Bunny Shave

Angora bunnies are fantastic. Our little guys are sort of monstrous in behavior (especially Blackula), but who cares? They make up for it in fluffy cuteness.









Wicket is the light brown, and Blackula is the black and grey bunny. They are brothers and a German Giant angora cross. My friend Liz Lemon* and I are raising them for fiber. We found a place that will process the fiber for us, so we can use it for our knitting and crocheting projects.




And here we are clipping them of their coats! They didn't make it an easy job, but the more we do it, the more they'll be used to it.




Haha, terrible, isn't it? But they honestly loved being free of it. They ran around the living room floor, kicking up their heels. In rabbit language, this is a sign of happiness.




We're going to shear them again before we send the wool out for processing. Can't wait to work with it!

Bunnies

I know I've mentioned in earlier posts that my friend Liz Lemon (not really her, nor is it my friend's real name) often need chaperones when we go out. We always end up bringing home crazy things.

On the fifth of November, Liz Lemon and I were driving to the Fiber Arts Festival (I love saying that). Twenty minutes from the festival grounds, Lover called. He was upset. Hs words were, "Something happened...a hawk..."

My heart stilled. Chickens are prey animals. Hawks are amazing predators.

"Little Beansidhe is dead. Wrex is missing. I can't find her. I'm standing here holding a dead chicken."

Devastation. LB was Lover's favorite chicken. Wrex was my favorite chicken.

What.the.fuck.

When I got off the phone, Lover was on a neighborhood wide search for Wrex. The rest of the chickens were safely locked up in the coop. I was sitting in the car next to Liz Lemon, silently regarding the situation.

Liz offered to turn around. I was no longer interested in any Fiber Festival, but I knew Liz was excited about going. She had been talking about it for months beforehand.

"No, we'll go. I might want to leave earlier than we usually do, though."

"That's fine."

We went the rest of the way in silence. I felt bad, but I was in no mood for chitchat.

When we arrived, I brightened slightly at the sight of alpacas. How could you not? They are so friggin' cute, like teddy bears crossed with llamas.

Then, in the third booth, an even more precious sight. A littler of six week old angora bunnies.

It was like someone had slipped me uppers. I asked to hold one and as I cuddled the little fuzzball against my chest, I had decided.

"Liz Lemon," I said to my friend (though I used her real name), "I am buying this rabbit, and taking him home with me."

Liz and I had talked before about raising angoras for their fiber. Our plans suddenly jumped up. Then we decided to bring home two rabbits.

Meet Blackula and Wicket. In this first picture, they are six weeks.




Now, they are three months old and almost ready for their first shearing!








In the words of my craftista friend Nikita, "They exploded!"

The end of the chicken story was bittersweet. I brought home the rabbits, incurred a small amount of wrath from Lover (who was completely taken off guard), and mourned for LB and the missing Wrex.

The next morning, I couldn't help myself but to begin a search in the neighborhood for my pretty little girl. When I didn't find her, I went back inside and told Lover. I cried. He hugged me.

Later, he and I were heading out to the yard to check for eggs. As he walked through the gate, he exclaimed, "Hey! Why are the chickens out?!"

"I closed their door!" Then I thought maybe in my haze of grief I hadn't latched it properly.

"Oh my god!" His whole tone changed. "Oh my god!"

"What is it?"

"What do you think?" He was grinning.

I ran into the yard after him, and there, standing in the morning sunlight, was my precious Wrex, golden feathers and all.

It was like a movie. We ran to her, she dodged Lover's first grab (probably completely freaked out by our descent upon her), but not his second.

"Give her to me! Give her to me!" I yelled.

There were tears and chicken hugs all around.

Yeah, the neighbors probably think we are truly freaky people.

We placed Wrex back with her flock in the coop. We buried Little Beansidhe beneath the forsythia bush.

We've since made them a run covered by bird netting to keep them all safe.

(Wrex is the golden chicken in this photo.)




