successes and failures part 1

successes and failures part 1 - the greenhouse

Success - We put up the greenhouse, anchored it down well, put up shad cloth to block the hottest sun, and used metal barrels filled with water and painted black for stability plus heat. So far it is holding up well.

Failure - The irrigation. Hand watering with a hose is not enough to maintain straw baskets. Next spring we need to invest in a modest sprinkler system with a timer.

Neither - The ventilation. We used a big exhaust fan with an extension cord we just set up and moved when it wasn't necessary. It was a bit too big for the space, plus protecting it from water was a challenge. My grandmother has an old smaller fan built into a garage we plan to try to transfer and set up for next year.

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a tribute to Zaphod

It has been nearly a month since the untimely death of our dearest kitty. It is late tonight, I cannot sleep and my mind is filled with grief and sorrow still. I have heard it said that loving animals is only setting oneself up for pain in the end. I may have believed it, but until now I have never felt it. Not to say that I have not lost a pet in the past, in fact several, but fortunately they had all lived long and happy lives before old age and illness took them away. This cannot be said for Zaphod. His life only lasted two short years, and it is the knowing he was meant to spend another decade with us that pains me the most. We adopted Zaphod when he was only five weeks old, a tiny grey fuzz ball too small to eat. He refused a bottle or wet food, and we honestly worried he was not going to survive those first few days. After several trips to the vet for IV fluids and two weeks of force feeding, he accept a bowl of dry food for his first real meal, despite my

a new chapter

Things are changing around here. I haven't even finished my cob series, but life just keeps getting in the way. Jonathan and I are currently looking for a new place to call home. Sometimes you have to accept that things aren't working, and do something different. Unfortunately we are going to have to quit our farmers market. We are looking for homes for our animals, and selling off what we can. We will miss everyone so much, but his is a new chapter in our lives. We are excited about finding a place closer to our friends and family, where we can visit and hang out more often. We can't wait to have a house to call our own again, or an apartment, or whatever it may end up being. We haven't had a place all our own since we lived in the studio apartment just after getting back together. I think that was in 2010, whew! It hurts to have to start over, but we are trying not to be discouraged. We have confidence in ourselves and each other, and we're gonna be just fine

the point is

DISCLAIMER: This post contains material that may be considered graphic or inappropriate to some individuals. Continue at your own risk. You have been warned. Ok.Thanks.Carry on. My aunt, my dad's sister, came to stay last night. She has never stayed the night before, in fact we haven't ever seen her too much, holidays and whatnot. Several times a year. She is a nice lady, but she has some issues, we'll leave it at that. My problem is this: as soon as we arrived home last night, around 9:30 at night, after being gone since 9 that morning, the moment we see each other, the first words out of her mouth are, "you're poor bunny rabbits are freezing to death out there!" Imagine my long exasperated sigh here. Having farm animals isn't the same as having pets. I think Jon Katz said it best in a post last week, "I can give them shelter, warm water, good hay, I cannot make them comfortable or keep them warm, they accept their lives." We raise rabbits

luna acres

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