Seriously?! Your kidding right?

The things we do for our children... We have a rabbit kit which somehow around day 4 had an incident while with it's mother and now has paralyzed back legs. I thought for sure the mother would not let it live. Here it is now over 2 weeks old and thriving just fine.

From the begining Panda kept saying "I want to get it a wheelchair. They make them for dogs. Please Mommy?" I kept saying No. I'm not going to do it. In the back of my mind I just kept seeing dollar signs for the wheelchair and vet bills. I blame myself in this. I kept telling them not to play with the babies. Remember, they are food. But then they opened their eyes and started interacting with us more when we put food in the cage and love on the mom.
I am so kicking myself for this but how could I not at least look into it for my little girl?
And so I did.... I found lots of small size animal wheelchairs priced between $300-$500 dollars. Then I found an article of a woman in the U.K who bought one for her rabbit. The comapny is based in Texas, Called Dog's to go and operated by a family. The wheel chairs are made from PVC and not metal like the others which were so pricey. Then I clicked on the pricing and I had to read it a few times to make sure I was seeing the price right...A wheel chair cart in rabbit size was only $70!( Check out their site- it's pretty cool to see!)
So I thought "hey, this may just be doable."
I wrote the company to inform more of their payment plan and explained it would not be ordered till the fall when the rabbit was full size.
Then off to discuss with Panda Bear What I found and IF we keep this rabbit how big of a responsibility it will be. I could not help but enjoy my super mom status with my baby. She wrapped those arms around me (morning breath and all..LOL) and exclaimed a million Thank you's.
We discussed the factor and both agree my idea of making the reusable produce bags , saving the entire money to go towards this kit's wheel chair cart and vet bill is a good idea. We will also save a small portion from the produce profit towards the vet bill.
Now if the vet determines this kit will need ongoing care and we do not see it as doable, we will still get the cart but through our vet find it a loving home. With it having a cart already it will ease the search in finding a home. (Our vet has a wiener dog in the office who roams all day in a doggie wheel chair cart- I think that is where Panda got the idea).
I know many of you are shaking your heads. These are MEAT rabbits woman! DON'T PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!
Sometimes you just have to listen to your babies and give in despite the waking in wee hour mornings while all are still asleep and pondering for hours why you are debating with yourself over this request. She does not ask for much and is such a great kid. Besides, that moment in the morning when I woke her to discuss the matter, my heart filled with such love and knew she deserved a yes to her rare request...


I can just see it now...People driving by and doing the double take at a white rabbit with a wheel chair playing with kids in the yard... I can almost hear them mutter "Oh my god, that woman gets stranger and stranger every year. From chickens to goats, to tilling up almost all available space for gardens and now...a rabbit in a wheel chair...."
Who cares, right? All that matters is my children are happy and that makes it just fine by me.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

The one eyed owl and the bean theives...

This story starts from back when Frog and I went over to the 1 acre homestead to get strawberry plants, which Chris was trying to thin out from his overgrown bed. Frog was strolling around and found a plastic owl. The kind of which people put out to scare off other birds. She carried it around and was "in love". Chris told her she could have it and when we asked if it had a name...well it started out as "salad". Then she said it was "bouncy ball". Now it is called "salad bouncy ball". What can I say? She's 3.

Well this particular owl was rather old. It had one eye missing and Chris said an eye patch would be good on him.
The owl came home with us and he was promptly made an eye patch in raging pirate fashion.

His new home is on the fence post next to the pole bean patch. Guarding our bean seeds.
Or so I thought...
It has been 2 1/2 weeks since I planted 5 rows of beans. Only 3 seedlings emerged. That is when I became rather puzzled. So yesterday I decided to rake up a portion of one row to see if my seeds may have rotted. And I raked. And I dug...No seeds to be found. In all (5!) rows..Not a single morsel was in sight and I even sifted just to make sure.
I looked up at "Salad Bouncy Ball" and sternly said "What have you been doing up there? Where are my beans? Your good eye is pointed at this patch so you must have seen something!"
So I walked back to the house and brought the last of all my bean seeds to replant. I grabbed some aluminum pie plates and tied them up around the patch in hopes he would keep his eye better trained with the flashy new decor.

