I know N O T H I N G about rabbits! But, I am learning fast! Pick them up by the nape of the neck or you will get clawed badly! They eat and drink constantly!
Never thought I would have to learn to sex a rabbit, but dang if these little fellows are a bit tricky, I started with three of these little balls of fur and lost one - I didn't know what the heck I was doing and had no idea this beauty was pregnant, but I quickly found out you can't keep males and females together. In all honesty, this little lady was pregnant when I bought her and I had no idea! I now know you palpitate the sides of a female to determine pregnancy and never keep the males and females together except during the very short breeding process. It doesn't take long as the sole purpose of male bunnies is to eat and make babies!
I now know I have all males and will continue in this vein for just a while. I need to change my hutch setup to accommodate both sexes and keep from losing anymore due to my stupidity! Things are looking up though and I have learned much in the past 3 weeks about these wonderful little animals. Their main diet consist of hay and fresh veggies - my bunnies favor celery tops and lettuce (they prefer iceberg but will eat Romain). They also like ripe tomatoes, but also enjoy any green stuff from the garden. I fear during the winter I will have to supplement the fresh garden stuff with some veggie pellets, but for now they are happy. They are emptying the water containers regularly as we have had many days of 90+ temperatures which has really taken a toll on their fur covered bodies.
The "half" grown chickens are doing well. Mid morning they all get a misting with the water hose and enjoy playing in the rain as long as the water flow isn't too strong. The mist they enjoy, a washing they don't like! I a having to dig the plastic eggs out again to stop an "egg eater." The oyster shells are suppose to stop that, but I have one that attacks the egg as soon as the hen leaves the nest! I think I have identified the culprit and if the plastic egg doesn't work, she will be separated from the flock for a while. A hungry little bugger, she eats six or seven eggs a day!
The neighbor's rooster is still eating as many of my tomatoes as I am and he has learned to "sneak" into the garden through the woods. He and I fight on a daily basis! The deer found my cantaloupe and have stripped the vines on many plants. I can identify that hoof print and so I can't blame the rabbits or rooster for that one. As some of you know I have rehabbed a couple of deer. I can only hope that one of them has come back for a visit, but I sure wish they wouldn't eat my veggies. They cleared a half a row of green beans before the cantaloupe came up but all the plants seem to have survived.
I have a dozen eggs in the incubator that a mother hen left. I am hoping they all hatch and they weren't left too long. Some great person left a dog that was no longer wanted at my nephew's house and he scared the chickens off the nest. Not vicious, just curious, he had to investigate and the hen ran off. With luck I can call my nephew to come get 12 new biddies in the next few days!
Life in the country is never boring and always filled with something going on! Lot's of work, but so rewarding!
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
Friday, June 24, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Winds
Winds, hard, fast, destructive, have become a dangerous part of our summer storms. As a little girl, I remember sitting on the couch with our Nannie, a Bible on her lap, waiting for the afternoon thunderstorms to pass. The stove was cut off as was the television and the iron was unplugged. I remember the continuous lightening strikes and the rumbling thunder, but not the wind. Yes, the lightening was frightening and sometimes we lost power, but somehow that was expected of a summer storm.
The strong winds are something new and very frightening. They come from nowhere and disappear just as fast into nothingness. The leave trees down, limbs broken and a real mess everywhere. Yesterday, amidst the thanks to God for the afternoon shower, I received a call that a very large tree had blown over onto my nephew' house. It is something we all dread and look to happen, but don't really expect. It was a huge tree but when it broke, it fell on the front corner of the house and did little structural damage. A few pieces of decking will have to be replaced and some moulding, but overall the problem would be getting the huge tree down - off the house. I am just grateful his wife and child were not injured, but they were scared to death!
About two months ago a tornado ripped through our county west to east leaving a path of destruction we have not seen to date. Houses, brick and stick, were literally blown away in the winds and in its place death and destruction were left. It takes a little time to recuperate and realize that every wind storm will not leave the same death and destruction the tornado left.
We are looking for more storms this afternoon and while we need the rain, how I long for those afternoon thunderstorms of the past with lots of rumbling thunder, but no gusting, harsh winds. I am thankful for whatever we get at this point as far as precipitation goes.
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
r
The strong winds are something new and very frightening. They come from nowhere and disappear just as fast into nothingness. The leave trees down, limbs broken and a real mess everywhere. Yesterday, amidst the thanks to God for the afternoon shower, I received a call that a very large tree had blown over onto my nephew' house. It is something we all dread and look to happen, but don't really expect. It was a huge tree but when it broke, it fell on the front corner of the house and did little structural damage. A few pieces of decking will have to be replaced and some moulding, but overall the problem would be getting the huge tree down - off the house. I am just grateful his wife and child were not injured, but they were scared to death!
