Ms. Bunn

Ms. Bunn, the name Rob has given the female rabbit I had bought to breed and got only one litter from before our goat let her loose on the world, had another litter of kits.  She has been living under the front porch for more than a month so I am not sure if she bred with a wild rabbit or in the last hoorahs of his life, Big Poppa got her pregnant during on of his freedom flings (thanks again to Camo).

There are five babies that we have been able to see. They are just small puffballs, taking their first explorations out side of the porch nest.  There are two cinnamon colored, like their mom, two white and black ones (which makes me think of Big Pappa), but there is also a darker colored one, a solid brown.  So maybe she did breed with a wild rabbit and the white and black is just the other colors in her gene pool.  I am not sure.

But I will say I am proud of Ms. Bunn.  She is a scrapper and she is making a life for herself under our front porch.  I wouldn't mind getting a few of her babies a little tamer, but they are quick and know to hide.  Which I am glad they are like that right now; it will keep them safer.

Maybe I should go read Watership down again.

A Bookcase

I was asked by a friend's daughter to come to her school for Grandparent/Special friend day.  M (what I will call the daughter), is in second grade and her grandparents live several states away.  It would be the third time I would go to M's school for the Special friend day.

I was now old hat at the whole affair.  Go to the cafeteria, do a work page with M, have some milk and cookies, and go to the book fair.  At which I buy her a book.  This time was only slightly different in that M's mom was with me in case some other child needed a special friend.  So she got more than one book.

M took us back to her classroom after the book fair and proceeded showing me around the 200 square foot room (guessing the size here).  Her desk, the chore assignments, the lockers, the chalkboard, and the bookcase.

The bookcase that M and her class would hide behind as her "safe place".

I was nearly physically ill.

A bookcase.

In case of an intruder.  A violent intruder that we see on the news too many times.  M, her classmates, and her teacher were going to hide behind the bookcase in front of the lockers.

I kept it together though, because the last thing you want to do is come apart in a second grade classroom on Special friend day.

And there is nothing I can do about it.

So I buy her a book, for her bookcase.

Welcome Fall

The weather has turned.  The recent storms brought in a cold wind that has drawn a blanket of leaves across the ground.  The golden fade of the leaves still on the trees speaks to the cold and the deadly advance of winter.  As deadly as the predators that took the last two hens from the original flock.  I found the barred hen near the driveway, and the black hen was taken into the woods.  I will keep a closer eye on the rest of my chickens from now on.  Predators never go away, they just change coats.  Even the cold of winter may claim some livestock.  The persimmon seed I opened showed a spoon, heavy snows in the future.

It is crunch time for winter.  I had the chain for the electric chainsaw sharpened as that is my only reliable cutter at the moment.  I rebuilt the goats' movable shelter in time to keep them dry from the rains.  My next project is their winter quarters behind the garage.

I also need to get the nest boxes on the egg wagon.  I hope the hens will start laying soon.

In good news, a turkey is laying eggs.  I was very tickled to see those giant speckled eggs in the ivy garden.