Catch-up

     Now that board exams are over and I can breathe/think/function again, here's some of what we've been up to around here:

Quit Staring at my Chest!

     Now that the new rabbit hutches are underway, I figured I’d better catch-up and share some pics from one of last year’s builds:

     Einstein’s 8th Law of Accumulation states that: as time increases, so inevitably will the mass of gear and clothing a reenactor accumulates.  My old chests weren’t cutting it for the festivals, so I decided to build myself something large enough to keep all of my personal gear in.  Side note: For all the history nerds out there, I’ll cover historical accuracy in another post.

     After browsing various historic designs and modern interpretations, I started to picture something with an angular lid and a mouth wider than the base.  I also remembered that something with a flat top to set things on is always useful around camp.

     Most of the hardware was gate parts from a local store, and I ordered the cast-iron latch for a few bucks from an online shop specializing in reproductions.  I used small masonry nails for any visible seams, and screws anywhere I could hide them for better durability.

     As for the color, I thought a reddish-brown stain would be eye-catching without sticking out or being historically unreasonable.  End result?  An awesome storage solution that looks just as good around the house as it does in camp!

First Steps into the Sunshine

     The litter of nine is already almost three weeks old!  Eyes are open and, now that the dismal weather FINALLY broke, they’re taking their first steps outside.  We’ve caught them nibbling at hay and grass, so hopefully they’ll be transitioning to some solid food soon and giving mom a rest.  The runt is even still going strong, tearing into its once-a-day dropper of kitten formula and just about keeping up with its litter-mates.
     We’ve been handling them daily (really, who could resist?) to make sure they’re hand-tame.  So far we’ve only had one nibbler in the bunch, and now that her eyesight is better, she’s stopped completely.  I think I’ll bring batches of them inside soon to hang out while we go about our routine.  The random smells, noises, and music should keep them from becoming skittish.
     We’ve been marking the underside of the feet of any that seem exceptionally tame or unique, and then checking after handling sessions to see if the same ones keep standing out.  We’re only keeping one or two, which makes the process of narrowing down eight adorable bunnies plus one hand-fed runt a true exercise in self-control.
     Even though we won’t let any leave for new homes until at least eight weeks of age, I’m starting to think about listing them for sale soon.  I’d prefer owners who think ahead for such a responsibility (not that they’re hard to care for, but we all know how many wind up in shelters).  Not to mention, the younger they are, the cuter they are, AND the cuter they are, the more likely they are to sell.
     Granted, any left-over in early July are going to “freezer-camp”, so there’s another incentive to try and get most of these guys to good homes.  Oddly enough, we’ve had just as much inquiry for pet rabbits as we’ve had for meat.  More to follow on that in another post.

Happy May Day!

In honor of the traditional May Day celebration of spring, here's some more bunny pics!

Gratuitous Bunny Video

Head Count

     It’s been one week since the rabbits were born, and they’ve been growing fast!  We’ve tried to disturb the nest as little as possible, but decided it was finally time to get in there and see what was going on.  The official headcount is NINE adorable baby rabbits.  NINE RABBITS! AH AH AH…
     …The Count from Sesame Street?

…Anyone?

     Anyway, that actually breaks-down to eight healthy kits plus one runt.  Rabbits only have eight nipples, and usually only feed their young once per day.  Whether it’s because of a developmental disorder, or it’s just the smallest one who can’t get fair teat-time, the runt looks to be about 3 days behind the rest.  Normally, I’m inclined to let nature take its course, but this little one is feisty.  While we sorted through the nest, it was the runt who was the most active of the bunch.

     I stopped on the way home to pick-up some kitten formula and a dropper.  Hopefully a little extra food will give this runt a boost to hang in there!

Continuing the Onslaught of Bunny Pics

7th day and jumping around the nest!

They Grow Up So Fast!

     I swear, if you watch them closely you’ll see them grow before your eyes.  Hard to believe it’s only been 5 days, but their ears and toes are growing out, their faces are more defined, and they’re covered in peach-fuzz.  It looks like they’ve doubled in size already, which explains why Buttercup has been eating almost double; she’s feeding at least eight fast-growing kits.  She also seems to have a little conjunctivitis, so we have some antibiotic cream on rush order to keep mom and kits healthy.
     Today, we planted trays of kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, head lettuce, and seven different tomato varieties.  Somewhere in there, we also managed to sow rows of zucchini and Napa cabbage, and start construction on the next set of rabbit hutches.  Stay tuned for planting, project, and, of course, bunny updates to come!

