luna acres

This morning, after inspecting the roads and calling into work for another snow day, I found the cutest little golden brown owl stuck inside the duck coop. It was frantically trying to get out of the chicken wire, and intermittently resting on the roost poles. I've never been this close to an owl before. It was amazing. I sat and watched it for nearly an hour. I walked back to the barn to get more hay for the ducks, and when I came back I thought he had flown away. When I reached the other side of the coop I saw that he was inside the dog crate the ducks use, nestled down in the hay like he belonged there. It was the cutest thing. I love this last picture, you can see him sitting on the wood in the corner of the coop watching. I wanted to keep him, but like all wild animals, he is meant to be wild, and flew away. Until next time, Angela Kelly

I haven't felt much like writing the past few days. In fact I haven't felt much like doing anything. I haven't been sick really, although nausea and headaches did come and go, and my head is all allergy-fogged, but more than anything I just feel exhausted. Making the rounds to check the animals leaves me gasping for breath. Fortunately we didn't have any major plans this weekend so I mainly rested.  There are a few things we accomplished this week: 1. put the new handles on the kitchen cabinets and scrubbed them 2. cleaned the sides and back of the stove and refridgerator 3. set up inside cat boxes (I will share more on that later) 4. made a menu for the upcoming month using all natural recipes from Healthy Choices 5. planned a shopping list to the Good Food Good People Co-op and Eats Natural Foods 6. researched recipes for homemade breads, cereal, zone bars, and more 7. cleaned the house 8. had dinner with my sister and her fiance here at the far

Jinx and Trilli Last weekend I was supposed to go look at a venue for my friend Savannah's wedding, but it was super cold that day so we just went invitation shopping instead. We always have fun together. First we went to Jo Ann's and then Michael's where we found several cool stamps, some ribbon, invitation paper, a few embellishments and other random things. For dinner the four of us (the girls and Jonathan, I hope he doesn't grow tired of that) went to K&W (a cafeteria style restaurant usually reserved for the elderly or older families with small children) and gorged ourselves. I feel we received quite a few strange glances. We were certainly the only table of twenty-somethings in the whole place. But it was delicious, and we all left with a bag full of to-go boxes. It's like a buffet with leftovers, terrific. It was a simple day, but a blast. I have the best friends. Until next time, Angela and Jonathan

My parents adopted Dakota when I left for college. He is part chow, and has the temperament to prove it. He can be the sweetest thing, when he wants to. If he doesn't feel like getting your attention, you better leave him alone. It's obvious that he is my dad's dog, I think. The other day when Dad was working on the rabbit cages with me, Dakota layed down beside us. He usually doesn't even come down the hill when I am at the rabbits, let alone lay down with them! It is funny how animals work. I love watching it. Until next time, Angela Kelly

earlier this week our four wheeler backfired and quit working. just in time for the bitter cold front and first snow storm of the season. this means we are walking back and forth to our cars at the bottom of the steep driveway. oh winter.

this picture is from last night, after the first scab fell off (you can see the pink spot at the bottom) I wrote a few weeks ago in this post about some lessons we were having in rabbit husbandry. When you raise animals there are going to be problems. Sickness. Parasites. Birthing issues. We were having a problem with ear mites, which had caused our buck Hopper's ear to become covered in scabs.  It took me a bit to find the right medication and tools to give him, it's tricky, they don't make these things just for rabbits, there's not a big enough market. The medicine we needed is called Ivomec, and it is used to treat parasites in cattle and swine. Cows and pigs. My original thought in the store was, this can't be it. There's no way. But indeed, it is, you just give a tiny tiny dosage in comparison to those giant beasts. In fact the dosage is so small a standard injection needle makes measuring difficult, and following the recommendation of a rabbit

It was a beautiful snow, light and fluffy. After tending to all the animals I decided to start planning the garden for spring. I have quite a pile of seeds leftover from last year, so that's a good start. I also narrowed a shopping list of flower seeds for the weddings (my sister Amy's and best friend Savannah's.) I filled out the calendar with all the planting dates to match the almanac calendar. Also, since working on the field on Sunday, I am super motivated to get a goat. I spent a good bit of the day looking at fencing supplies online, although I know what I need, but hauling 16 foot cattle panels is always a challenge. I fixed dinner tonight, which is unusual (Mom usually makes dinner because Dad likes to eat at precisely five o'clock) and I enjoyed it very much. We had pork chops, mashed potatoes, carrots, salad, and homemade apple bread. That was my favorite part. I have leftovers for breakfast tomorrow, and a whole loaf frozen for later. I love cooking.

