First Trip to the Dentist

Today was Grace's first "real" trip to the dentist.  She was such a trooper and never worried a bit.  Dr. Dove was really impressed with her.

Grace getting her final exam.

Say, "Cheese!"

Fox in the Hen House

Saturday morning, while feeding the chickens, I notice we were missing two of our favorite birds.  Puzzled, I searched inside and out and could only find sporadic black and white feathers scattered about.  I ended up  following a trail of them into the woods.  Later I inspected the chicken run again an found a small hole in the fence.  After talking to neighbors we realized it must have been a fox.  That evening, Hannah looked out and saw the fox scurrying into the woods.  This time we let the chickens in at dusk so they were safe in the coop.  Last night, Jamey and Hannah were determined to get the fox.  They selected their stations and perimeters and waited and waited until it was too dark out.  I guess we are not the hunters we need to be yet.  This morning I noticed the log placed in front of the run was moved so I know it returned again for the 3rd night in a row.  We will see who wins this battle...     

New Zealand Rabbits are Here!



Rabbits at 9 weeks.



Jersey- our "broken" buck



This week we picked up our New Zealand rabbits.  We had met with a breeder several weeks ago but, the clutch was too little to sex the bucks and does.  Our goal was to pick up a good buck and three does.  New Zealand rabbits are breed to produce meat. The breed is typically all white, albinos.  This is preferred so that stray hairs on meat are not as noticeable.  The Brokens were not recognized as part of the breed until last year.  When we arrived, Jamey fell in love with our young buck's brother, a "broken" (mixed black and white).  So now we have 5.    The average female can produce up to 200 lbs. of rabbit meat per year.  Isn't that crazy! Our rabbits were born in March and already weight 6 lbs.  We will be waiting until the end of summer to breed our first pair.

Laying out the cages to get the spacing correct. 

Now we are getting somewhere. 



This week I started working on an out door hutch. I hope to keep them out of the garage most of the year but, we will see how they do in the heat this summer. I found a photo of a design I liked. When finished there will be an automatic watering system and all the rabbit manure will fall to the ground into a compost pile for easy clean up. Rabbit manure is one of the best natural fertilizers you can get. 

Happy 16th!

This week our little Hannah turned 16 years old.  Can you believe it?  She was thankful that her Nana took her and a friend to Cedar Point on her special day.  Grace was also luck to tag along. 

Happy Birthday Little Girly!

Another Hard Working Weekend

This weekend we took advantage of the weather and worked in our garden some more.  Jamey read an article about using old gutters to start lettus for your garden.  Once they come up you simply trench the area intend to use and slide the soil and baby lettus into the desired area.  This is an easy, less invasive way to transplant.  Grace and I work on planting several varieties of lettus and spinnage. We can't wait to taste them all. 

Here a photo of our chickens free ranging in the yard.  Sadly we lost one of the white hens after this photo.  That was the 3rd one that wondered into the fenced in yard with the dogs.

Puppies No More

Ellie (11 mos.)

It did not take long for our puppies to grow up.  Well, at least in size.  They have definitely enjoyed the new house.  They have a lot more room and Hannah loves to take them on adventures into the woods.  They have become very fond of the creek near our property.  It is rare that they return home dry any more. 

Oliver (11 mos.)