We have babies!

Much to my surprise, and great pleasure, Monday afternoon we discovered pink, neekid, long eared rats in our California doe's nesting box.  Yes, there are pictures, though these are saved a computer other than the one I am using now.  Pictures are difficult to take as the wire mess tends to scew the focus.  Anyway, because I believed this doe to NOT be pregnant (none of the checks that other breeders told me about confirmed), we drove to Covington on Sunday and picked up a Dutch buck, a 10 week old doe and a Mini Rex male (9 weeks old).  Neither the Dutch doe nor the Rex male are old enough for breeding - not until the doe is 6 months and then she could be bred to the Dutch buck; I do not yet have a female to do with the Rex male.


California's are nigh impossible to locate (via the web that is) and I was prepared to switch my program from California's to the Dutch; the Dutch program will still continue as this breed is not quite as long and a little easier for me to handle.  

These rabbits are not papered and I understand that to some, this is heresy; if showing was in the plan, then papers they would have.  I do have plans for the pelts and that is a post for another day.

To date, I've just been watching, feeding, handling, and waiting.  Not handling the babies mind you - not til they come out of the cage.  One breeder told me that they handle the babies at 14 days and 'open the eyes'; not sure why that is as I have not seen it in any of the books.  I'll let you know what I find.

In the meantime, a blight of some sort is infecting my tomato plants - even those in planters.  Will let you know what I find.

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150/110

Numbers in and of themselves are not 'bad'; the above number represent a problem and that being Ronnie's blood pressure.  Friday we ended up driving to UVA to see his doctor and spent the afternoon sitting in a office 'crunching numbers'.  The doctor drew some blood, performed an EKG (all is good there) and asked a slew of questions.  We left with a new prescription and another appointment set for July 8th.  She does not want Ronnie to do any additional exercise until his blood pressure is closer to 'normal'.

High blood pressure runs in Ronnie's family, on both sides.  While this may be normal for him (he had no chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc), it is not considered 'normal' by the medical community; wigs them out, actually.  

In addition to adding some walking to our lifestyle, we will be adding more greens, and some vinegar water (see Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar).  I am not being paid or compensated for that link - I'll share more about that in another post.

Anyhoo, it is early and I am headed out to feed the hens, check on Nancy and get ready to go to town.

Have a great Sunday!

Oregano

What is munching on the Oregano?

Our prolific oregano appears to have 'caught' the same pest that has wiped through our lemon balm and mint.  Does this look familiar to anyone?

Because the oregano that grows behind the garage is prolific (though munched upon), it made sense to 'brew' some oregano vinegar.  After the mixture cools, it tastes wonderful; I can only imagine what it will be like after sitting with fresh herbs, in a dark cabinet for 4 weeks!

Tastey!  Now to create a few more flavored vinegars.

Babies?

Yes, I have been absent as of late; still balancing two jobs - training my replacement at one, working at the other, tending to the garden, chickens, rabbit, daughters, and in bed by 10:00 pm.

Nancy, the rabbit, is due this weekend and it has been a challenge to get the nesting box into her area; we ended up modifying the cage to give her and the nesting box the necessary room.  The potatoes in a bag are still potato but free; they do have some flea beetles, though, and I'll be looking up on how to deal with them.  I've read (and posted) about how ashes discourage these beetles and am not sure how that will affect the acidity of the soil.  Will share once I have a definitive.

Our tomatoes have also picked up some sort of cootie - looks like scales on the leaves, which shrivel then die; the Mr. Stripey seem to be most affected. 

Time to plan dinner - we are out of mustgos!

Mustgo - its whats for dinner

A coworker of mine used the above term when speaking about dinner and I had to ask, "what is a mustgo?".  Her reply was, those items in the fridge that must be eaten or go into the trash can (or in our case, the compost pile).

With the number of kids that float through our house, mustgos are rare indeed!

State of The Ward House Address

A friend of mine was asking how the new career was going.  GREAT!  This work is more healthy for me both physically and emotionally.  I do not need alot, just enough.

On the garden front, the potatoes in a bag are growing wonderfully, just as in the videos.  The key will be come harvest time.  Mulch for the remainder of the beds continues to be a challenge for me.  What can I use that will not attract slugs - straw perhaps.  Not hay - too many seeds.

What do you use?  Or do you mulch?

A poop story

First, my confession; I love horses and horse poop - not to roll around in, mind you. I am not bothered by the smell and it is WONDERFUL for the garden. I am talking about the seasoned stuff, not fresh.

The Homestead Stables, which is about a mile from the house, will give as much as one can carry... as long as you have a way to carry it. We have a truck AND tractor just dying to carry poop to the garden. Muhaha. 

Ronnie and I drove up to the stables yesterday to have a look at the pile; the track was so muddy that the van was parked and we 'hoofed' it in - sorry, a little horse humor there. 

This is Pebble

While visiting the pile we became aware of a bear cub peeking at us from behind a tree, about 20 feet away. How cute! Ronnie and I looked at each other and mouthed, "where's the momma?" No sooner out of our mouths then she peered at us from around the other side of the tree. 

We graciously apologized for intruding on her and the cub's evening walk and quickly exited. *whew* When she was no longer in sight, we noticed how the horses in the close pasture were watching the woods - watching the 'family'?

These are black bears and a family that has been seen in the area for many years; even when wild animals are used to living close to humans, one must never think of them as tame. These are WILD animals.

Tomorrow, I think, Ronnie is headed to scoop some poop.

There comes a time when

tough decisions must be made.  Blogging started out as a way to keep my family updated on our lives, out here in tim-buck-two, and to share learning experiences.  This sharing lead to friendships and a realization that I was not alone on this homesteading journey.  Fast forward to oh-I-need-to-increase-my-readership and The Ward House was linked to Facebook.  While this step did increase readership, as it were, it also opened the door to potential issues with county officials.

Now comes to my decision.  The Ward House is no longer linked to Facebook.  Blogging about living here in rural America, where obsolete zoning laws and ignorance abounds, public county officials are Facebook "friends" and... well... I do not want to send up any red flags or create additional issues.  If they want to read, then sign up via RSS or subscribe via email.  Unfriending was another option and...this was just easier.

So, on to some new news.  I would like to introduce you to Nancy, our first doe of the Ward House meat rabbit clan; she is a six month old California and will have her first litter about June 26th.  A friend of ours made the cage and gave us this doe.  Out of another, unrelated litter he will give us a buck.  Out of Nancy's first litter I will give him a doe.  *whew*  Sounds complicated, yes?  Is she papered?  Dunno.  Not a concern as these litters are for freezer camp and not the show ring.  Did you know that rabbit is the most lean meat AND more protein than chicken? 

Rabbits can take cold as long as they are out of the wind and rain.  Keeping cool is more of a challenge and one that I believe we have solved; this lean too is on the side of the garage and will need to be expanded to hold two more cages - one more doe and a buck.  I'll post more pictures once we get the arrangement right.  

Her cage currently has a pan and that may also change... more on that later.  For those of you that raise rabbits for food, any tips on how to keep records, care, housing, etc. are appreciated.