When I woke up at 7 this morning it was still dark outside, but I could see that it was only a dusting on the driveway. Sigh. I fixed a cup of coffee, turned on the little heater in the bathroom, and got ready for work. Twenty minutes later when I came back into the bedroom it was a bit brighter outside, with a lot more snow. It was coming down hard too. We went outside and took care of the animals. The rabbits seem just fine in their new fixed up cages. The ducks, always impervious, swam and splashed about in their water bowl for a solid thirty minutes before retreating to the fresh hay in their crate to warm their feet. Not for long though, I can see them back out there now. Since I moved the fence yesterday I can see them perfectly from my bedroom window. It makes me smile. I'm glad that it snowed enough, early enough, that we could call into work. Snow day! The dogs are a trip to watch in the snow. Playful as ever, they run around kicking it up, eating it o

On Sunday morning while the men were cutting firewood I moved the ducks fence from the back of the coop to the front, to give them a new patch of grass. They always love being moved. They immediately smoosh down a nice runway around the edge of the fence. Picking out the best bits of grass and catching insects, though there aren't many in this cold. They should get through this cold storm just fine. Until next time, Angela Kelly

I just wanted to mention that you can also follow me on facebook, here . Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! Until next time, Angela Kelly

They are saying the temperatures are going to drop drastically over the next two weeks, starting with 3-6 inches of snow tomorrow. Yesterday we prepared the animals by giving the rabbits extra cardboard for insulation and snuggling down into. We reconfigured and anchored down tarps to protect them better from the wind. I reattached the ducks tarp so it wouldn't blow away. Gave them all a pile of hay.  I hope it snows early, so we can call into work.  I hate being gone all day, worried we won't make it home to check on them. ducks like their little crate - yesterday jonathan caught them cuddling up couple style :) the bun buns like their boxes Leela does not appreciate being photographed, please. duckies checking out their new patch of grass Until next time, Angela Kelly

I write so often about the farm, because it is our lives, but I have been leaving out some pretty exciting adventures in other areas of my life lately. Since Jonathan and I became engaged in November we started wedding planning, but not just for our wedding. My sister is planning a wedding in October of this year, and our best friend Savannah is first up to the alter, getting married in June! It has already been so much fun going through this together. We have made three wedding dress shopping trips. The first two were local, David's Bridal, Amhreins, that sort of thing. The third though, was a road trip to Church Street Bridal in Lynchburg, VA which is run by the YWCA. The shop is completely filled with donated dresses from department stores and designers, and all the proceeds go to a good cause (helping battered women and children, etc.) And I haven't even told you the best part, the dresses are CHEAP. They had the largest selection of dresses we have seen, and a whole terr

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

bright Yesterday was rainy and dark. Today started sunny then turned to snow. I haven't felt very good today.  Instead, here are warm pictures from last weekend. The dogs of luna acres.  bandit is the best farm dog, always helping                       Trilli never holds still long enough to get a good picture Dakota is always protecting something rough-housing I hope your day was brighter. Until next time, Angela Kelly

The ducks seem impervious to cold weather, but that's certainly not to say they don't enjoy the warm days. They did a lot of swimming and splashing today. They have pretty well tore up their current spot on the garden, we plan to move them tomorrow. I used to think it was bad advertising to show pictures of the animals when the grass is eaten down and a mess, but the truth is it's real, sometimes it rains and gets muddy, sometimes we don't move them as often as we should. I want this place to be honest, so I share freely, even if the ducks are a little muddy. I hope you forgive me. They don't seem to mind much, anyways. Until next time, Angela Kelly

After yesterday's pouring rain it was nice to wake up to sunshine filling the bedroom. I think the white sheer bed canopy really brightens it up too. It seems wrong, but we spent the majority of the day inside. We had to put together my mom's new kitchen island, which was tedious but well worth it. It's beautiful. Bamboo wood with a stainless steel countertop, with a drop down on one side. After getting it together we took to re-organizing the cabinets, cleaning as we went. It is absolutely fabulous now, we managed to get all of the appliances off the top of the cabinets so we can reach them easier, hung most of the pots and pans on the wall, and made the cabinet space much more efficient. I love it. I can't wait to do more cooking. Until next time, Angela Kelly

The rabbits definitely enjoyed the nice warm air today. I opened up the tarps to let them get some fresh air for a few hours. Tomorrow we are cleaning cages, fixing up broken cages, giving shots for ear mites, and moving animals around. Raising the rabbits has brought me a lot of joy this past year. I'm glad we do it. Until next time, Angela Kelly

I woke up this morning and did the chores immediately, which is really rare for a weekend day, and it was for no real reason. When I was walking back from the ducks towards the house after finishing up the sky opened up on me. The rain just poured down. Fortunately, it is hovering around 50 degrees this afternoon, making it the warmest day in weeks. A warm rain. It's refreshing, really.  i love when the fog covers the mountain tops   you can barely see the creek running at the bottom of this hill, but boy you can hear it today It feels good in my soul, this rain.  Cleansing, maybe. Until next time, Angela Kelly

Our calico cat, Patches, is a strange one. She always seems to be half asleep, or deep in thought. This morning before we left for work (and before she was kicked outside for the nice afternoon, I hope) she was rubbing up against one of Trilli's dog bones. It was hilarious. What a cat. Until next time, Angela Kelly

honey roasted peanuts, white cheddar crackers, raisins and peanut butter candies.   Until next time, Angela Kelly

Trilli likes our new bedspread, too. Today was the first of the year that I could tell the days were getting longer. When we pulled down the driveway to the house after work there was still a bit of light in the air. I filled up a jug of warm water and checked on the rabbits, then the ducks. They seemed to be enjoying the heat wave of 40 degrees this afternoon. Working in town is the worst these few months when we spend all daylight away from this place. Checking the animals by headlamps. Rushing through morning feedings. Knowing that we aren't paying enough attention to them.  Jinx has taken up our chair as his throne. I am so very thankful for those few extra minutes of light.  Until next time, Angela Kelly