As I watered all the freshly planted bean rows, I caught movement by the pond. As I turned there was a crow hopping onto a rock, undeterred by my presence 10 feet away. To add insult to injury of losing my bean seeds to this feathered thief, he swiftly nabbed one of the goldfish swimming around! He flew just outside the garden and mocked me by looking my direction and began to eat that goldfish! I threw my hose down and shook my finger at that owl and said "Now I know why Chris was so at ease to re home you! Your a terrible bird predator!"
The garden is looking rather shabby with my pie plate "mobiles" and the plastic drop cloth covering a portion of my bean row. But I refuse to lose another bean seed or plant to those pests.
In all my years of gardening I have never lost seeds to the birds. I guess it is a good thing I started so many in flats to put in the new garden portion.
Mark my word. I will never trust another one eyed owl again.
I have compost tea to make and Jars of lemon balm and spearmint sun tea to stir before I tend to the Comfrey infusing in Olive oil.

Need to get the summer first aid salve supplies stocked up.
Not to mention till a spot for the tobacco seedlings...I forgot all about them until I put my flats of beans under the lights..
As the Captain likes to say"Less grass to mow" , while he chuckles watching me play Farmer.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

Panda's ring making & Expanding the garden

Panda is making friendship rings to share with her new friends and a few of her best friends from the other school. We spotted some glass "stone" rings at a craft herb fair she adored. Although I would have loved to indulge her desire, I had to sway her expensive purchase. I knew we could make them at home for a drastic fraction of the cost. They mean more that she makes them herself anyway. After a massive craft store search, I finally found the blank rings at Pat Catan's (3 for $1.35). I found some pretty square glass beads to top them( a strand of 20(?) for under $3). I think they came out very nice and since the cost was so low, she is able to make a few for each friend in a different color:
On my way out I spotted a seed rack of Cook's garden and Burpee Heirloom seeds...How could I not stop and search it over?
I walked away with 2 packets of San Marzano (sun drying and sauce kind),Pickling cukes, Louisiana long green eggplant(bitter free heirloom kind), and a much desired purple pole bean "Trionfo Violetto from the cook's garden collection at $1.49 a packet (normally $2.49 a packet). I grabbed a packet of Rosa Bianca eggplant (79 cents) Charleston gray watermelon (89 cents a pack) and a packet of Delicata squash (at 99 cents a pack~ not a single seed I started from last year garden saves sprouted so a new pack was needed to supplement my squash). Those were from the Burpee heirloom collection and were 50% off the retail price.
All that new seed brings more variety to the table/freezer and of course the Farmers market table. And you know what that means....

I had the best excuse to expand the garden...again!
Instead of tilling the grassy area at this time, I bought 120 ft roll of weed blocker. All are started indoors so I can just cut a hole through the blocker, dig with a post hole digger, add compost to each and plant the seedling. In the fall, the blocker comes up and the area gets tilled under for next year.
Here is the complete hill top Garden area, the morning after the Frost warning(**pardon the "double vision" middle area where the pic's should have cropped**):

I have decided to make up a few produce bags to sell at the market. No picture yet, but that is coming soon. Found the greatest sign idea to put above the small display over at *The Modern Cottage*. It is perfect!I may have to do a different version but with the same tutorial. I will also make one to hang from our Canopy top front with our name "The Unusual Farmchicks". A sign with your business/farm name must be displayed at each booth.
Selling heirloom produce in a rainbow of colors without the use of pesticides/chemicals. Naked as Mother Nature intended and families prefer. (how's that for a portion of our "farm" description for the township website?! wonder if they will include the word "naked"?)
Found a few more pillow cases in the style of our "Farmchickness".
The Market starts July 13th. I wish I could find a table top size cash register (that works) off the freecycle or craigslist.. Would be nice to have in the case of multiple people ready at once and preventing my mind from a temporary addition bubble.
So much more I could babble on about but you will just have to wait till my next writing...
Sweetest dreams,
~Tammie

New things popping in and a new adventure coming up!

