a lovely walk on a wild day

a local farm for sale

house

barns

land

a woman can dream can't she?

which is NOT to say I don't love the school house and Vareharri ... I do

Rascally Wabbits ...

actually they are very good rabbits  - who enjoy their summer accommodations very much ... in hutches for safety but with time in a large run (10x20) every day

they have basically broken themselves down into 4 groups: Puff is on his own; Harry and Hermonie share one hutch; The Mrs and Teagen share a home which Niobe often chooses too; and then Dustbunny, Qtip and the feral pair hang out in the large dog run. All the JW go out together though which works well for all of us - it means more time out for every bunny!

Right now I alternate and give one of the angora groups time in the empty 8x8 chicken pen - it's great as there is lots of lush grass (plantain, dandelion, Queen Ann's lace etc) growing so a couple of hours out there saves me a lot of collecting time. They also love the dead fall apples.

The rabbits get a largely fresh diet for the summer ... squash leaves, strawberry and raspberry leaves, cattails, clover, willow, apple, alfalfa plus the above and safe herbs too- they thrive on it and it makes a nice change from pellets with dry hay I am sure - I need to really concentrate on collecting fresh to dry for them for winter soon. I ran out by Christmas last year.

visiting with the godsons ... more pictures to come ...

Jacob is currently obsessed with trucks

Delicious William

SO SO good

Chicken dinner was spectacular -not a word I generally think of in a food context but it really was!

Rikker was also quite amazing. A giving generous soul prepared to work hard for me - poor unfit dude! Missed Nelly but it was great to hop on another horse and find the skill set required there too. Rikker is a TB draft QH (?) mix. Very cute and quite the charmer.

Also played a little with the young ones - groomed them and worked on picking up feet! Next time I'll take a hoof pick out with me.

Chickens - dismissed!

slaughtered
butchered
killed
murdered
turned into lunch/dinner/soup
pink slipped



what ever you want to call it - today was D day for the flock.

Big T and I got up early and gently loaded the girls into the back of the truck -the truck was full of soft shavings and the girls travelled well and happily - I put the girl with mobility issues in an open topped box with bedding and she travelled easily too. We arrived and found ourselves one in a long line of cars. It was good we had a little time to wander and sort ourselves out as it gave us a sense of what was happening.  No panic, no stress just an easy rhythm to the process. Very few chickens seemed stressed (none of ours) and people chatted as we waited. It was respectful and unhurried. Everyone there expressed appreciation for the hands on nature of producing our own food - and horror at the way grocery store chicken is raised.

It was an important part of the journey of the chicken summer ~ while I'm not glad animals died I am glad I was part of the whole cycle. I took the responsibility for getting them out of the truck. Everyone picked up on my gentle vibe and handled the girls softly right til the end. I was glad to see that.  Picking the meat up tomorrow.

Dinner tonight included onions and garlic from the 20 foot diet. Yum.

Back in the saddle again ...

Had a lovely ride today. Nelly was very good. We did canter transitions, and lots of bending. Katie is amazingly patient. Nelly and I are stating to click.

After I was done riding I took my camera out into the paddock three young geldings that are up for sale are in. The only pictures of them aren't great so I thought I'd play with my new to me camera.

What a bunch of curious engaged boys. They kept coming up to see what I was doing. It made capturing them both difficult and entertaining.

Here are the three of them looking very handsome.

A very funny face!

Handsome Reese.

Typical picture as I tried to get a side shot!

wordless Wednesday

let it rain ... let it grow

Weeds and produce alike - both are growing really well now. After a few weeks of no rain it's now rained every 2-4 days for 2 weeks. Everything loves it. Even me as it gives me a break from the never ending weeding!

Brody looking for the next cue

3 of the dogs and I are off to AAC Nationals for the weekend tomorrow. We will leave Big T, 2 dogs, 4 parrots, 24 chickens and a whack of rabbits on their own. I'm worried but know everything will be fine. And I'm only a blackberry away.

Young Sally showing her lovely form

Done and Booked

Barring disaster August 12th, 2011, twenty one chicks will be turning into dinners, and dog food, and the cycle will be complete.



 Twenty one out of twenty one chicks is pretty good odds- the hatchery we got them from comes with all kinds of warnings about expecting loss with these big fast growing girls but they have done well. There is no doubt the heat was hard for them. But we managed to keep cool water available, and fresh cool grass daily for them to lie in. The breeze nearly always blows here too and I think that helps as well. Where they have been located is under the shade of a large glorious tree much of the day as well.



They have been pretty interesting to watch and learn from and I'm glad we've done  it. I wouldn't hesitate to raise baby chicks again although deciding about the meat chicks may be left until August 13th.

It certainly doesn't save money - chopped up chicken on sale in the big grocery stores is cheaper - but the organic free range, never on sale chicken is more expensive. Hopefully the folks enjoying these birds will enjoy them enough that we'll do it again. I really do like the theory of knowing my meat and being able to express my appreciation to it.