The rabbits made it through their first shearing, though they were not super happy about the whole process. Once it was over, Blackula and Wicket were kicking up their heels and running in circles around the living room. I imagine they were enjoying their newfound freedom after all the fur we trimmed off. 

The suburban homestead is coming along nicely!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Family Wedding

My brother got married to his girlfriend Heather. They are expecting a baby in May! They are super excited and very much in love. (I can't wait to test out my crocheting skills on a sweet baby blanket.) Also, it was awesome to be able to spend an entire weekend with my Maine relatives.

We stayed at my aunt's house outside of Portland. My dad and my grandparents live ten minutes from her. My sister was up from Missouri to celebrate. My three great aunts attended the wedding.

I'm so glad that I am reconnecting with all of these family members who I pretty much ignored through some years. I was caught up with my day to day life and forgot how much I enjoyed their company. My paternal grandparents are extremely kind, with quirky humor senses. My aunt is unabashedly a crazy kind of fun. My sister and brother, on this side, grew up almost without me. There were a few visits, and they didn't always go well. As adults, we've let these things go, and found ways to connect. My great aunts and their children are always pleasant to spend time with.

Also, another great joy in visiting Maine is the landscape. I love the stretches of pine forests littered with marshes and the occasional field. I get absorbed in the shades of green and brown. I keep my eyes peeled for moose and other creatures. It has a restorative effect on my mind.

Another good weekend. How was yours?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thanksgiving

Giving thanks with Dave's family is a multi-day affair. Thanksgiving Day happens at his aunt and uncle's brownstone in NYC. His parents, more aunts and uncles, and a bunch of cousins fly in from various places like California, Arizona, Georgia, and Kentucky. The wine flows, the hors'douevres cover the tabletops, and the music is loud.

I used to dread Thanksgiving because I never liked any of the food! No cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey, or candied yams for me! I stuck to mashed potatoes and corn as much as possible. But at these gatherings, there is such a variety of food that I always have plenty to eat! (Plus, I bring a vegetarian stuffing full of spicy and sweet cornbread and other goodies I like). I also viewed it from the lens of mourning - the indigneous peoples day of mourning and all. But, I think moving forward with an attitude of gratitude is more constructive at this point. I have so much in my life to be thankful for. I'm going to own that, every day, and celebrate it especially on this day among friends and family.

The Chicken Gang

Sometimes I love nothing more than sitting outside on the beautiful bench my fiance made and watching our flock of chickens. I sat with a notepad and pen to make a handy little to-do list for tomorrow (making and canning BBQ sauce, freezing herbs and lemongrass, potting some herbs to bring indoors for the colder weather, making kimchi with the cabbage and radishes from the CSA...). Our handsome little phoenix roo hopped up on the bench beside me. And I knew I had to get a camera.

Of course, when I came back out, he wasn't the only one interested in what was going on. 

Belina is a Rhode Island Red mix, and a gift from friends.

Wrex is our Easter Egger hen and part of our original shipment of chicks.

Minerva is a White Leghorn and Rhode Island Red mix - from Schreiber's.

Bubo is a Golden Sebright bantam. Behind her is Bandit. Both are from the original shipment.

Brave Little Toaster (BLT) is a Phoenix hen. From my aunt's farm.

Bubo and BLT.

BLT is curious.

Malai basks in attention. Not a chicken.

Bandit is an Easter Egger hen.

Camilla and Bandit.

Camilla is a Salmon Faverolle from the original shipment.

Bandit.

Camilla!

Bubo dashes by.

Bubo and Camilla are the same age. Bubo is a type of bantam, or "dwarf chicken."

Hangin' out!

Eventually Lover joined us, and he and Malai did some communing.

 Overall, the backyard flock is a hit with the whole family. Quadrapus didn't eat them when they were chicks, Malai is followed by the flock when we go out, and Lover sits out and "zens" with the chickens after he gets home from work.

Me, I just love 'em. How can you not?

Garden Workshop

 Garden author Margaret Roach brought garden author Gayla Trail to Copake Falls, NY for a special workshop on seed-saving and putting up the harvest.

