Discouraging!

Rabbits can be such a pain to raise. Sometimes they're awesome, but sometimes, not so much! Out of five boxes that went in last week, only two had some bunnies. One doe had four  and a first timer had three, with no nest. We warmed the new three, made a nest for them and watched them for the rest of the day. She didn't act like she was interested in taking care of them at all. The doe that had four has been a foster mom before so the babies were added to her litter. This morning, all 7 are clean, fed and looking great. The first timer will be bred again and given another shot at being a good mom. Raising rabbits can be discouraging at times, especially when you hear so many others saying how many bunnies they have, but they are usually worth it in the end.

Yummy!

What's for breakfast? Today hubby fixed homemade pancakes using stone ground wheat, raw sugar and oatmeal. Topped them off with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Yummy!

CHICKENS!

We got some pullets today. They should start laying around June. This is the first time we've had this breed, Golden Comet. Most times we've raised heritage breeds. So far these young ladies seem to be very calm. We will see how they get along.

Should get some bunnies in the boxes today. Two Cal litters and a Havana litter. Getting excited to have bunnies again. It's been a long time!

The gardening has started! The salad garden is planted up front by the house. It has radishes, lettuce and spinach in already and kale will be planted along with a few Romaine lettuce plants that we just got form an Amish greenhouse.

Snow.....again

So we woke up this morning to more snow. I am really tired of winter. Spring is just around the corner...so we are told. I really don't like it when the weather plays its little tricks on me. Be winter, or be done with winter. It is supposed to be around 0 tomorrow and this weekend be near 60. What??

What do you do when you really want to be outside? The best thing for today is to be in the warm comfortable house and read. Get out those gardening books. It will be gardening time soon....I promise. Do your reading and studying so when you get the chance to be outside playing in the dirt, you're ready! We have a lot of gardening and herbal books. Time to catch up on some reading and learning. It's got to be better for your mind to absorb knowledge instead of sitting around depressed and complaining about the weather.

There's nothing better than curling up on the couch with a good book, hot cup of tea and wrapped in my favorite quilt.

We belong to a frugal living group on facebook. It amazes me sometimes that the way Dewayne and I grew up seems to be "new ideas" for some people. Its always nice to be reminded of the obvious and it's good to get new ideas, but sometimes I am still amazed.

Growing up in the boondocks, we always had to be frugal with water. For showers, we would get wet, turn off the water, lather, turn on the water to rinse. Dewayne remembers even getting "showers" with the garden hose out in the yard.  Sharing tub water was also common.The kids took turns using the water in the tub, starting with the cleanest kid first.

If we ever went out to eat, it was a treat. It was not the normal routine at all. We were lucky if we went out once every other year. Home cooked meals, sitting around the family table, was the way it was done. Our families grew our own gardens and processed the food for storage, they hunted rabbits, squirrels and deer. We didn't grow up turning our nose up at eating the cute little critters. It was eat them or go hungry.

We grew up in the country, about 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store. You made the trip to town worth the gas. You didn't just go because you ran out of ketchup. You made due until you needed enough groceries to make sense.

We also never owned a dishwasher. Unless you ask mom, then she would say she had three of them, me and my two sisters. When a meal was over, dishes were done. Wash water in one side of the sink, rinse water in the other. Dishes were quick and little water was used. Now people brag they only run the dishwasher once a week. I'm sorry, but how many dishes do you own if everything is used once then put in the dishwasher to sit for a week. We don't even own that many dishes! Dishwasher use more water then you would possibly need if you did them by hand.

Another way to save money and water...do your laundry in the bath tub. Mom and my older sister Shari would wash the laundry and my younger sister, Kandi and I would hang them on the line outside.

There are so many ways to save money....just think before you spend.

Got a Great Deal Today!

We came across a great deal on some 2-1/2 week old Cornish Cross chickens for $1.50 each. We bought all they had which was 25.
We've raised Cornish Cross for the last several years and love them. They are not a smart bird but man do they taste good!!

We have our plants started. We've added more herbs for this year. Sweet Marjoram,  Lemon Balm and Parsley will join the Sage, Lemon Verbena, Oregano, Basil and Rosemary.
We are also changing the variety of cucumbers. We are trying a Chicago Pickling this time. The last few years, the Boston Pickling Cucumbers would turn yellow so fast the animals ate more of them then we did. We would get a few to eat fresh, but not enough to do any pickles or relish. This year, we need them to produce right to stock the pantry. Also new this year will be a new variety of zucchinis. We've had the bush type for the last several years but they would not produce near enough either. I think we have some bush , but we are adding a vine type too.
I can not wait for this weather to turn. Getting my hands in the soil and watching my hard work produce so much food is my tranquil delight!

We've started the rabbit breeding for the season. Two Havanas, one Rex and five Cals bred so far. Boxes start going in next week. Got several more to breed yet but this time, we are doing a few at a time in batches.
We had our worst year ever for losing stock this past winter. We had no idea what was going on until we read on some facebook groups and forums that other people also were losing rabbits. Apparently, there was an issue with an additive put in the Pen Pals rabbit food. It was way too much Vitamin D. We went out one morning and both of my Havanas bucks were dead. They were fine the day before. We also lost our best Cal buck. He started getting a little thin and we increased his food and water, checked on him several times through the day, even wormed him, which we never do. Nothing worked and he died. A couple of our Cal does dropped weight but nothing serious and they are fine now. We hardly ever lose an animal and it really sucks when you do and don't know why....or find out why too late to do anything about it.