And They Lived Happily Ever After...

You guys remember the bunnies, Goldie & Cinderella, right?



My girls got these girls last March. They're from the same litter, and have always got along like peas & carrots, happy as clams, etc. The guy we bought them from assured us that they were both girls. Well, guess whaa-aat???



BAM!

Scarlet discovered the babies this morning during "critter patrol". She came in from feeding them with a handful of bunny fluff, highly concerned that the bunnies were suddenly shedding so much. Her Dad went with her to check on things and saw the mound of fluff wiggling. So Scarlet came bounding in to fetch me and my camera and here's what I saw-



And yes that's me cooing like an idiot over those little hairless rats. I can't help myself. They're horrifically ugly but so darn cute at the same time. We're not really sure where to go from here. Should we take the daddy out of the cage? I mean, it's been 24 hours, and so far, so good, so????

One thing is for sure, he's getting "clipped" PRONTO. In the mean time, minor adjustments have been made. It was decided that Goldie was just too feminine a name for a boy bun-bun, thus he has been re-named "Prince Charming". Charming indeed, the way he knocked up his sister. The scandal of it!

And so, at this point we've decided to let them be as they are. Goldie Prince Charming has actually demonstrated some very protective behavior over his babies, standing in front of the nest like so, every time we try to take a peek and count the babies.



Bill said that Cinderella was giving him the stink-eye too, but he managed to do a quick count of the babies, and we believe that we have five. The critter population at Boggy Hollow went up 50% overnight!

Now, what in the heck am I supposed to do with all of these bunnies?

Give Your Garbage the Granola Treatment

Since so many folks choose this time of a year to try new things, I thought this the perfect opportunity to challenge you to "Granola your Garbage".

This is going to be an ongoing lecture series of posts about different aspects of reducing waste in your household by recycling, composting, reusing/re-purposing and changing your shopping habits. To the existing mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, I'd add Refuse and Reach Out.

Today's post is about Refusing. Some of these suggestions are probably already alive and well in your household. If you see something listed here that you haven't tried before, think it over. Every little bit honestly does help, so where's the harm? ;)

Ways to Refuse to contribute to over consumption and waste -

*When shopping -

*Refuse to have your item/s bagged at the store if you have just one or two items or for something that is already well packaged. Why do I need a plastic bag to contain my 4-pack of toilet paper again?

*When you're buying produce - do you really need one of those flimsy plastic bags for a two apples or a bunch of bananas? If you really do need one, consider bringing a few from home instead. I even use old bread bags to hold my more loosey-goosey produce or bulk items. Granola-friendly places like food co-ops and farmers markets won't blink twice when you pull out your crinkly old bread bag or reusable plastic container to carry your green beans or walnuts home in.

*Use sustainably produced reusable shopping bags whenever possible. This one falls in between reuse and refuse. The main problem with reusable shopping bags for most folks is that they often forget to bring them into the store when they shop. The way that I manage to remember to bring mine shopping is to fold them up and jam them in my purse just as soon as I empty them at home. Then, the next time I go anywhere in the car, grocery store or not, they go back to the car with me via my purse and are tossed onto the front passenger seat, where I can see and (theoretically, at least) remember them. The bottom line here is, refuse to create waste by using reusable goods whenever possible. For every plastic bag you take home, another one has to be made. Take yourself out of that cycle.

Remember too, that reusable bags aren't just for the grocery store. I also bring mine into Target, the library, Costco, etc.

*Refuse to buy items with excessive packaging. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to buy in bulk, though you can save money and materials when you do. You can refuse to pay for wasteful packaging by buying bagged refills for things like hand soap, household cleaners (if you don't make your own), etc.

Kids' toys are a real killer on the packaging front too. It has been my personal experience that the more tie downs, wire twists and styrofoam inside of a toy's package, the more that-

a) That toy is likely cheaply made (but not cheaply bought), less sturdy, non-educational and generally devoid of redeeming value. It'd also probably survive a nuclear holocaust intact. I'm lookin' at you, Barbie.

b) You can bet your sweet bippy that that toy came from the other side of the planet and was thusly packaged for it's incredible journey.

*Refuse to buy goods made from endangered, war-torn and virgin sources. I've been buying recycled paper products for several years now, and according to this sign I saw in (of all places) the bathroom stall at the Seattle Aquarium-



I'm saving trees left and right! :) Our household uses recycled paper, tissues, toilet paper and paper towels and I have no complaints about their quality.

On the dramatically darker side of this same coin, we have the other two categories, endangered and war-torn sources. I myself would a million times rather go without than think about anyone or anything suffering for my comfort. My husband has an acquaintance from Sierra Leone who has told him before that the movie "Blood Diamond" wasn't too far off from what was happening in his hometown. That put me off of diamonds for good! Baubles are pretty, but people are dying for our vanity.

The same goes for endangered plants and animals and anything else that is irresponsibly harvested or produced. If you can get by with a kinder, gentler alternative, or better yet, just go without, why wouldn't you?

I'm certainly not perfect and don't expect you to be. I'm just asking you to consider consuming with a conscience. Pause for just a minute before buying and think of your kids, your grandkids, etc. Is this moments comfort worth losing a given resource forever? Is it worth some else's having to go without?

Up next in this series - Reach Out. :)

A Very Goaty Update

Gertie's visit to the vet this past Wednesday went pretty well. She was diagnosed as having a respiratory virus and a case of lice - lice which are mercifully species specific, per our vet, thank goodness.

