Homestead Update

I know I have been quiet, but I haven't felt much like posting, taking pics, or doing any of my usual stuff. I thought I was ready for when the time came with my heart dog. He had serious medical problems for a while now that we were taking him to a specialist for. We had been warned that his time was limited and that his quality of life would become an issue, but the truth is that no amount of preparation made it any easier and his passing left a hole in my heart. I know it will get better over time, but he was my constant shadow and I think of him everywhere I go still. We used to travel all over the place to dog shows together and he had his International champion title and only needed 1 more win to become a UKC champion. I had to retire him from the ring due to lack of travel funds when the company I was working for at the time closed its doors, but even in his final days he would still get excited over the sight of his collar and leash coming out of the drawer. He was a giant breed and of course he was impossible to miss, but even if he was tiny, his heart and gentle nature was larger than life.

I miss my boy terribly, but as it is said, life goes on. The garden has exploded and we've been having spinach and lettuce salads with radishes and such. Unfortunately with everything that's happened this year, I have been way late on getting the summer veggies started. I have tons of heirloom tomato seeds, but I may end up having to just buy started plants for fresh tomatoes in particular this year, which sucks, but I'm sure next year will be better. Hopefully by this time next May we will be on a bigger property and I will need to order even more seeds than I already have.

In the rabbitry, I have been playing catch-up since the surgery. I finished weaning Tacoma's litter with the single Kurayami kit yesterday and attempted to vaccinate them only to find out I ran out of vaccine halfway through. So I will need to place an order for more- I can't believe I had already given 50 doses since I got it, but I guess it makes sense when I think about vaccinating all of the adults x2 and then all of the kits at 6 weeks + another round for my keepers as boosters.

I did end up removing Kurayami from the herd even though I didn't have a doe to replace her with. I have an abundance of bucks and does from the Spring litters so I'll probably just keep an extra to make up for it. I really wanted to keep her, but she was the only truly bad mother I've ever had and then with the eye problem we discovered, there just wasn't any other option. I really need to do the same with Kari and Valkyrie, but I am dragging my feet because I love those does. I know I've said it before, but raising animals can be very difficult sometimes.

In an unusual turn of events, we found ourselves with a great surprise when I went out to see poor Pancake had kits all over the wire. Apparently while I was at the hospital and recovering afterwards, Jack got to her and I wasn't aware. It looks like she had 8 kits, but 2 didn't make it before I found them. I don't know if any of you watch Game of Thrones, but my husband is calling Pancake and Jack "The Lannisters" for the brother-sister pairing and is insisting that we name the kits after the characters from the books/show, lol. On the bright side, the kits look very healthy now. As soon as I added a nestbox, Pancake immediately pulled fur and has been taking good care of them, for which I am grateful. I am actually very curious to see how they turn out considering Jack is the best buck I've produced in type and size. His rufus is also the deepest orange-red of anyone I have and Pancake is no slouch either.

That's about it for now. I'll plan to get my butt motivated and take some pictures, but in the meantime I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!