Frost and Varmints!

Some frost photos, but mostly just varmints, followed by Mittens! 

A spider does not belong inside, outside is the better place. There, they can create webs Jack Frost might decorate! 

Steve has had a heck of a time with the squirrels around here. Talking to others who have had up lights, he's not the only one who has furry tailed creatures who enjoy gnawing on electrical items visit at this time of year! 

More hoarfrost. 

After another set of lights was in need of mending, Jon decided to see if he could catch one of the creatures. He did and the squirrel went crazy! It was obvious the rodent had not heard that sticking a wet nose/tongue/whatever to cold metal is bad. Jon released him with a bloodied nose it kept bashing on the wires! 

A hopefully wiser squirrel when it comes to live traps and Christmas lights! 

Later, Steve and Moses startled an opossum on the front porch and Jon thought he saw it out near the rabbits. So, he once more set up the live trap and this guy was caught. Here it is hissing and growling at the wary photographer! Jon and Steve took it up near the ranch to release it. Jon has some fairly good photos, but they hadn't made it to my area before this posting! It seems opossum don't live long in the wild-they have a much longer life as house pets- only about two years. So, we anticipate something may have gotten an early Christmas dinner last week. NOTE: Possum live in Australia and other places, while an Opossum lives in North America. 

The squirrel may be leaving the lights alone, but they are gallant acrobats when it comes to the bird feeders. Steve had only filled the ones on the pole, thinking they may not be able to get to them. NOT. They leap and climb to reach the goodies! Before the Opossum was captured, the suet feeder went missing and was found empty under a pear tree. We thought it was the white varmint, it was probably squirrels! Jon put a latch on the chain so it cannot be slipped off. 

One of them figured out how to hang by his toes. Another one had no idea and kept sliding off the long feeder to the ground!! 

Two different sorts of balancing acts!!!!! 

As annoying as these brushtails are, they are entirely entertaining. Even Mittens likes to watch them.

Moving in the Bunnies

It was VERY cold on Saturday, Dec 5. Another super busy day inside and outside. 

Steve fixed the back stairs with a railing so navigation would be easier. 

Jonathan worked on the larger of the rabbit cages that came with the rabbits. The pair had been living together, during the colder days were in the garage with a heat lamp, and lived in spendy cages that were more fluff than stuff. Jon wasn't sure if the female (renamed Maude) was pregnant, but he really didn't want to have kits in the winter. So, he needed to reinforce the cage and make it into two rooms. Maude loves to chew on things and the cage was fair game. 

I took pictures outside and then had a spot of help with Holly. 

This is the larger cage before renovations. A soft hammer blow could harm this expensive purchase on Amazon. The cage parts on each end were reinforced and he added better latches. The cage they were picked up in, Jon's completely unimpressed with. He may use it for something later. He will also need to make a couple more regular cages to move the rabbits to and then this one will be rebuilt completely and used. 

This is Maude. Her previous owners called her Zsa Zsa.  

Here is Maude with Bucky, who was called Jimmy Bunny 007. They moved from the unheated addition to their outdoor cage and seem to be quite content not being pampered indoor outdoor bunnies! 

 

Making Room for Rabbits

The Dusk is dark and glorious
A star upon her brow;
With sunset blushes in her cheeks,
She beckons now.
~Robert Loveman, c. 1901

I love this picture of Moses. I'm not sure if he's baiting the birds or a part of a crime scene!!! 

December 4 was a super busy day. Jon had discovered a woman wanting to get rid of a mixed Chinchilla pair in Pendleton. He was working that Friday and planned on going into town that night to get them. Steve was home and helped me move one of my lasagna gardens since it was in the way of the rabbits. I'd known it was going to need moved, it was the timeline that was vague. So, with rabbits arriving, it was now on the immediate agenda! 

I am a huge fan of a lasagna garden. It is so easy to build a garden in layers and add to it over the seasons. It took less than a couple of hours to build and plant it and a bit longer to tear it down, move it, and replant it. Part of the longer moving time was how slow this lasagna gardener was moving. Not just because of aching, but because I was positive there were tulips in this bed and I didn't find many of the bulbs! I did find some broken places in the bottom later of chicken wire. Most lasagna gardens don't have a first layer of wire, but the rodents seem to adore tulips and since they just go around the daffodil and other toxic bulbs, I wanted an extra layer of protection for the tulips. It didn't seem to work!!! The dirt was carefully piled up on a tarp with the top frozen layer set aside and the bulbs in another pile. Steve removed the wooden square and took it to a new location and later helped haul the dirt over. I was very impressed with the ease of moving the garden. I've previously only moved parts of one and not an entire garden. 

Steve also put up another tree that afternoon. This year he fixed the lights and added color to the plywood shape and hot glued on Christmas ball halves. 

Then, we left for Pendleton to get the two rabbits. 

 

Give Thanks

 Give thanks with a grateful hear..let the weak say, 'I am strong', let the poor say, 'I am rich.' Because of what the Lord has done for us. 

Making punkin pie with pumpkins from October. Not ones Steve grew, but ones that he just purchased! 

Unfortunately, I didn't know I would be short pumpkin and ended up using canned to add a few more ounces and all in all, it was really very very good!!! 

The rolls were delectable, too. I always make the dough in the bread machine. I am not that confident with doing it by hand! 

Had to use up some of that extra pumpkin and made quasi keto bars. Mine weren't completely keto, but they did have a lot less carbs than regular pumpkin bars. 

Moses was absolutely unimpressed there was a place for Grandma, but not a place for him. He took mine for a little bit. 

The next day was spent outside. It was very cold and there were a couple of leaves left on the willow sapling. 

Steve put up more lights, including the big blue tree hanging off the locust. 

A lovely moon rose while we were outside. 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.  

John F Kennedy 1963

On the Bunny Trail

 The flowers are just because they are were so very pretty blooming inside, just before Thanksgiving. 

Jon worked very hard building cages for the new rabbits he was purchasing from a farm in La Pine, OR. The owner had raised her rabbits in a burrow method and most of them had escaped and been recaptured and consequently, butchered before the Dec deadline. She saved out some of the little ones for Jon. He was going to get two does and a buck. But, they needed places to live. Jon reused lumber, purchased more, bought the cage materials and made a place to shelter three cages. The cages can lift up and out, if you really want to! He was going to move the new buck into Granite's cage and have the ladies all in a row. 

We took a family road trip to La Pine, Or  and stopped on the way back for a family photo. It was taken by a  convenient rock off the side of the road. 

The farm, Far Away, I think, was a small family farm. The owner was raising a lot of different critters. We met a tom, who was slated for a Christmas dinner, and the hen, who was adorable!! They were outside the pen where the Chinchilla rabbits were living with a cute small pig and a flock of chickens. There was also a good sized shed in the pen for the critters to roost or rest in. Watching the capture of the three young bunnies was loud and a bit exciting!!! Chickens and rabbits running around the enclosure with two grown ups trying to grab bunnies on frozen ground. Jon didn't do much running, but he did manage to grab one with the blue tail. The boys had painted blue tails and the girls had pink ones. 

It was a lovely day with a stunning sunset. The blue sky went on as far as the flat acres of farmland. It was odd seeing mountains poke up here and there! 

(Jon took the tree photo)

Four rabbits at the Hansell house. Onyx, the buck. 

Slate and Quartz, the two girls. Slate is the smallest one, but she's been gaining weight quickly. We surmise she may have been the runt and being fed with no competition has been good for her. 

And the oldest bunny, Granite. 

Unfortunately, Jon later discovered that Onyx was actually a doe. So, his small bunny endeavor still needs a buck!