So Cute... but Kinda Ugly...

     Four days-old and growing fast!  They’re bigger every time we look, always wiggling around, and just starting to get some darker patches where their fur is coming in.  If you look closely in the picture, you can see a few tiny lop ears and a pink snout sticking out of the pile.

     Erica and I had a nice Sunday afternoon out in the yard prepping the beds, planting some crops, and hanging out with the rabbits.  We were accompanied by some amazing rum punch, the recipe for which I’ll post at another date.  We planted rows of radishes, snap peas, snow peas, soybeans, carrots, tricolor bush string beans, spaghetti squash, and two different salad green mixes.  Tomorrow I begin construction on the new rabbit hutches.  With less than 6 weeks until weaning and a full school/work schedule, the pressure’s on!

Happy Earth Day!

     It’s so hard to not go out and peek on the bunnies!  We’re limiting ourselves to two short looks a day to minimize disturbing them or Buttercup.  The head-count is up to seven or eight, and so far they seem healthy and active.  I’m just trying to keep the nursing mother supplied with plenty of water, food, and fresh veggies.

     Found some seed-starting trays at a reasonable price no thanks to the corporate stores; local garden center for the win!  Here’s hoping we have enough time over the weekend to get everything in the ground!  I tried a mixture of white vinegar, dish soap, water, tea tree oil, and grapefruit oil (basically whatever I had lying around under the kitchen sink) on the termite/flying ant infested areas on the other rabbit hutches, and it seems to be doing the trick.  I’ll apply again as-needed, and let you all know if it really works.

We Have Kindling!!!

      …and not the firewood kind!  Looks like at least four or five kits in there!  Here’s hoping Buttercup is an attentive mother because those squirmy pink babies look hungry!  Of course, with every great thing also comes a reminder that the work is never done.  Time to start building more hutches and figure out what the hell to do about the termites we just spotted on the other ones.

Bunny Watch: Day 3

Still no sign of kits or kindling; the watch continues…

     Snuck out of the clinic a few minutes early today to enjoy the sunshine and it was well worth it.  I was able to plant rows of beets, parsnips, spinach, and leeks before the sun dipped away.  While I was out in the yard, I noticed the pile of last year’s pea trellises, which were miraculously NOT a tangled mess!  Took a few minutes and hammered them in, in preparation for this year’s crop.
     I'm shopping around for inexpensive seedling trays to get some of the more delicate veggies and herbs started in.  Our local Home Depot is stocked only with the $20 version that self-waters... just no.  Next planting will be peas, carrots, lettuces, and radishes.

Bunny Watch: Day 2

     Yes, that is snow in the above picture, but thankfully it wasn’t taken today!  Bunny Watch 2016 continues here in CT, with all of us waiting in rapt anticipation.  If you haven’t been following, it’s the week that we’d expect Buttercup to give birth to her first litter IF we were sure she was pregnant.  With spring weather finally arriving in the Northeast, I’ve had plenty of time in the yard to keep an eye on her.  However, I’m not certain that her slight weight-gain isn’t just the result of her voracious appetite, and/or my imagination.  I’m extra anxious though, because this could be her second failed breeding attempt, and I’d hate to see those excellent genes not passed on.  For now, we hope and wait.

     I set aside some time yesterday for serious garden preparation.  I started by getting the compost pile I started last summer spread out over the whole garden and tilled in.  Seeing something was missing, I cleaned out the makings of a whole new compost pile from under the rabbit hutches.  Later on, we sat down and finally finished picking out this year’s crops.  We order most of our seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, who make it VERY difficult to choose just a few things from their excellent selection.  I went to place the last-minute order in, and somehow got a $5-off coupon!

     I’m aiming to begin planting snap & snow peas, kale, and other early season crops starting tomorrow.  This week we’ll also be starting seed trays with last-year’s leftover seeds and others that we bought locally.  Of course, with the yard tilled and prepped for planting, weeding season is upon us.  Such is the price we pay.


     Last, but certainly not least, BEHOLD: Wormzilla!  Not the 8th wonder of the world, but definitely the largest earth worm I’ve ever seen.

Bunny Watch Begins!

     It’s been four weeks since Bucky and Buttercup had their evening of romance, which should mean bunnies arriving any day now.  Although the signs of rabbit pregnancy aren’t glaring with Buttercup, it does look like she’s put on some weight around the middle.  Normally, she tears out any hay from her cage and pushes it through the wire mesh, but lately she’s kept it in the back, and it looks like she may even be nesting in it.  We’ll be keeping an eye on her this week in hopes that she has little ones safely on the way.

