Fiddlehead season is over, in my little patch of the world. The, now ferns, are mocking me in a field of green.
Yes, they are the ones that got away. I did pick 30+ pounds and have enjoyed them immensly. I understand them better, I will be more prepared next year, and I’m thrilled to have had such a good first season! By the way, I love that house on the hill. I’m jealous of the owners. That house is where my Great Grandfather grew up, and I’d just be over the moon to be homesteading there.
We had a bunny mishap. Looking back, I figured out what went wrong, and have filed in the growing list of things to look for, that my rabbit raising friends and I are updating, each with their own experiences, in order to help the group gain knowlege from each individual experience. Maybelle kindled 6 chubby, beautiful kits, one wandered from the nest, the very first night and passed away. But the other 5 were vibrant and gaining weight faster than any other litter. They were getting huge. It was so exciting. Then one was dead in the morning. Maybe the mom laid on it…it’s not unusual to lose one. Next day, another, this one under the mother. What? Maybelle was a stellar mom to her first litter, what is causing her to change? I started taking the 2 remaining kits, in their nest box, out of the cage at night. Day 1, great. Day 2, dead bunny. This was the largest, most mature looking bunny in there. Then I noticed the box smelled strongly of urine. I’ve never had to change out a nest box. The mom’s always keep it clean enough. I decided to change the bedding. The top was dry, but the bottom was soaked. Since the change, the last remaining bunny is doing great. Very sad, and frustrating, but at least I will know to look for that, especially from her, in the future. The fact the babies were so big, could have been part of it, as they could have been urinating more, too. Here are the girls taking turns sharing love with the one who made it.
Istra is such a natural. We rarely need to tell her to be gentle.
She has a gentle, yet firm, hand with the baby animals.
It’s really amazing to see.
Eowyn is sweet girl, but needs much more
coaching and while she can be gentle, it’s not her nature.
Today’s foraging was not nearly as adventurous, but fit in perfectly to a busy day, and brought great joy. Violets. I sauteed a bunch of veggies from the refrigerator, just anything that I thought would go together. They were served with a fried egg, and a salad of microgreens with a sprinkling of flowers. Eowyn was especially impressed with the purple salad regalia.
I do plan on heading to mom’s house in the next couple days for a serious gathering of violets from her front yard, as she’s overrun with them. I have hopes of making Violet Jam with the girls. A nice mother’s day gift, don’t you think?