About two months ago a tornado ripped through our county west to east leaving a path of destruction we have not seen to date. Houses, brick and stick, were literally blown away in the winds and in its place death and destruction were left. It takes a little time to recuperate and realize that every wind storm will not leave the same death and destruction the tornado left.
We are looking for more storms this afternoon and while we need the rain, how I long for those afternoon thunderstorms of the past with lots of rumbling thunder, but no gusting, harsh winds. I am thankful for whatever we get at this point as far as precipitation goes.
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
r
Friday, June 17, 2011
Cynicism Aside
I just returned from a "Help!" call from my Dad after just posting my little Father's Day piece. Dad had "fallen and couldn't get up" and he called for company. I should have gone for an engineering degree, but alas I only have a sometimes good daughter degree instead.
My Dad has always been a small built man, not weighing much at all. Several years ago he had a stroke that paralyzed his right side and left his leg and arm pretty much useless. Being sedentary not only effected his weight, but also his psyche. Never a man to sit still, dad now has no choice. He rests in his chair and watches the boob tube and lives in his memories. He is now a large man and I cannot lift him.
On a real good day he can manage to get on his hover round and trek off to the garden or down the drive to the front yard where he tries to "weed eat" around the front fence. More times than none he ends up on his bottom and has to call for help. These times the family has learned to accept and someone is always available to get him up and back to the house. There is no restricting my Dad and so we repeat the process so he can experience what little happiness he can get "piddling" outside.
Twice in the last month I have been called to get him up from in the house. As he will not go to the doctor we can only assume he is having some mini strokes and passing out. Usually one of the "men folk" are close by or can turn loose and come get him up. It is all taken in good humor and mostly he laughs it off. I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with him this afternoon while he rested on the floor and we had a nice visit until someone could make it to assist. (Friday afternoon is Mom's afternoon at the beauty shop and to visit with her friends.)
He so wanted to be back in his chair before she got home and he made it by just a few minutes. I don't take the time to visit as I should and I know I will be sorry one day. Not all of our conversations are pleasant, but today was a real delight and I enjoyed my visit with Dad. Maybe I will get back over a spend more time with him, but then again most visits are not as pleasant. Spontaneity is the secret and that is never planned - it just happens. So, Happy Father's Day Dad!
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
My Dad has always been a small built man, not weighing much at all. Several years ago he had a stroke that paralyzed his right side and left his leg and arm pretty much useless. Being sedentary not only effected his weight, but also his psyche. Never a man to sit still, dad now has no choice. He rests in his chair and watches the boob tube and lives in his memories. He is now a large man and I cannot lift him.
On a real good day he can manage to get on his hover round and trek off to the garden or down the drive to the front yard where he tries to "weed eat" around the front fence. More times than none he ends up on his bottom and has to call for help. These times the family has learned to accept and someone is always available to get him up and back to the house. There is no restricting my Dad and so we repeat the process so he can experience what little happiness he can get "piddling" outside.
Twice in the last month I have been called to get him up from in the house. As he will not go to the doctor we can only assume he is having some mini strokes and passing out. Usually one of the "men folk" are close by or can turn loose and come get him up. It is all taken in good humor and mostly he laughs it off. I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with him this afternoon while he rested on the floor and we had a nice visit until someone could make it to assist. (Friday afternoon is Mom's afternoon at the beauty shop and to visit with her friends.)
He so wanted to be back in his chair before she got home and he made it by just a few minutes. I don't take the time to visit as I should and I know I will be sorry one day. Not all of our conversations are pleasant, but today was a real delight and I enjoyed my visit with Dad. Maybe I will get back over a spend more time with him, but then again most visits are not as pleasant. Spontaneity is the secret and that is never planned - it just happens. So, Happy Father's Day Dad!
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
Update on Me
Mid spring temperatures hovered daily in the low to mid 90s and the rain failed to quench the thirsty ground surrounding my drooping and withered plants. I am so glad I followed the desires of my heart in planting an early garden as it appears those that planted later will do without. The Roma II green beans have supplied our table with meal after meal of delicious beans with a few gallons for the freezer. The zucchini has laughed at the lack of water and continues to burst forth with blooms and fruit. It is has been a joy to share the abundance with friends and neighbors who are no longer able to garden or just don't have time.
We have enjoyed radishes, tomatoes, bell peppers, red potatoes and okra to date and are looking forward to the late planted cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumbers to grace our table soon. Hubby has watered every other day for the last few weeks to keep the plants alive and this weeks rain was a blessing.
It isn't even summer yet and the sweltering temperatures have kept me in the pool on a regular basis. Even though I have had to fight the wasp with every trip, I have thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon cool offs. The plants and grass don't have enough water in them to sustain the wasps and even though I really don't feel like sharing, the little devils insist on getting a drink the minute I splash the surface. Wasp stings don't bother me so much, but the little ones are not happy about the fearsome stings. Last week granddaughter number two told me it was time to get out of the water because I looked like a raisin. Little does she realize that has absolutely nothing to do with the water - it has a lot to do with my age, but I wasn't telling her that!
Speaking of which - I really got a lift when the same granddaughter ask me on Thursday what I had done. I ask what she meant and she says "Yesterday you looked old, but today you look young and beautiful!" A perfect lift to my day! Yes, I am perfectly aware that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but I can gloat for just a little while.
As most of you know I am a seamstress. I have been sewing since I was eight or nine years old. I started learning at my grandmother's knee on a quilt top and it has progressed over the years to one thing and then another. The five years I worked "taking in sewing" has probably been the most fulfilling and joyful of my entire working life. It is so fulfilling to take a flat piece of material and turn it into something useful and beautiful. I have made my own clothes for many years and clothed my children until they learned about "labels" and refused to wear the garments I made for them. This came to mind as a result of a most pleasant visit this week from a friend of 15 to 20 years. I was showing her my sun bonnets and aprons which I have turned out in droves and she had the most puzzling look on her face. I ask what was wrong and she admitted that she didn't know that I sewed. Well, there you go! I thought this friend know all about me and here I surprised her with a very important part of what makes me - me! She told me I could make good money sewing for people. I had to laugh as I had one dress hanging behind her that was in process for a neighbor and another two boxes of material waiting to be cut and sewed. Yes, taking in sewing is a lucrative business and one I thoroughly enjoy.
In all honesty, sewing is so intricately a part of me that I guess I take it for granted. I have gone years without picking up a needle and thread, then I start a project and another and another like I am possessed.
It is the one job that I have undertaking that was a labor of love and joy.
A piece of advice for all you mothers of daughters - teach them to sew! If you don't know how, make sure they take a class in sewing either at school or at you local community recreation department.
Closing for now so until until next time . . .
Happy Reading!
Belle
We have enjoyed radishes, tomatoes, bell peppers, red potatoes and okra to date and are looking forward to the late planted cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumbers to grace our table soon. Hubby has watered every other day for the last few weeks to keep the plants alive and this weeks rain was a blessing.
It isn't even summer yet and the sweltering temperatures have kept me in the pool on a regular basis. Even though I have had to fight the wasp with every trip, I have thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon cool offs. The plants and grass don't have enough water in them to sustain the wasps and even though I really don't feel like sharing, the little devils insist on getting a drink the minute I splash the surface. Wasp stings don't bother me so much, but the little ones are not happy about the fearsome stings. Last week granddaughter number two told me it was time to get out of the water because I looked like a raisin. Little does she realize that has absolutely nothing to do with the water - it has a lot to do with my age, but I wasn't telling her that!
Speaking of which - I really got a lift when the same granddaughter ask me on Thursday what I had done. I ask what she meant and she says "Yesterday you looked old, but today you look young and beautiful!" A perfect lift to my day! Yes, I am perfectly aware that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but I can gloat for just a little while.
As most of you know I am a seamstress. I have been sewing since I was eight or nine years old. I started learning at my grandmother's knee on a quilt top and it has progressed over the years to one thing and then another. The five years I worked "taking in sewing" has probably been the most fulfilling and joyful of my entire working life. It is so fulfilling to take a flat piece of material and turn it into something useful and beautiful. I have made my own clothes for many years and clothed my children until they learned about "labels" and refused to wear the garments I made for them. This came to mind as a result of a most pleasant visit this week from a friend of 15 to 20 years. I was showing her my sun bonnets and aprons which I have turned out in droves and she had the most puzzling look on her face. I ask what was wrong and she admitted that she didn't know that I sewed. Well, there you go! I thought this friend know all about me and here I surprised her with a very important part of what makes me - me! She told me I could make good money sewing for people. I had to laugh as I had one dress hanging behind her that was in process for a neighbor and another two boxes of material waiting to be cut and sewed. Yes, taking in sewing is a lucrative business and one I thoroughly enjoy.
In all honesty, sewing is so intricately a part of me that I guess I take it for granted. I have gone years without picking up a needle and thread, then I start a project and another and another like I am possessed.
It is the one job that I have undertaking that was a labor of love and joy.
A piece of advice for all you mothers of daughters - teach them to sew! If you don't know how, make sure they take a class in sewing either at school or at you local community recreation department.
Closing for now so until until next time . . .
Happy Reading!
Belle
Another Father's Day
I know the title sounds rather cynical which I guess I must have intended as it just seemed to type itself. I don't mean any disrespect to any Father out there in the netherworld. It seems to me that we are always celebrating some special day on a continuous basis. I recently received an email that attributed all the special occasions to the "greeting card" companies to boost lagging sales. Secretaries Day, Administrative Assistants Day, Armed Forces Day, Civic Holiday, all have a need to be celebrated and acknowledged.
I want to ask - who needs a special day to honor their father. or their mother, or their grandparents? My grandparents are dead, but I certainly didn't need a special day to let them know I loved and treasured them. My parents are still alive and though not in good health are able to get around a bit. I talk to them every week, but only see them once in a while. My relationship with my children is much like mine with my parents. We all have life to live and goodness, don't you think your parents know how you feel about them and whether or not they were good parents?
Anyway, a good father is hard to find and I do appreciate the fact that my father was a hardworking, church going man. I admire the fathers of my grandchildren and thank God for providing good stable men to raise these little ones.
This is a big Thank You to all the Dad's who are struggling to make a good home and provide for the little ones. May your day be blessed with smiles and much love!
I want to ask - who needs a special day to honor their father. or their mother, or their grandparents? My grandparents are dead, but I certainly didn't need a special day to let them know I loved and treasured them. My parents are still alive and though not in good health are able to get around a bit. I talk to them every week, but only see them once in a while. My relationship with my children is much like mine with my parents. We all have life to live and goodness, don't you think your parents know how you feel about them and whether or not they were good parents?
Anyway, a good father is hard to find and I do appreciate the fact that my father was a hardworking, church going man. I admire the fathers of my grandchildren and thank God for providing good stable men to raise these little ones.
This is a big Thank You to all the Dad's who are struggling to make a good home and provide for the little ones. May your day be blessed with smiles and much love!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Turning Sixty
The trumpets didn't sound, the band didn't play, there wasn't even a big party, but I did turn sixty on Saturday. It was a most comforting weekend filled with surprises, lots of laughs, great hugs and lots of juicy kisses.
I visited or talked to most of my family and friends over the weekend and spent two lazy days of being spoiled! Mu daughter in law baked my favorite brownies and my special friend brought me a cake topped with a little old gray haired lady soaking up the sun and the cutest glasses she decorated. She even painted the sunbathing lady's hair silver to match mine!
I enjoyed the fruits of my life though my children, grandchildren, husband and friends. I have not accomplished all I had intended, but I am not through yet!
Thank you all for remembering me on my birthday and making it such a memorable occasion.
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
I visited or talked to most of my family and friends over the weekend and spent two lazy days of being spoiled! Mu daughter in law baked my favorite brownies and my special friend brought me a cake topped with a little old gray haired lady soaking up the sun and the cutest glasses she decorated. She even painted the sunbathing lady's hair silver to match mine!
I enjoyed the fruits of my life though my children, grandchildren, husband and friends. I have not accomplished all I had intended, but I am not through yet!
Thank you all for remembering me on my birthday and making it such a memorable occasion.
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
The "Wonder" Rose
I am pretty much a plant and flower nut. I love not only roses, but blooming and non blooming plants. when my daughter asked what I would like for Mother's Day, I said "a knockout rose." There is not one in my limited rose garden and I think the profuse blooming of this rose is so beautiful. It is the rose that keeps on giving.
Roses take an extraordinary amount of time to keep them beautiful and healthy. During the hot days of summer my outdoor time is limited so I have been hesitant in expanding the rose garden. My daughter went well beyond my request and furnished me with the "original" knock rose and also the rather new variety called the "Sunny Knockout." The Sunny Knockout is a more compact variety with just as many blooms in a beautiful soft lemon color.
I did a little research on these roses before planting. I found they are practically maintenance free (my kind of plant) and they are resistant to all the ills that normally attack the rose - drought resistant, pest resistant, etc.
These little jewels also clean themselves which means no dead heading! I think I have found the perfect addition to my little garden!
We will see if they can live through this dry period with extreme heat and make it to the start of summer when things are suppose to get back to normal. I am anxious to see the buds and blooms of this little plant so I can compare to my established beauties. The Sunny Knockout is suppose to be really fragrant. That is a big plus in my book.
Time will tell and until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
Roses take an extraordinary amount of time to keep them beautiful and healthy. During the hot days of summer my outdoor time is limited so I have been hesitant in expanding the rose garden. My daughter went well beyond my request and furnished me with the "original" knock rose and also the rather new variety called the "Sunny Knockout." The Sunny Knockout is a more compact variety with just as many blooms in a beautiful soft lemon color.
I did a little research on these roses before planting. I found they are practically maintenance free (my kind of plant) and they are resistant to all the ills that normally attack the rose - drought resistant, pest resistant, etc.
These little jewels also clean themselves which means no dead heading! I think I have found the perfect addition to my little garden!
We will see if they can live through this dry period with extreme heat and make it to the start of summer when things are suppose to get back to normal. I am anxious to see the buds and blooms of this little plant so I can compare to my established beauties. The Sunny Knockout is suppose to be really fragrant. That is a big plus in my book.
Time will tell and until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)