     In unrelated news, it’s finally warm enough up here in New England to start working the ground!  Yesterday, I was able to begin spring cleaning the garden and raised beds.  The garlic I planted back in late October survived the mild winter wonderfully, and is looking good after some weeding.  On today’s menu, we’re serving up composting, soil amendments, and tilling. 

Brew Review

Geyser Gose, Two Evil Brewing

     When the manager of the liquor store sees you walk in and says, “I have something special and new that I think you might like”, you try that beer!  Geyser Gose is a crossover brew between Two Roads Brewing Co of Stratford, CT and Evil Twin Brewing from Denmark.  They “sourced local ingredients during a trip to Iceland” to make this unforgettable sour wheat-style ale.  I’ve had the pleasure of drinking this one both at home and on tap at the Two Roads Brewery.
     The first thing you notice about Geyser Gose is the funky aroma, but you can’t let the briny scent deter you.  Immediately you taste a yogurt-like tanginess, which melds perfectly with the tart, refreshing flavor of this brew.  Texture is an oft forgotten component that can launch a beer to greatness, and the effervescence of Geyser Gose certainly gives it a boost.  This brew’s herbal presence was less than I expected based on the description, but the mild saltiness was unexpected yet complimentary.  Finally, there’s the seaweed aftertaste, also unique, but not at all unpleasant.

If you or a friend are into sour beers, find this brew!

A Picture is Worth 1000 Squash

     Keeping up with my promise to summarize the most interesting of last year’s projects, I’ve put together some of the best pics I could find from 2015 (known in some circles  by us as: The Year of the Squash).

Project Idea

     Saw this at a local garden center and thought what a fun little project it would be.  I especially enjoy simple ones where I can draw the plans up from my own imagination, and I probably have all the materials sitting around here already.  Our current lack of storage options for garden gear makes it all the more tempting.  If I don’t do it this season, then maybe someday as a fun chicken coop!

Last Year’s Eggs-capade

     If you were expecting this blog not to have any bad puns mixed in, you came to the wrong place.  I promise I’ll try to keep them from being too painful.  Try that is…  Anyway, as part of the recap of last year’s activities, I wanted to post about eggs.  Along with that: how NOT to hatch them.

     I’ve been dying to get my hands on a few ducks for a while now.  They often produce more eggs per year than chickens, and are more cold-hardy.  My readings suggest they are fairly easy to care for, and, like any good homestead animal, are often pretty amusing to keep.  I’ve narrowed down my breed choices to Black Cayuga and Saxony, based on their egg-laying, size, and disposition (aka: neat coloration).  I’ve also decided I’d prefer to hatch from eggs rather than buy ducklings, if possible.  Late last summer I set to work making an incubator and finding some duck eggs.
     They say that the best place to incubate an egg is under the bird that laid it.  This is probably true.  However, getting to watch my future pet ducks break into this world seems like a fun experience.  Beginning last August, I did my homework and put together an incubator based on plans and videos I had found online.  Once I knew what direction I was headed, it was a fairly simple process.  The materials could be gathered and assembled within a day, only requiring novice electrical skills and basic tool use.
     I housed the incubator in a plastic cooler to increase insulation but avoid any risk of fire by avoiding using a wood frame.  I don’t anticipate ever incubating more than a dozen eggs at a time, so I went with a medium-sized cooler.  I installed a pane of glass for viewing and a wire rack a few inches off the bottom.  Under the rack I put a bottle of water to act as a heat sink, and a sponge in a tray to be wet as-needed to maintain humidity.  Next came the wiring.  I installed one low-wattage light to provide continuous heat, and another attached to a hot water heater thermostat.  I also added a small computer fan to keep air flowing and evenly distribute heat.  The final touch was a digital thermometer/hygrometer to keep tabs on the environment inside.

     I found a local backyard homesteader via Craigslist who was offering mixed-batch fertilized duck eggs.  It was very interesting to see how one person could maintain 30-40 healthy, breeding fowl of different species and breeds in one small suburban backyard plot.  I’d prefer to have more room for free-ranging myself, but farm anywhere and everywhere you can!  We brought the eggs home, tucked them into the warm incubator, and waited…

                                …and waited…

    …and nothing happened.          

