Hello and Goodbye

This week there are a lot of changes going on around the farm. The chicks said hello to their new coop. Mama Bunny said hello to her babies. And the farm will say goodbye to Meanie. Today Meanie has her date with the butcher. In just a few hours I will load her into the truck and she will say goodbye to her home. Sad? yes. Part of life? yes. It may be her last day with us, but that doesnt mean she is neglected. In fact, this morning she had got herself tied up and couldnt stand. I dropped everything I was doing to go untangle her. She may only have a few hours left, but by golly, they will be good hours. Hubby gave the goats extra hay last night, and they got extra rations this morning. I dont think Meanie knows what is going to happen later, and maybe its better that way.

On a happier note, Mama Bunny is doing well. All 7 babies are alive so far. I realized last time that I can't count them as alive until after a week or so. If Mama bunny feels that one or two are weaklings, she will take care of it. And by that, I mean she will eat them, dispose of the evidence. I always thought it was horrible that a rabbit could and will eat their young. I guess if I look at it from the rabbits perspective, she is doing it to save the others. If she were in the wild, a predator could sense the weak babies and would be drawn to the nest. So perhaps that one weak runt would be the death of the whole litter. The mama would just be trying to put the best interests of the rest of the babies ahead of one baby. So far, all our babies look fat and healthy. I am hoping they all live and will keep you updated.

Today is another cold dreary day. I dont think its supposed to heat up much. I am layered in my farm clothes, drinking my coffee, with the heater turned down. Tonight Hubby and I are hopefully doing our taxes. It will be our first year owning a home, and I am hoping to get a tax break. Last year we barely got a refund, and this year we could really use it. We are still not using credit cards, and while its hard!, its also sooo much better. There isnt the stress hanging over us while we wait for the bill to come. If we dont have the money, we dont buy it. This is teaching us restraint, but also to be content with what we have. I have been knitting from my stash and realizing how much yarn I do have. We are cooking "from the pantry". We go grocery shopping for fresh veggies and fruits as well as coffee and milk. Other than that we are trying to clean out the pantry. We have a ton of frozen meat in the chest freezer and are going to try to thin it out. We are learning to adapt and use what we have. We are loving it! Once Kisses has babies (if she is pregnant), we wont have to buy milk at the store. We havent bought eggs since I cant remember when. We will have even more meat, after Meanie's date. The baby bunnies will fill the freezer too. When the chicks are old enough to lay, we will thin out our flock. Our meat chicks will be ready in a month. I want to buy as little at the grocery store as possible.

This post is getting way off topic...and laundry is calling. We are looking forward to what other hellos and goodbyes will happen here on the farm. Stay tuned!