At this very second, I’m proofing a couple loaves of homemade bread and AC is outside processing some rabbits. I figured, if anyone would appreciate the “homesteadiness” of this moment, it would be y’all!
In an effort to not bury the lead too far, we got rabbits! We’re now the proud owners of two does and a buck who will provide future meat rabbits for our freezer. One of the does is a Rex/New Zealand cross, the other is a Californian/NZ cross, and our buck is full NZ. In keeping with our Disney sidekick theme for names, we have Rex, Crush, and Thumper (AC likes to say the T is silent), respectively. We brought them home last weekend and thought we’d have to give them a couple weeks to settle in, but it only took a few days for them to become active and curious in their hutches – exploring their space, peeking over walls to try to see their neighbor, etc. So we figured we’d just see what happened if we introduced Rex to Thumper. I’ll tell you what happened, Thumper with a silent T lived up to his name! It took less than 20 seconds for them to get down to business, and it was textbook. I can say this with confidence because I’ve done lots of research on what successful rabbit breeding looks like. Not something I ever thought I’d say! If everything goes as well on the inside as it did on the outside, we should have our first litter of kits in less than a month (a rabbit’s gestation period is only 33 days). The addition of rabbits means the homestead is almost complete – we’ll round out our livestock plans with bees next month.
We also started planting our orchard. So far, we have two apple trees: a Granny Smith and an “Apple Cocktail” which is a combo of Yellow Delicious, Fuji, and a mystery apple (the third tag fell off so it will be a surprise). We’ve ordered a Winesap apple tree from our local 4H club, and I have a couple of figs waiting for their hole in the ground. Don’t mind the pallet fences, that’s just what you get when you want an orchard, but also have goats that occasionally free range. Without the protection of those pallets, the goats would eat the leaves and/or rub their horns on the trunk, stripping the bark. Either way, the tree suffers…so we live with not-so-pretty pallet fences for a while.
We’ve been making slow progress on the barn because it’s been so cold, but that’s about to change! AC did a lot of the electrical work and we’re having a pro come out to polish things off next week. We’ll follow that quickly with insulation and drywall, then we’ll put in the flooring, have our plumber come hook up all the things, and then we get to furnish. We’re getting there!
I’m looking forward to having all of our animals settled in and the barn complete because then we’ll (hopefully) have a bit more downtime. We won’t be worried about building shelters (for humans or animals) and can slow down and enjoy the fruits of our labor for a minute. I’m looking forward to really getting into the garden more – I’ve started some seedlings, but I’m not sure how they’re going to turn out. Regardless, I’m ready to play in some dirt and reap the tasty rewards.
The goats are still mischievous troublemakers, but they love when we let them out to free range for a while. And they do pretty well with staying close by. It’s Bella you have to worry about! Last time I let her out off leash (and THE last time I’ll let her out off leash), she made a beeline for our across-the-street neighbors – with Meeko in tow, of course – and met their three Great Pyrenees guard dogs. As I frantically ran after them and tried to call them both back I thought, “This is how Meeko dies.” Luckily, he’s still not full grown so he was a bit timid and I was able to wrangle him back to our house and lock him on the porch while I went back and looked like an idiot trying to lasso Bella. I finally cornered her on Mr. Patterson’s porch at the same time that Mr. Patterson himself decided to step out to see what all the commotion was about. I introduced myself and apologized profusely; he was very understanding and, luckily, his dogs were friendly. I dragged Bella back to our goat yard and left Meeko in time-out on the porch for the rest of the day. Neither has tried to go back to Mr. Patterson’s since this fiasco: Meeko because I think he understands he was in trouble, and because Patterson’s dogs are bigger than he is; Bella because she doesn’t step foot outside the goat yard unless she’s on her rope/leash. So that was “fun.”
The chickens took a break from laying eggs – this is a normal winter occurrence, nothing to be worried about, just bad timing with the egg economy and all – but today we got two surprise butt nuggets so we might be back in business! Thanks, ladies! We plan to increase our flock by 6 this spring (for a total of 10 hens). We’re hoping to get some blue and green egg-layers in the mix, so I’ve been watching our local feed store like a hawk! They shared out their schedule of when they should have various chicks in stock so I’ve blocked my calendar and set alarms to remind to call and check in with them on the appointed days. Oh how my priorities have changed over the last two years!
Aaaaand we finally got some A|C Acres merch! We ordered hats and pullovers so we’re official now!
So that’s what’s new with us. We’re looking forward to spring AND to the many visitors we already have lined up this year! If you want to come visit us in our little holler, let us know so we can take our cabin and/or barn offline for you.
Until next time,
Charli