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a brief review

It was good .. it actually captured my attention and I'm not a fan of gimmicks
I hate going to the theatre - I can't sit still long enough to enjoy a movie usually and this was a LONG film - but apart from one brief moment at about the 1.5 mark when I checked the time and thought -oh I guess this is ending soon (it didn't) it held me.
Strong women (many), interesting interactions of human, animal and plant, political messaging, and a decent story line all enhanced the amazing 3D effect
I read James Cameron wanted people going back to the theatres - and he thought this movie would help - I agree - it's been out 11 days here and the first show of the day was packed.

I got to to see a Telus goat ad too - one of my buddies from http://www.rabbittalk.com/, HT and the Hobby Farm forum was the wrangler for the ads so I'd heard about them but not seen one.
Here's an example of one for those of you not on dial up ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPEhfSlymOM

snowy blowy winter

but inside the fire is roaring and I snapped some baby bunny pictures to try to figure out colours ;)

merry christmas

I hope you had a wonderful day....
some MORE baby jersey wooly pictures for your viewing pleasure - this little singleton is 8 days old here - Mama is a darling rabbit with a great temperment ...

nearly the shortest day of the year ...

and it's PITCH black @ 5:15 here - I often wonder how folks who live way up north manage months of virtual darkness - I need the light and the sun!
We had a short but lovely walk around a field this afternoon - very weird to hear the coyotes yipping and yammering at 2:30 ...
Seed catalogs have started arriving so holidays can be spent arranging my garden - at least in my head ... I usually use Vesey's but William Dam is tempting me this year somehow ...

babies are all doing well ... phew

I will post pictures soon the oldest ones really look rabit like now

sick of babies yet?

me neither ;)

and Terri over at http://clayhillfarm.blogspot.com/
is having a cool giveaway ...
go check it out :)

heidi says...

The bunnies are hard to make out in the first picture - and I must agree - it isn't that much easier in the 2 day later picture either - perhaps partly a function of a phone camera? maybe cause the ones most obvious are the same colour right now as Joy's pulled fur? Perhaps tiny new kittens will help make up for it?

oh we got babies ...

our first baby rabbits were born this weekend - this is them at about 20 hours old - already you can actually tell they are rabbits- their ears are lengthening by the minute
Mama Joy is doing a good job with them ..
one is grey and pink, one is black with a little pink and one is quite pink - I can't wait to see what colour they become !!

good thing it's a planning time of year

cause not much is happening on the farm front - work, life and tragedy continue to keep me busy .. too busy but I've hardly set foot on the farm ...

we are saving hard to get some implements for the atv - a grass cutter is highest on my list

"our" plan is apparently to grow an acre of potatos next summer .. well part of the plan anyhow - I have reservations but I guess it's one way to learn ...

bunnies, bunnies everywhere ...

well it really never ends .. a couple of weeks ago I drove to Barrie and picked up 7 rabbits .. you are right.. I don't need 7 new rabbits .. less is more in fact .. but I placed one rabbit nearly instantly - in a weird internet way someone knew I was getting a head tilt bunny, she was in Florida - she knew someone in Ontario who she thought would be an amazing home .. so Matilta (yah I crack myself up) was here for 2 days - I was pretty sure she'd be a forever bunny but she landed feet first and is already a very spoiled pet! Another dear little rabbit found a forever home .. with a good aquaintance of mine .. which is nice as little Chia is a dear ...

so that takes me down to 5 extra rabbits - one is a Polish rabbit - cute as a button - I'm hoping she can find a forever home quickly too :)
She's young and cute as can be!

the remaining 4 - Tegan is quite young - has been bred twice but never managed to raise a litter .. she is a siamese sable and quite social and interested in life.
Daisy is BEAUTIFUL, a broken something (just means white and black) and while she isn't eating as well as I'd like she is starting to think treats are neat.
Joy is scared to death - a big (well for the breed) lovely grey chinchilla coloured bunny she has obviously not been handled much.
The last bunny is a sad case - she isn't eating much and it looks like she has serious liver issues - I've heard the word palliative in conjunction with her already :(

they surely are beautiful souls though - it's a honour to have them in my crazy life ..
I think Tegan, Daisy and maybe Joy will all be good fibre girls

