sized mass to a cabbage sized mass. Two days ago she started to have fluid retention down that leg as well. The nerves seemed dead, but the circulation was still working. She was clearly in pain the last few days though, whining and stretching her neck at odd angles away from her bad leg. I've been giving her aspirin to help her be more comfortable until the vet could see her. What I at first had potentially thought could be a dislocation quickly turned to something else. I had my suspicions but I didn't want it to be true. This morning, x-rays confirmed my fears. Miss Arya was officially diagnosed with advanced osteosarcoma - bone cancer. It had completely obliterated the bone between the shoulder blade and elbow. The veterinarian said he could give us a referral to another clinic to do biopsies, but with how advanced it was, and how quickly it's spread in the past two or three weeks, we knew it wouldn't help her. She's been having fewer and fewer good days, and she's clearly in pain. It was time. Today we made the absolutely heartbreaking decision to put our three year old Saint Bernard down. I am distraught with heartache tonight. I've lost two animals in the span of a week. I find solace in knowing that Ave is having the time of her life in the house, playing with toys, sleeping in the bed with me, and exploring her new warm environment. She will remain an indoor house cat now. We will try to find new barn cats in the spring. |
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