     Though I incubated at the best temperature and humidity levels, there were plenty of other variables that could have disturbed the process.  From low fertilization, to transporting the eggs, to rotating them enough times per day, it’s tough to imagine what went wrong.  I candled the eggs throughout the incubation, and, though some showed a few correct changes, it was hard as a novice to figure out when things stopped developing.  At least I can now say that candling eggs and reading x-rays are not anything alike.  Another possible problem during incubation may have been temperature swings from the water heater thermostat.  Though most of the time the eggs were at a snug 99°, I know thermostats for electric hot water heaters allow a range of temperatures to keep from constantly switching on and off.
     Despite how things ended, it was a great experience building the incubator and watching the eggs.  We’ve decided not to try it again this year because of the upcoming move back to New Jersey, but are really looking forward to the next attempt.

Frozen Basil Update

A few months back, I posted about trying a different method of herb preservation than we’ve used before.  We took all the basil left on the plants before the first frost, shredded it with some olive oil in the food processor, and froze the lot.  On the plus side, this method preserved the fresh basil flavor better than any other I’ve tasted.  However, unlike what I had read prior about easy scooping, the oil froze completely solid.  Perhaps we should have dried the leaves more thoroughly after rinsing them or used different oil.  Either way, it became a real hassle to scoop out individual servings, even after a few seconds in the microwave.  I’m thinking we’ll have to do a side-by-side comparison at the end of this year’s growing season with olive vs coconut oil in small-cube ice trays.

Dig In!

     It took two years of work, but getting to dig into soil like this was well worth the wait and effort!  There’s nothing better than seeing a bunch of these wiggly guys in every scoop.  Hard to believe this was rocky Connecticut soil and crappy backfill under a crabgrass lawn when I started.  It’s even harder to imagine the inch of snow that fell right here only last night!

What Better on the First Day of Spring?

     This is a love story...

     ...No, it's not.  But it is a post about our rabbits and our hopes of breeding them.  Our females, Sunflower and Buttercup, were born in July of 2014 and brought home that autumn.  Buttercup is an English Lop, a large breed developed in the Victorian Era for its fancifully long ears and docile temperament.  Sunflower is half English Lop and half Rex.  The Rex breed originated in France in the early 20^th century, and remains the top choice in the US for meat and fur production.  Bucky, our male, was brought home last spring.  Like Sunflower, he is half Rex and half English Lop.  All three were purchased from Buckleberry Fern Farm in northern NJ, and have been healthy, hand-tame, and truly entertaining from their first day home.
     After copious research and planning, we finally set Bucky and Buttercup on a date last August.  However, Dr. Ian Malcolm’s statement, “Life, um, finds a way” might not have been intended for small, furry non-reptiles.  Poor Bucky couldn’t quite figure out how things were supposed to work, and, probably because of the heat, Buttercup was NOT having any of his shenanigans.  We let them be for a few days, but despite Bucky’s many attempts, he was NOT the father.  Buttercup threw us for a loop when, at about day 30 she began nesting.  We suspected a last-minute conception before they were separated, but by the 35^th day it was clearly game-over.
     Springtime is for bunnies and eggs and fertility, so here we go again!  The topic of spring breeding came up recently, so I thought I’d take a look at the calendar to plan litters around any road trips or festivals we might have coming up.  We want just one litter this spring, and would prefer to breed Buttercup for her Lop ears and larger size.  However, if she isn’t cooperative, we’ll still need to wait just over a month before putting Sunflower in the ring to avoid a double litter.  Leaving calendar space for all of this, it dawned on me that breeding time was upon us!
   All three rabbits were brought inside for their regular nail-trimming and cage scrub-down today, after-which Bucky was sent to visit his lucky lady.  Luckily, I don’t think I’ll need to supply Barry White or candlelight this time.  I could tell within a minute or two that his time alone was well-spent on learning the right moves, and Buttercup was much more receptive to this second date.  We’ll leave them be for a day or two, just to be sure things take.  Stay tuned, and hopefully we’ll have some good news by mid-April!

Back to Business

     Well folks, it’s been a great winter: wonderful holidays, just enough snow, and wayyy too much time spent indoors.  Now it’s time to get back to fun projects and start planning for the warmer seasons!  As the seed catalogs roll in, I can’t help but get excited to get my hands dirty again.  All in all, it wasn’t a harsh winter up here in New England, but we’re dying to get some fresh air and sunshine.  Over the next few weeks I’ll try to recap some of last year’s major projects, such as bunny breeding, duck egg incubation, the pirate chest, and the garden.  After that, who knows?!