All Things Bright and Beautiful..........

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

   I love the rush of Springtime---everything popping its head up out of the ground. 

Or lots of baby animals all over the place---squirrels, and birds, and wild rabbits--Oh my!

  A couple days ago I was at my mother's house tending to the garden when I turned around and found to my surprise, two baby robins had decided I was interesting enough to follow around for a few minutes. They were so ugly, but it was awfully cute. Honestly.

   They stayed with me long enough to rest their wings, since it was obvious from the worried mamma bird they were on a first time flying mission, and she thought I would eat them or something. Ha!

   Lots of new firsts around here at the Welcoming House too as we are entering our second set of six months here in the new house. SO much to get done and so little time.

We were supposed to have visitors for a good part of the summer, and with plans changing, we had to get back on track and figure out what needed to be done around here to make things a little more comfy for the coming Fall and Winter. I know, I know, it is SO hard to think about those times when you are in the midst of Spring, but planning ahead is what keeps us ahead of the game, and ahead of any financial issues as well.

  Have you been listening to some of the news coming across the big pond lately? Things don't look too well for a couple different places in Europe, and that sends a lot of red flags waving across the world in the financial sectors. The Handy Hubby and I sat down and had some conversations about what we can do with different scenarios, and both of us came to the conclusion that there is only so much you can do to be prepared for physical and financial emergencies, and then the rest is really all in the hands of the Lord. Not that it wasn't in His hands all along, mind you, just that our part of what He has told us to do is then done, and we rest on our faith and trust in Him to carry us through it.

    One of the things we have done is decide to go ahead with the Rabbitry and get all our does and bucks growing for breeding time next year. I was delighted when I found not one, but two reputable breeders of the D'Argent breeds here in Minnesota, and was able to procure both my does, and get on the waiting list for a purebred buck from the other one. Still trying to come up with names for the little girls, as they are both sweet as can be, and the most beautiful colors as can be. Their father was almost a silvered cream all over, and their mother was the normal fluffy buff color with a deep pumpkin color underneath when you moved the fur back. 

   I absolutely love the temperament of one of them, as she already hops right up to the door each time I come, and nuzzles my hand. I am pretty sure that the sweet girl who raised her from a newborn kit really loved on her and handled her a lot. I am thinking she would do great with a name like Nutmeg or Cream because of her sweetness. My other doe has quite a spunky personality, and is friendly but needs some time to settle in. So far I am calling her Gingersnap, but I think I am going to be asking for names suggestions on the FaceBook page---be sure to head on over there and weigh in! :) 

   Anyhow, with those type of rabbits, they have an average of 9 kits to a litter, and so with the breeding plan we are considering, we should have about 200 lbs of rabbit meat put away by the cool weather starting next Fall, if you jump ahead one year. We also have New Zealand mixes, which you can see in the above picture, and those litters will be adding into that total. The Handy hubby and I spent all day building rabbit hutches for the new additions so they will be comfortable and have lots of room to run around in--they can grow up to about 12 pounds each rabbit (doe) so the cages need to give them enough space to function and be happy. It was quite a "first" to be building cages from scratch, come up with the end design of the Rabbitry, etc.

   All of my seeds are up and growing in the new garden, and I will have to be sure to get out there and take some pics for you all soon---that way you can watch the whole experiment with the Back to Eden project here at the Welcoming House right along side us. 

   Tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday, so be sure to check back and see what this week's blog post is all about.

Many Blessings to you and yours,
Heather