She gave Gert a shot of oxytetracycline, an antibiotic, and an oral dose of ivermectin, which is a wormer/lice treatment. We were also sent home with one more needle full of antibiotics for Gert and a dose of the ivermectin for each of her brothers, so that we can hopefully, with the help of the cold weather, eradicate the lice altogether. I gave Gertie her second shot of antibiotics today and she hobbled around and shivered for a bit afterwards, which made me feel like a big meanie for causing her discomfort and also made me wonder if I had somehow screwed it up and made her worse. But Bill and I hung out with her and the boys in our lovely 20 degree weather until she was back up and about and snarfing up her grain and apples. I am optimistic that within the next week or two she will be right as rain again.

As far as having the vet confirm the pregnancy, we weren't able to. The doc said that ultrasound was really the only way to go, but of course, it's expensive and that they'd have to shave a decent sized patch of fur off of Gertie's side to get the instrument to make sufficient contact. No thank you, not in this weather! So instead we're officially back to staring at Gert's lady business every day to see whether or not she comes back into heat. If not, then that means we've got babies on board.

So, all is essentially well again with our four-legged fuzzballs, and we have a wonderful new goat vet, Dr. Hoaglund, who I would highly recommend to any Thurston County area goat owners. She keeps goats herself, and very clearly knows her stuff. We might well owe Gert and her baby/babies' life to her, which is why we're going to stick with her, even though she's changing clinics. She also recommended that I read this book to get myself fully geared up for Gertie's pregnancy and delivery, and for caring for her babies. I feel like I am informationally always behind the eight ball a little, so I'm going to storm the library and scoop up every last goat book that I can find and read like a fiend for the next 4 1/2 months.

A Glimmer of Hope

Today is another one of those mixed days - the last of the bantams have gone, leaving me feeling like the whole hatch-your-own endeavor was an enormous waste of time, energy and money. And yet, just when we're down about as low as we can get, a little miracle.

Liv found an egg in the nest box today. A mid-winter egg, out of the blue! I feel especially buoyed by this little sign of providence after having been laid so low by loss after loss with the bantams. We're not sure which of our remaining six girls laid the egg, but we suspect Annabel or Miss Cotton, as it is pale, pale brown and slightly pointy - a sight for sore eyes if ever there was one.

This Winter and ice and the retreat of growth can't last forever. Now I just need to hang on with all I have to my vision of Spring forthcoming - baby goats, half a dozen eggs per day and flowers everywhere, and I will see my way through this biting season.

The Queen Goes to Town

Our sweet Gertie girl is going in for her first ever vet visit tomorrow. For the past week or so, she's had a wheezy cough that comes in little fits. At least I think that it's a cough. The girls say it's hiccups and Bill initially thought that it was a sneezing fit. Whatever it is, it's not going away, and it can't be good.

Like I normally do when I'm blindsided by something weird, I googled the bejeebus out of "goat coughing". Most sites say that it is likely lungworm (EWWW!), but we wormed Gert & the boys just a month and a half ago, so I'm not too sure about that being a the culprit. Other sites say that it can be a bacterial infection that requires antibiotics like erythromycin. I'm not overly keen on the idea of throwing antibiotics at every little sneeze and cough, but when you see a creature in your care suffering, you do what you've got to do. I would gladly give her the meds to make her well again, but with our girl being in the family way, and so early in her pregnancy, well, I'm hesitant.

And so, the Gertinator is going to take a little ride into town with us tomorrow to see the doc. I'm not sure how I'm going to get her there. Dare I let a goat loose in the back of my station wagon?

Assuming that we get there in one piece, I'm hoping that the doc might be able to confirm Gert's pregnancy & dates for us, just to be sure. At this point, according to my voodoo math, Gertie is due to deliver on May 8th.

So here's hoping that we'll all make it to the vet and back safe and sound (and without hoof-shaped bruises on our foreheads) and that our sweet Herd Queen is restored to health lickety-split. Viva la Reina Gertrude!

Last Call for Stick to it! Menu Planner Winner

Yo! Jennifurla! You won, mamacita! Email me your info at - pisceschick99 at gmail dot com so that I can send you your prize, lady, or I'm going to have to draw another winner.

Thanks again to everyone who entered. Have a wonderful 2011!

Scarlet, the Chirping Knitter

Most of my posts lately have been knit-centric, mostly because at this time of the year, pretty much every year, my life becomes knit-centric.

I learned to knit when Olivia was a toddler, about 9 years ago, from my husband's Aunt Janet. Yes indeed, I learned to knit from Janet Jackson. How many people can say that???

Ok, ok, she's not that Janet Jackson, she's way better. :) She taught me one of the most useful and satisfying skills that I have, and I've since been able to pass the joy of knitting on to others myself, most recently, my baby girl, Scarlet.



I was showing her the knit stitch, and when pulling the new loop of yarn through the existing stitch, I advised her to keep her right hand needle in contact with the left hand needle, so that the stitch wouldn't slide off. I told her that they should rub together like cricket legs.

Later that day as she sat knitting, I heard her mumbling under her breath, talking herself through each phase of the stitch, upon reaching the "cricket legs" phase she whispers "bbeeeeed-deet", in imitation of a cricket's chirp.

Just when you think you can't love your kiddo anymore, they become hyper-focused little knitters, chirping in earnest. My heart is fit to burst with sappy love over this girl. I am one proud mama today. :)