Our other doe gave birth 10 kits 4 days ago. This one twitches and squeeks each time it gets bumped with straw or we touch it. At just a day old it was jumping above the others. So funny..I could not help but to name it "tweaker"..


A silkie hen I was given along with the roo has hatched out her nest which was transported with her. 5 babies out of 7 eggs. The other 2 did not make it out of the shell all of the way. I am in love with the twin white/silver ones.

Speaking of babies. Our dear Grizzle Bear will soon have some cubs to love. Am I happy about it? Not. Not really. I leave one night while she is in heat and SOMEONE left her out all night on her line. GRRR! She was to be fixed after we received back taxes but went into heat early, so we were waiting it out. Now we have little grizzle cubs coming the first week in June....


Our fairy Toad log inhabitant was out sunning itself and gave me a scare...

I was going out the North gate towards our new Strawberry bed and it popped its head up to see what I was doing. Then slithered into it's log home:

I have finished up our Market produce signs. I tried spray paint- did not like the look. So I used white latex paint, then a chalkboard paint for writing in names/prices. the dowel legs will be stuck into small pots of herbs to hold them up behind the produce.


I dyed our canvas drop cloth for the PVC frame canopy. I wanted a sky blue and got it. The best part was unintentional- if seen in person, it appears like a light blue sky with thinly white clouds above. Very cool. Wish it would show in the pic.


I have been told by a member our township commerce I WILL do their farmers market on Friday's from 4-7... It will be their first year in the running and after the market they will have bands playing music. The cool part is the setting. There is a very pretty and big lake behind the township office/hall. A beautiful grass strip on the lakes edge. Our stands will be on that grass strip with the lake as our back drop.
I have decided to bake some rustic Italian loaves, make up some fresh Horseradish sauce and seasonal tarts to sell along with our Garden bounty.
Yes, I am going above and beyond what most do for their farmer market stands. But this is more then just selling produce. This is about bonding with Panda over something we can enjoy and enhance her social/math skills. All Heirloom varieties, locally grown, produced and seasonal.
We are going to have a shabby chic "cottage farm" theme going for our stand. The light pastels of blue and green along with vintage scale (so kindly given to us from a local resident), Our hand made "cottage farm girl" Aprons, our galvanized tub which will hold the heirloom "orange tender sweet" watermelon, lunch brown paper bags folded down to hold the black cherry / yellow pear tomatoes, beans and such. Larger veggies displayed in our vintage crates I have collected over the years. I want an image to draw people in since we are selling the not so usual varieties of produce. I will also have index sized photo copies of recipe suggestions for the varieties to encourage their use- only given with purchase.
We are not doing this as a career. We are doing this as a hobby. Most would not find what we do to be cost effective when you thing about a bag of tomatoes for $2 with a cost of 7 cents endured per product plus what it takes for the raising of the produce. Using the brown lunch bags as containers MAKES it cost effective. Those produce baskets are not cheap and using another bag to dump the contents in is not always appealing to people.
We will still do our driveway stand on Monday- Wednesdays. Just not the baked goods or other bonus items.
We are having fun planning it and making up our Aprons from vintage pillow cases. Since Panda and I look a lot alike, we plan to put our hair in pony tails along with our Aprons as a uniform for the Friday Markets.
Looks like it may get close to Frost temps tonight. I have plants to cover and a few more Aprons to finish sewing.
Sweetest dreams,
~Tammie

