Friday, February 19, 2010

Cute Overload and Over-run!


On November 15th, Sampson B. Bunny realized he was lonely. Being the enormous Flemish Giant that he was and full of bunny brand testosterone, Sampson wanted to. . . make bunnies. Being the brute that he is, he easily broke into the girls dorm and got married. Only, he married two lady bunnies. Naughty Sampson.


30 days later on December 15th, Lady Christmas was the proud mama of 9 little pink babies, and Lady TS was the proud mama of 5. I am not sure if you are up on your arithmetic, but that equals 14 baby Sampsons. 14. Fourteen. F O U R T E E N! After discussing child support and house duties, Lady Christmas and Lady TS decided it was best if they did not dorm together any longer and Lady TS moved into another dorm in the same building.

2 weeks later when the little guys decided to venture out from the nest on shaky little legs, we were AMAZED at the seriously high level of cute going on. 7 weeks after that, (today) we are AMAZED that they are the size of mini lops and poop and pee and eat with maniacal vengeance.
I placed an add in the local trader and have already sold 5 of them. The neighbors will thank me. The bunny urine was beginning to get quite odiferous. I am praying we can find homes for all but one. We will keep the little runt that we bottle fed.

One can easily see how raising rabbits for meat is a very very cost effective way to feed ones self. My husband and I have decided however, that it would need to be an absolute necessity. As it isn't for now. . . we are shipping the bunnies of to boarding school. Yes.. thats it. Boarding school! *wink*

They did leave me an enormous pile of little fertilizer pellets that I will use in the spring!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Longing for Spring

I am lonely for Spring. I walk about my house, listless, hopeless, and sad. It is as if my love left, promising to be back soon, never to return.
In some strange twist of reality, it feels as if this winter has gone on for a full year now. I miss the sun, I long for the birds, I am in desperate need of verdant green.
This is the fourth year that I have been back amongst the four seasons. For 12 years prior to those 4, I lived in Florida. It was sunny, partly sunny or going to be sunny 365 days of the year. I was tired of all that yellow bubbly happiness. I wanted autumn, and winter. I wanted piles of leaves, curls of smoke in the air and nights where the snow just fell and fell and fell. It was so romantic at first. So dark and mysterious.
But dark mystery turned out to be just cold, lifeless and dead. I am done with you now winter. Your short days and endless nights have lost their charm.
Its as if my chickens feel the very same. I opened the door to collect the eggs and they rushed me, cackling and gabbing as they hurried past me and out the door and into the snow covered yard. I don't know what they were expecting. I imagined them inside, talking about how their run was covered in snow, and how surely the yard was brilliant green with grass and teaming with delicious insects. They rushed out into the white landscape and then just stood there, bawking quietly and looking up at me. I knew what they were thinking. I nodded to them and then walked to the little barn and filled a small pail full of sunflower seeds.
"Here you go girls," I said quietly. "Its not the sun, but there is sun in the name and maybe that will get you through."
Hurry Spring, I miss you.