Margaret Roach and Gayla Trail

 

Making an aromatic salt rub with sage, rosemary, and garlic. Mmm...

I chose nasturtium blossoms for my first infused vinegar.

I chose shiso leaves for my second infused vinegar.

The day was amazing. My friend Liz and I left bright and early to make it to the 9am workshop. We started with a lovely tour of Margaret's garden - it is extensive, and just exquisite! You can see some photos of her garden over at her blog.

We snatched some seeds here and there from her garden, and made lovely little origami packets to place them into and take home with us. I just love that there can be so much sharing when it comes to gardening!

And seriously, I have taken to thieving seed heads wherever I go now. Lover watches me as I move toward a clump of flowers and starts admonishing me before I've even taken my hand out of my pocket to pinch off the bounty. He kids, of course. I think.

For the afternoon in the workshop, we talked about drying and freezing our harvest. Then we made a salt rub and infused vinegars. So fantastic!

Liz and I walked out with bags of seeds, as Gayla did not want to bring any home with her! I also got all the books I have of hers signed. Check out her site at YouGrowGirl.com.

And on our way back, we stopped at a farm stand and bought a big box of plum tomatoes to do more canning.

We're addicted. It might become necessary to keep us chaperoned at all times.

;-)

Today's Tasks

Today was a day of tasks.

I started out with the 30 Day Shred. From there, I went out, bought canning jars and spices, raw and unfiltered apple cider, a notebook made from recycled paper for grad school, an organic and fair trade dark chocolate mint bar (this week's dessert), a flower bouquet from the farmer's market to spruce up the dining room table, and then several plants from the local nursery.

Two hibiscus plants and three mums now adorn the corner flowerbed. Already planted is the dwarf butterfly bush, pampas grass, sea oats, blue fescue, phlox, dianthus, stonecrop, hen & chicks, and gayflower.I get a lot of monarchs and bumble bees, and I've also seen hummingbird moths. Lover swears to me that he's seen actual hummingbirds, but I haven't seen any yet!

It was a hot day, but I pulled out the mulhy grass that had been underperforming, and put in the five new plants to add some color and interest.

I continued the tidying of the kitchen and living room, organized my jewelry, unpacked my bag from our last vacation, put in laundry, watered the cole crop seedlings under the grow light, brushed out Q's fur, trimmed Malai's nails, filled the birdfeeders, and began looking up recipes for fermentation. In the evening, we ordered pizza. After eating, I shredded the cabbage and smashed it into a big glass container, and covered it with a salty water combo. We'll see if it really becomes sauerkraut. :)

Tomorrow, my friend is coming over to make tomatoes into and can ketchup, red hot sauce, and paste. We're also going crush a bunch of them and can it to have for sauce. We bought 50 lbs of tomatoes from our CSA, plus extras from our own gardens. Yum. We're also pickling a half bushel of cucumbers, and I found a recipe for salt 'n' vinegar cucumber chips that I want to try.  I'm going to ferment the squash and eggplant that I have, and see if I like eggplant better when it's pickled.

So, a lot going on. I can't wait for Monday. I'm going to sleep in, treat myself to yoga and tea, and make art all day. Pretty sweet.

On a daily basis, I have been keeping up with my exercise, my morning pages, my yoga, and my gratitude journal.  I also have been sketching a lot, and I've outlined the first fourteen chapters of a book idea that has been percolating in the ol' brain.

Add to all this work and grad school, and I'm a busy bee. That's why a three day weekend is the best ever.

Engagement Party

I fretted over the possibility of everything going wrong for our engagement party.
I shouldn't have. The hors'douevres were delicious. The miniature gourmet cupcakes from the local cupcakery were a hit. Lover's mother and her friend made the cutest banner. The playlist was superb. The people who came were amazing. Lover was amazing. Everything was amazing.

There were a lot of people there, and the food was fabulous. But, we didn't take many photos, so unfortunately I didn't get a lot of the people, nor the food. But this was a taste, a beautiful taste of a celebratory moment in life.