Fibre wise we are living with Franklin (turns out I'm right - fibre comes off a handicapped bunny too!), Puff Daddy (an english angora) and Ella as well as the ever loving Niobe ... so to add 2 or maybe 3 rabbits to the mix seems reasonable

garlic is in ..finally

We are enjoying Sampson the golden puppy very much - he is a gentle lunk .. housetraining a puppy is a pain, and he has some seperation anxiety issues but we are working through those minor issues and just loving having a play mate for Sally who is gentle with everybody

This weird warm fall continues - went for another beach walk this morning .. and collected clover, willow and green bullrush leaves for the bunnies - it is both lovely and a little scary

I'm taking a course every other weekend and working .. and I'm getting tired .. sounds pathetic but it's true .. I do half of what most folks do and have no excuse for running out steam but I guess if I am running out of steam I need to figure out a way to recharge

Looking forward to 2 weeks off around christmas very much :)

Some more bunnies have moved in .. update to follow after puppy picture loads (the joys of dial up...)

well the garlic's not planted

but we went for a long walk on a new beach with the puppy and Sally ... did you even know we have a puppy? We do - Sampson is ours now - pretty offically .. he seems to be fitting in pretty well although he is an assertive boy ...

and I loved on animals all weekend - and rested - good heavens I was TIRED this week ... emotional stress does that I guess.

we have had foster animals come in and find homes too (YAY) and have a couple more coming this week - 2 unrelated kittens who need crate rest ... maybe one will be a forever friend for little Rumour (who isn't so little anymore - she's being spayed tomorrow). That's Delilah the Siamese gracing the start of the blog - she's gotten a bite bad enough to break a hind leg. She'll require ortho surgery and a long rest to get back on four paws . She's gonna be one expensive kitty!

maybe the garlic will get planted next weekend ...

sad sad daze

been an awful run of loss lately

Sammie - a little foster cat; Hank- Tom's heart - the best farm dog EVER ; Flopsy Mo- born in our house 14 years ago: Lukie-- the baby fibre bunny who stole my heart on first look .... Coco - the lovely himi lady: Sophie the grey bunny companion for Bebe...

none of the deaths expected or sensible - or related to the others - a hard time for us - we are shell shocked honestly

brought home this though on Friday night - 5.5 months old .. a total love bug - full of character ... we'll see how he fits in



our first dog was a golden named Rufus - he was a ding a ling but a wonderful dog - Sampson will have very big paws to fill between all of our great large dogs - Rufus, Laurice and Hank .. we have had alarge dog in the house for the past 19 years .. and Sally while fabulous in her own right is not a large dog!

Jacob +.. a little photo from a lovely weekend in Newfoundland

awwwwww poor baby bunny

Lukie got his ear scratched - my guess would be Bebe reached through the pen and nailed him :(
lots of blood - luckily it clotted fast so we just sat and cuddled (and worked on more mats) while I held a clean towel on it ..

poor little dude was most upset through

I was glad he hadn't had dinner yet - feeding him cheered him right up ..

Friday night and life is good

busy
hectic even

but good

too many green tomatoes on the vine - too little time to fit everything in (Art Tour, Antique show, wooding, weeding, cleaning, laundry, bunny grooming, dog walking, making bread, Milford fair - all on the list !!)

but the fire is roaring and all is well

happy birthday Mum

She doesn't like a fuss made .. never has .. I can't recall a single year anybody was brave enough to surpirse her but today is Mum's birthday. She's a rock, a friend, a leader, a counsellor, a buddy, a helper, always there for me in a way it seems few people are for others. I'm so lucky to have a few really good people in my life - and lots of special students over the years but without Mum I would be nothing - so I hope she has a very Happy Day and a very Happy Year :)

on the home front I'm still wooding, weeding, and taking care of Franklin Kaede no Go Bunny (the whole name for the funny little angora with paralysis)Also started work again 2 weeks ago - hence the paucity of posts .. new staff to train, a new group of students to break in .. oh well it keeps me out of trouble .. though I was finding a pretty happy groove in August ;)

such is life

wooding, weeding, and force feeding ...

Wooding, weeding and force feeding were the story of this weekend (well and yelling at dogs to GET OUT of the tomatoes)

Big T felled a BIG tree we can work on over the next couple of weekends. He also split a bunch of the pine from dad's place.

I've pulled up a ZILLION BIG UGLY weeds from the garden - but a trazillion more wait for my hearty yanks...

