so after a lot of ridiculous delays of no major importance, we moved into our new home in mid-march. it's perfect.
in the few months we've been here we have somehow managed to get matt's workshop up (18'x36' steel building), get the garden producing regularly, acquire some hens, and move in comfortably. it's been awesome!
chicken update: we actually got two little hen chicks back in january before we moved and kept them in our then-office (which got interesting once they learned to jump out of their box). about a week after we moved, one of the hens found her way into the dogs' pasture and met her sad little end. shortly after that, i bought another couple of chicks, so now we have 1 barred rock about 6 mos old, 2 barred rocks about 3 months old, and 2 australorps about 3 months old. no eggs yet, but it should be soon.
rabbit update: we haven't bred them yet this year, though i keep pestering matt that he needs to--that is why he bought them, after all. right now they just sit in their cages... but sadly, we lost the big buck last night. i had given them water and checked up on them around 7pm and i could tell they were all really hot (it was VERY hot yesterday and rabbits are super-sensitive) but we didn't have any frozen water bottles ready just then, and it was getting dark anyway... but around 9 or so matt went outside to lock the dogs up and he came back to say the buck was dead. it had to have been heat stroke, which makes me so sad. it's our fault he died! so today i am ready with the ice first thing and will make sure they each get a bottle in their cages. the rabbit had only been dead a little while and so matt went ahead and dressed him for the freezer :(
about 2 or 3 of our 6ish acres are solid blackberry bushes in full fruit. i've been collecting them here and there as they ripen with the intention of making wine and jam again this year. nothing beats homemade wild berry wine! and rowan LOVES the berries, she calls them "nomnoms" of course.
the garden has been giving us a few squash a day, some cucumbers, and so far one zucchini. the tomatoes are fruiting but not ripe, and it looks like for the first time ever matt might be able to grow corn, hehe (last crop was utterly demolished by caterpillars). there is a bunch of other stuff that isn't ready yet, but i'm not sure exactly what he planted. he's also got some really nice-looking gourds out there, though i don't know what we will do with them when they're dried.
i planted a flower bed FULL of seeds i ordered last year, and not a damn one sprouted. i have no clue why. i managed to be successful with store-bought morning glories and hand-harvested cosmos from my mom, and that's it... it's pretty disappointing; i was so ready to have a gorgeous flower garden in my yard just as birth is approaching. oh well.
other than that, i've been knitting a lot and i think i am gearing up to sell my creations online. more on that later. in-laws will be here soon...
in the few months we've been here we have somehow managed to get matt's workshop up (18'x36' steel building), get the garden producing regularly, acquire some hens, and move in comfortably. it's been awesome!
chicken update: we actually got two little hen chicks back in january before we moved and kept them in our then-office (which got interesting once they learned to jump out of their box). about a week after we moved, one of the hens found her way into the dogs' pasture and met her sad little end. shortly after that, i bought another couple of chicks, so now we have 1 barred rock about 6 mos old, 2 barred rocks about 3 months old, and 2 australorps about 3 months old. no eggs yet, but it should be soon.
rabbit update: we haven't bred them yet this year, though i keep pestering matt that he needs to--that is why he bought them, after all. right now they just sit in their cages... but sadly, we lost the big buck last night. i had given them water and checked up on them around 7pm and i could tell they were all really hot (it was VERY hot yesterday and rabbits are super-sensitive) but we didn't have any frozen water bottles ready just then, and it was getting dark anyway... but around 9 or so matt went outside to lock the dogs up and he came back to say the buck was dead. it had to have been heat stroke, which makes me so sad. it's our fault he died! so today i am ready with the ice first thing and will make sure they each get a bottle in their cages. the rabbit had only been dead a little while and so matt went ahead and dressed him for the freezer :(
about 2 or 3 of our 6ish acres are solid blackberry bushes in full fruit. i've been collecting them here and there as they ripen with the intention of making wine and jam again this year. nothing beats homemade wild berry wine! and rowan LOVES the berries, she calls them "nomnoms" of course.
the garden has been giving us a few squash a day, some cucumbers, and so far one zucchini. the tomatoes are fruiting but not ripe, and it looks like for the first time ever matt might be able to grow corn, hehe (last crop was utterly demolished by caterpillars). there is a bunch of other stuff that isn't ready yet, but i'm not sure exactly what he planted. he's also got some really nice-looking gourds out there, though i don't know what we will do with them when they're dried.
i planted a flower bed FULL of seeds i ordered last year, and not a damn one sprouted. i have no clue why. i managed to be successful with store-bought morning glories and hand-harvested cosmos from my mom, and that's it... it's pretty disappointing; i was so ready to have a gorgeous flower garden in my yard just as birth is approaching. oh well.
other than that, i've been knitting a lot and i think i am gearing up to sell my creations online. more on that later. in-laws will be here soon...