Part 2 of the 4 poster bed tutorial

The Captain had to return his laptop to work and I was not able to get my pictures off of it before that..So I made up a series of How to pictures for assembling the 4 poster bed- to finish off the tutorial part 1.
Step one~ is attaching your 4x4 "posts" to the bed rail ends. Mine have a flat metal piece with "screw hole lines". This is where you will screw the 4X4 posts into the metal bed frame.
Step two~ would be attaching the top rails. See the pictures in part one to see location placement. I put mine so the rails are straight with the top of the 4 posts.**TIP** if you choose to put sheers on, then you may want to paint your 2x2's now then put your rings on which hold your sheers. This way you do not need to unscrew your rails for later placement.**
This picture shows step 1 and 2 done:


Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:



Step 6:


You will do both head and foot boards in the same manner except your head board would be higher/taller then the foot board.
I finished off my bed with a few layers of Galaxy depth black paint and put sheers on the top rails with clear crystal shower rings. I also put a decorative thin wood trim to the top of the head/foot boards to hide the plywood showing between the 2x4 top boards. It does not show well in the pictures, but use your imagination:

As you can also see, the second side of sheers has not been finished. I decided NOT to sew them. Instead I used "stitch witchery" or iron on seem tape (which I ran out of mid project..Is that not the way it always happens?) This also helped to act as a stronger hold for the holes poked through for the shower rings.
This is a horrible picture of the foot board but as I mentioned before, this camera is rather moody. Hopefully I will have a new one before the summer ends...
If you make your own 4 poster bed from the help of this tutorial, I would love to see a picture of it! Please leave a comment with a link to your site/picture.
Many new things popping in over here and I need to tend to them!
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

One last kit left. I do not know why the other 2 passed, may have something to with them being on deaths door when I warmed them up. But this little one is going strong and is getting all of mommy's milk- hence the huge size I believe.


I put "chubs" (who is no longer chubby) into her own pen next to the garden. Plan to move the pen every few days so she has fresh greens and dandelions to chomp on. The other Rabbit is now back into the hutch, who is looking more chubby everyday, hopefully for babies to arrive within a week. During the day I let the rabbits romp with the chickens in their pen. All get together very well. Rabbits are such curious creatures. And the fun part is they greet us at the fence

Picked up a silkie rooster from one of the Gal's on my local homesteading group. I missed the morning crowing and seeing their little dance around the ladies. No name as of yet.

Also got 2 of the Delawares I gave to Chris and Lisa. All grown up now. Hope to see if I can get their roo Dandelion back. Such a great rooster and I know Lil' Man misses him. Keeps asking how Dandelion is doing...
The garden is coming along nicely. We have the cucumber teepee's up with string as the support climbers. Picked up more river rock fopr pathways into the 2 of the quarters- the herb and the bean quarter.

The PvC thingy is set up so I can place the Canvas drop cloth over it and place grommets in the right spots for the driveway Market stand Canopy. The legs will go into buckets. 1/4 cement then soil on top so we can plant herbs into it and have a nice appearance (plus a pleasing scent).
The hops have been moved into the North west corner of the garden where they will receive more sun. Set up a tall tee pee with strings hanging down for them to climb up.
I also put a 100foot long row of wild Black Rspberries in at the property line. Put enough space between so I can add more or root the long canes in the future.

Also moved the grapevines about 15 feet from the fruit canes. We have 4 concord grape vines growing good now. I would like to add about 5 more seedless table grape vines in a "box" U shape 5 feet to the side of the concords. Then maybe add in about 6 blueberry bush's from Henry Fields "our choice" special- which happens to be Blue Crop- an Heirloom blueberry variety. I put the 4 we received in the front yard by the driveway.
Henry Fields has that great "spend $50 get $25 off" special. Ad that with their special 2 blueberries for $10 and it's a great deal. Need to place that order today if the Capatin gives me the go ahead after balancing the book. LOL.
Going to pick up strawberry runners from the 1 Acre homestead (Chris and Lisa) with Frog today. Need to get a strawberry raised bed done up..like right now..
Oh how I love this time of year. No time for sitting around being lazy. Feeling the sun warm my shoulders, hear the birds singing their songs and toads hopping through the garden. Such simple pleasures bring the biggest satisfaction.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie