The last eight babies from Lola and Penelope's March litters have been put together in a big cage to free up both ladies for another breeding cycle. Lola has been paired to George, and Penelope has been paired with Sushi.
Bangarang is looking better. His foot still turns out and he's slower to move than the other bunnies, but he is using his bad leg. We better get moved soon... I'm starting to get attached, and I definitely don't need another buck with the limited space I have now. And then I start thinking... Bangarang, Ansen, and Bixby - what a trio they could make... and I've always wanted to try keeping them in a big pen to try group breeding. Hmmmm.
Yesterday I think we hit 80-degrees. We spent most of the day outside clearing off the patio and getting two of the potato growing stations set up. I got the tire tower (level one) and the grow bag set up. Tony assures me that Tuesday or next weekend he will cut the boards we bought to make the wooden potato tower. We also played in the water while I hosed off the cement patio.
Today we hit 81-degrees, but I woke up with a swollen uvula (that dangly thing at the back of the throat - get your mind out of the gutter). I spent most of the day laying down hoping it wouldn't block my airway. Several doses of ibuprofen over the course of the morning and afternoon, I was finally able to get up and do the bunny chores this evening. Kids took their bikes out for a while to play around the yard. We got to go visit my parent's who just returned from a weekend vacation.
We are expecting thunderstorms tomorrow, and rain most of the next 7-10 days (or so says the forecast). I used a big sheet of milkboard we picked up a while ago to make a new roof panel for two of the cages that sit up by the house (not in the bunny barn). It was a good day to do it - nice and warm, and with rain in the forecast, the chewed up tarp just wasn't going to cut it anymore.
I'm admittedly a little sad with my winter sowing this year. I didn't get as many jugs planted as I had planned, and despite having more gardening space planned out, I will have a lot less plants to put in that space. None of the tomatoes came up, none of the peppers, and only a small portion of my squash and melons. So far it looks like I have some strawberries, basil, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. Our garden may have to be either store bought varieties, or all direct sown (peas, beans, and cucumbers). I'm hoping by some miracle they'll all come up with this weeks rains and warmer temps. Who knows. I'm not ready to give up. Maybe it'll be a good thing to have less garden space planted... If we have to move before harvest, maybe it will feel like less of a loss? I don't know. I joined a Facebook group for other wintersowers and I feel so far behind because some of them are in near tropical climates, so some are already harvesting tomatoes, and many are transplanting now, and I have no sprouts at all yet in my tomato containers. Last year I had very few containers that didn't sprout, so I know this method works well. I used a different soil this year. I used ProMix (Organic) from Menards this year, and I used organic Miracle Grow last year. I wonder if that's the problem? I'm just a little beside myself looking at my barren containers. We planted three kinds of hollyhock, three kinds of forget-me-not, pansies, and birdsfoot trefoil... Only the pansies sprouted... 1/8 on flowers. :( I'm hoping I can post a triumphant post next week about how I shouldn't doubt myself and that everything just needed more time. Let's hope I can get to that post.
The neighbor's family has been putting countless hours into upgrading their house. They had professional cleaners come in and sanitize and fumigate everything. They put in fresh carpet, painted everything inside, had the basement wall shored up (I guess it was cracking), power washed the outside, had a bunch of dirt delivered to put up against the house to keep rain away from the foundation, and the last few days they've been planting flowers all over her front and back yard, in addition to adding a walkway (rubber stepping stones) around the side of the house. They will be putting it on the market any day now. I hope whoever buys it doesn't mind loud kids, animals, and half finished projects... I also hope whoever moves in is nice (and child-appropriate).