July 1, 2013

Welcome, Ebenezer Snooze

We welcomed a new hand to the farm this weekend. So far he does do quite a bit of snoozing, but seems to enjoy chasing bits of bailing twine (i really need to make him some better cat toys) so i’m hopeful our new little farm hand will help us with our major vole problem in the field and mouse problem in the barn.

So far he and Pocket are not getting along – mostly because he’s terrified and turns into a miniature panther whenever he sees her, which thus terrifies her. It’s an endless circle! She has gotten along fine with other cats, so I hope he’ll calm down soon and they can become friends. Maybe Pocket will even show him a thing or two about the voles. The barn feels more complete with a kitty around – i hope he’ll stay close, not get run over by a log truck or snatched up by a coyote. He certainly is helpful when i’m feeding the rabbits – making sure my shoes are aren’t doing me any damage. Welcome, Ebenezer!

For more baroo-worthy entertainment, check out this 51 second video of Pocket and Ebenezer’s first meeting. I swear Pocket is saying something.

Do you have dogs and cats, living together? How long did it take for them to become accomstomed?

4 Comments

Filed under Cats, Critters

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 30, 2013

Homestead Update: An Herbal Pathway (Plus a New Farm-hand!)

I mentioned last week that i’d been working on some aesthetic projects. I was so excited to finally add a proper entry way to our house and am now enjoying the lovely smell of lemon thyme every time i step through our hand-built gate (constructed entirely out of re-used wood salvaged from our roofing project).

I’ve always dreamed of creating an herbal walkway to welcome my guests with the aroma of chamomile, thyme and pennyroyal as they amble up to my door, through which they’ll smell baking bread or chicken soup that invites them to stay for dinner. Many a pinterest pin has been dedicated to the design of my herbal pathway though i’ve always known it would utilize materials i had on hand and feature stones brought with me all the way from my family house in Montauk, NY. I can’t wait until the thymes (sourced from the local nursery The Thyme Garden) spread out, which they’re already doing and the chamomile and pennyroyal pop up from seed. In the meantime the stones and old bricks (stones from a local mulch place, bricks were here at the house already) are appealing and have even stood up to a new refrigerator being trucked in!

To prepare for this walkway i removed the sod (and full disclosure: i did use glysophate to kill the grass) and scraped out a few inches of rock and dirt. I started by lining the path with the edge bricks, filling in the fun brick pattern in the center, planted the thymes and then backfilled pea gravel. This was a somewhat jerry rigged Miranda project – i SHOULD have laid sand down then the bricks then the pea gravel but i’m a scrimcoacher and didn’t have any ‘sand’ laying around!

In other news, we welcomed a new farm hand to the property yesterday! Welcome, Ebenezer Snooze!

More about Ebenezer next week. In the meantime, he’s happily pouncing in the hay in the barn being entertained by the buns in the rabbitry.

3 Comments

Filed under Critters, Gardening, The Homestead

Tagged as , , , ,

June 28, 2013

Fiber Fridays: Fergus!

Today’s Fiber Friend is from the vaults! Fergus was one of my earliest Fiber Friends i was really proud of. Not quite as detailed as the 2013 Friends but still bestowed in cuteness. His mom, Susan risked felted life and limb for these shots (the real Fergus is only playing sleepy here, he had a mission to eat some wool!)

 

Thanks for sending in these pictures, Susan!

Want your dog and/or Fiber Friend featured on my website? Shoot me a message and i may feature your Friends next! And for even more fun, sign up for my weekly-ish newsletter for photo contests with monthly themes and PRIZES! This month’s theme is “flowers” and i’d love to see your pups posing in some posies. :)

1 Comment

Filed under Dogs/ Corgis, Felting, Fiber Fridays, Fiber Friends

June 24, 2013

And Growing Even More

Here are the kits at 2.5 weeks old. I swear they continue to double in size daily. They were cute when i took these photos on Sunday, and this morning, Monday, they were sprinting around, chewing on stuff, growing up in general.

They’ll be weaned between 5 and 6 weeks old, and then kept on their own, with their littermates for a few more weeks at which time several of these will be available for sale. Those not sold will grow to about 5 pounds and become delicious, homegrown meals for my family. I’ll be building a ‘rabbit tractor’ later this Summer where i’ll grow out the prettiest pelted fryers to grow a bit longer for tannable pelts and larger  (and tougher) carcasses for feeding Pocket and any other dogs/cats whose owners care to purchase meat from me.

As a bit of preview/news: I’ll be adding a tab at the top of this website for Birdsong Farm! This page will feature currently available products, including soap, eggs, meat and live animals, among other things. I’m looking forward to rolling out that feature on this website in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Now, if only i could figure out why the font on my website has turned into an ugly, squished serif. It still looks right on my smartphone, but is totally poopy on computers. Anyone have an idea how to fix that?

 

5 Comments

Filed under Critters, Rabbits

Tagged as , , ,