Bunny No Go is still not great - still paralysed and not really doing his thing ... worried that he may not be emptying his bladder entirely - I hate expressing bladders - always worry I'll rupture them but glad I thought of it - yup I'm now expressing his bladder

Trying to decide if an x-ray will be useful or if wait and see might get results still - thinking it's x-ray time though :(

a few more funny bunnies :)

the very adorable Lukie - aka Luke Shywalker ! He's just a baby - 3 months old or so .. and so BIG EYED and curious about everything

Kaede - a dear soul who is sadly Bunny No Go - hurt, probably in transport, I'm hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery - he isn't moving very well at all right now though - so I'm on heavy nursing duty right now - immobilizing and force feeding a very sweet gentleman (who pretty much shares my birthdate - if not year!)

Ella Bella - a sweet and giant beauty - isn't she LOVELY? She's called a broken tort for those who might want to know ;) Lukie is a lilac - or as one of my friends said - the colour of clouds just before the sun breaks through. Bunny No Go is a lynx - and very handsome.

I am amazed I'm excited about more rabbits :) but there you go I am .. hopping for joy even ;)

suddenly time is flying

there doesn't seem to be enough time in a day

I don't have enough hay put up for the bunnies, the tomatoes aren't ripe enough to turn into sauces yet, the garlic is too wet to pull, Arley still isn't home, Sally's allergies are doing their fall flare up a little early, Nando's galloping heart seems to be slowing .. - the list goes on and on ...

Rabbits everywhere ...

Fifi - scared to death but trying to look endearing. She's going to be ok - she just has to believe it.

Dear darling tiny Saffron. One of the nicest bunnies I've ever met.

Alice and little Wheekers - looking adorable.

Niobe surveys his domain. Black is a hard colour to photogragh well.

The love bunnies chowing down on fresh - Sophia and Bebe haven't had one squabble yet!

hot hazy weekend

little Sally discovers the joy of LAKES

on the drive to the Lake House

Big T loves to climb

Mum finds the view distracting

oh it's a rough life ..watching each other work (notice Brody stole the chair?)

Mum's dog Wilkie worked hard trying to will a chipmunk down from tree

and supervising Big T when he had to fix the lawn tractor

the view from where we rested one way

Mum testing out her new tractor (she says liked the old 8N of my youth better!)

was hard to work but work we did - rough setting too eh?

it is GONNA be HOT today

so a nice cool picture of Big T and the dogs playing at the pond seems fitting doesn't it?

Arley cat is missing

and it is a huge worry.

He's a simple loving dude who doesn't have much common sense.

He spends a lot of life plotting great escapes but somehow I suspect he's regreting this one.

The people of Prince Edward County are amazing though - I called one vet to report him lost - the receptionist gave me two other numbers; each person I called kept trying to think of who else could help. So I've called all the vets in the area, the radio station, the newspaper, the humane society, the dog catcher and am feeling pretty good about humans right now. Everybody was so sympathetic and non judgemental (I guess I'm beating myself up enough). I'm not feeling quite so positive about predators like coyotes right now though.

We are all missing him - dogs, humans and the other cats, like old Nando in the picture with him. Of course I think the kitten Rumour misses him most.

Who sez life in da country is boring?

Not me - ever - and certainly not me last night!
We were up a little later than usual and therefore let the dogs out a little later than usual. Sally took off like a rocket for the chicken part of the yard with Hank and Brody HOT on her heels (the boys were barking and growling like mad).
Big T raced out to see what was happening while I grabbed flashlights. Hank was in the chicken run growling and snapping at something in the pen. The ramp (which is also the night lock) had been knocked aside and there are scratches on the wall of the coop.
The girls were fine but I think it was a pretty close call. Dogs didn't have a scratch on them and settled fairly quickly so whatever it was obviously booted for the hills fast. I suspect a coyote as any racoon I've ever seen cornered fights pretty hard and very loudly and can't get away too fast. Also we hear coyotes every night and have never seen a coon here (not even as road kill).
Sure got our hearts pumping fast ..
We ended up staying up even later and watched the last episode of Entourage for Season 4. Big T will have to get season 5 when he's at work this week!

gardening and wooding on the same day

and I ache :)
a healthy ache but a full day of weeding, and wooding after a night of little sleep camping out under the full moon and it serves me right

the wood was junk - pine and ceder but it had fallen onto Dad's neighbours yard so it needed to be cleared - might as well cut it up for the woodstove - dragging it out of the grape vines was back breaking work - the vines were as thick as my arm

the tomatoes may never ripen if we don't get some heat - we have lovely GREEN tomatoes hanging but thats it

peas were ok - lettuce is still chugging along
I must start pulling onions and drying them
carrots are tiny (MUST thin better next time) but tasty
a few ground cherries look like they'll make it - I can't wait

still getting the blackberries though less and less

garlic is truly impressive (and weedy - I've been ignoring that bed lately)
it really does feel like summer is winding down but we are only one week into August!

where I like to lay my head

new to me computer

means access to some as yet unposted pictures

here is my favourite picture of a typical sunset .. taken from right behind the schoolhouse



my favourite local beach walk - often this quiet at any time and maybe 10 minutes away if I putter along the road




and finally the schoolhouse itself .. the scene of much learning, loving and laughing



more pictures over the next few days ...

eating locally

not only eating locally but lately able to eat pretty much within eyesite of the kitchen :)

gotta love it

snow peas, peas, peppers, cheese, eggs, mushrooms, onions, garlic, any herb want - and tonight steak .. on our housewarming present from mum (a new bbq finally put together)
raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
home made bread ...

just yum

that's all simply yum

not sure I'll be giving up sugar or diet coke but this time of year certainly inspires me to be as local as possible - I'm in search of locla honey at the moment

will try to stay inspired a little later into the autumn this year .

what a lovely day

This big garter snake is enjoying the heat from the compost pile - she is shy and hid her head but you could SEE her absorbing the heat - quite neat - made me glad I don't have baby chicks or rabbits outside though ;)

Summer has been hard to find this year so far - my farmers tan is marked at my elbows at the best as I generally wear long sleeves then push them up for an hour or two in the garden
my legs are still pasty white under my jeans but today there is a hint of summer

I'm sitting outside the library at our local hamlet on my laptop with the wireless connection restoring my sanity (apparently I AM addicted to the net and 5 days induces withdrawal that hurts!) but have had a lovely day - mixed up chores, a quick trip to town to take fresh greens to the guinea pig babies I have up for adoption, eating fresh peas and blackberries, watching bunnies and chickens and dogs enjoy the nice day .. and of course, weeding... but I feel like I'm getting somewhere weeding so even that was fun today - the garden is starting to ripen though I have my doubts about some crops.

Trying to knock off a painting or two as well - supposed to be in an art show this weekend - but can't find the pre-move work .. may not have enough to show up ... we'll see

rabbits rabbits everywhere

between the animal control strike, hoarders in Meaford and a hoarder in Montreal I have TOO many small animals I didn't ask for ;) hopefully temporary, generally pretty sweet and so far no one has actually produced litters... may that continue guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits are the current crew ... I'm showing some bad rabbit pictures in the hopes somebody will know breeds ... I hope ...

Saffron is way way cuter than this bad picture .. she's tiny - not two pounds I bet and has dark brown eyes... and she's FRIENDLY .. holey smokes Big T has NEVER said he liked a rabbit before - he likes this one enough to name her and Niobe too :)

Niobe (Ethiopian godness of night) is dark black - tiny earred and maybe 4 -5 pounds tops.. is she a Jersy Wooly??

Lola - the biggest and witchiest rabbit going .. she is cute though .. she's probably 6 pounds or more ... she came named so I hope that means when the strike is over staff will want her back ;)

I'm sitting in front of the closed local library typing to get access to the wireless connection as I'm without Internet at home when Big T takes his work computer to work ... such is a life of leisure I get for the next couple of weeks - weeding, feeding, collecting eggs and just generally having some me time - lucky lucky me :)

happy girls

Admiring the hillbilly ramp on the hill billy coop :) The FREE ramp and coop too. I'm quite impressed with our scavenging skills. Actually getting hardware cloth to line a couple of holes cost $5 so not quite free. We had to invest in a bag of layer mash and the chicken wire for the run (total cost $50) so have spent $55 to date. In 10 days we have gotten 14 + eggs from displaced stressed out hens so we aren't doing too badly at all! Better than the $300 dollar egg somebody was celebrating on one of the boards :)

chook chook chook... hop hop hop

well the chickens (Buffy and Jodi now) are in the coop - made from TOTALLY recycled materials from the barn we have to tear down ... and an old counter top ...it's a bit rustic you might kindly call it but the girls like it
they have been out in the day pen the last 2 days - I'm too nervous to totally free range them quite yet (dogs, cars, hawks, etc) but they are loving the very rustic run .. with the bird netting over the top as I am pretty sure at least one of them can fly...
I had to pick Buffy up to put her into the coop last night - they were determined to party all night long ... was easier than I thought to scoop her up - and she settled right down as soon as I had her too.

Bunnies are settling in too - the tiny dwarf hasn't had her babies yet so maybe she won't now - she sure was nesting though..
the satin angora needs some serious grooming and dematting but is starting to trust me so I'm not going to rush her
I'm thinking Lola and Bebe might bond and be happy (Bebe is Pongo's partner but he is one fiesty bunny finding him a new buddy since Pongo died has proved impossible) I have them in seperate hutches in the dog run for now - will take turns letting them out in the run during the day then eventually let them out together .. fingers crossed they agree to cohabit as I hate having Bebe without a friend as he really is semi feral.

Veggies keep growing, as do weeds.. I got into the garden for half an hour today and made a difference though- bugs are starting to go after potatoes ... figures eh?

We also went for a LONG walk (this is supposed to be holidays after all - and all we've done is work). It was truly lovely - we've not had a chance to appreciate the land at this time of yeqr before. We found masses of wild strawberries - absolutely TINY but so so so so sweet.

Off for dinner with Big T 's folks today - it's his mother's birthday!

identified the breeds of the girls ...

Buff Orpington and Black Australorp ..how cool is that?

Coop is nearly built - chicken wire is ready for making a run .. hopefully they'll get to move out tomorrow. Big T has used all scavenged materials - amazing we have been able to just build around what we have. Bunny hutches need to be banged together too - hopefully tomorrow morning will be as nice as this morning was ...

weeding is on the to do list (of course) as the garden is a jungle but we'll get there when we can

dogs are loving it - we are loving it too

it smells SO GOOD to just stand outside the front door.

CHICKENS!! Is the sky falling??

In a weird confluence that is so often my life - just as I am getting ready to concentrate on Vareharri for the summer I got asked to take 2 chickens. Two already laying chickens ... what a weird, strange, wonderful world we live in sometimes. No names yet.... No clue of breeds ...but I snapped bad pictures as they emerged from the carrier ..

so they need housing, pen and goodness knows what else...

hey! hay! hay! hey! it's a wonderful day

vareharri hay lying on the field waiting to be baled ...

how cool eh?

I love the smell of fresh mown hay too

peas, lettuce, watermelon, cukes are coming up
tomatos look better, ground cherries and peppers still not happy
carrots got thinned today - beets still need to be done

weeding, weeding, weeding, weeding ...

shed

the shed is done - looks great :)

at least I think it looks great

went down to lake house with Mum - it was beautiful

weeded, weeded and weeded some more ...

corn is popping up - tiny but there ... tomatoes, peppers and ground cherries had a ROUGH week - onions, garlic and potatoes all look great though ...

flowers are starting to bloom in profusion so you can really appreciate them (and the weeds in the flower beds - which are NOT my priority!)

end of May update ...

shed is built - needs to be painted

transplants are all in ..

tomatos are ok, leeks and onions from seeds are weak
onions from sets look good, garlis is amazing
peppers seem small but very green
ground cherries are holding their own
potatoes have started popping leaves up
beets are TINY
no sign of corn, cosmos, marigolds, watermelon or cukes yet
mint is hardy and spreading too fast ...

peas are soaking to go in tomorrow - late but organizing it all is tough work - fingers crossed they take

raised herb bed ( in old wading pool) got planted today - still need parsley but Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, and Basil (Basil is actually in with tomatos) are putting out roots

dogs are tired and life is good

planning chicken coop ... and trying to weed more ... cutting grass... never ends never ever ends

Two new souls have joined team VareHarri.(both are absolutely SOUND asleep in this hilarious photo)
Arley (means brave) is only about 8 months old and he is HUGE. He has a mild neurological impairment that makes him a little wobbly but he doesn't know there is anything slowing him down.
The tiny black and white girl remains nameless at the moment ..she has a heart murmur and is deemed unadoptable but oh my gosh you'd never know there was anything holding her back - she climbed onto the parrot cage last night - BRAT!