Bunnysitters

6th Anniversary and Big Announcement

Hand Dug Drive Access

Hoop Greenhouse

Today we talk about transforming our temporary hoop shelter into a permanent greenhouse.

Raising a Flag Pole for the 20th Anniversary of September 11

High Altitude Garden Tour - 2021

$400 DIY 10'X12' Sheep Shelter

Cat in a Tree

Today we get a cat out of a tree... mountain style. There should be no doubt that we care for our animals on the homestead.

Harvesting and Cooking Turnips

We have an extra video for you all this week in celebration of hitting 10,000 views on our YouTube channel. Here is the recipe for smashed turnips that we show in the video: Clean the turnips and cut into about 1 inch pieces. Spread the turnips out on a baking sheet. Coat with olive oil and season to taste. We love garlic, onion powder, and salt. We have also done finely grated parmesan cheese. Make sure all pieces are well coated. Oven - 350- 375 °F Cook turnips until fork tender, about 20-30 minutes. With a flat tool (a cup or glass works well) smash the turnups flat, about 1/4 inch thick. Put back in the oven and cook until the edges are crispy.

Animal Update - 2021

Natural Rock Retaining Wall, without Power Equipment

This week we do a project that we have been talking about almost since we moved into the house (5 years): a retaining wall under our deck. Due to the significant elevation change on our property, there is about a 2 foot drop in the ground under the deck. This makes that area very difficult to utilize, even though it is a prime spot for a lot of different things due to the protection from the elements from the house and deck. We are using natural stone rather than manufactured stone or concrete because we already had the stone, so it was free. Since we don't have any power equipment, other than the truck, we moved all of the stone and dirt for this project by hand.

Rabbit Hutch Improvements

Making Freezer Pies with the Kids -or- How many times can Baby Bear be disobedient in a single video

Peace

 

Enjoying a delicious dinner on the deck after a hard weekends work. 

Restraining Cone Holder for Processing Poultry

Pasture Gate Upgrades

Getting Sheep

SAD NEWS ON THE HOMESTEAD

 Seventeen days ago we welcomed some Rabbits onto our homestead. You may have seen the YouTube about building the hutches and getting them settled. We have wanted some for years but hadn’t tried to get them until we saw that another foster family needed to downsize their family of rabbits and they were free to a good home. It seemed like a great opportunity.

 

We have enjoyed the rabbits. The kids argue over who gets to check on them multiple times a day. Engineer bear checked them this morning around breakfast time. Around one thirty this afternoon the kids were showing the rabbits to some friends.

“Mom!” They called. “There are dead mice in the females cage!” Before I could get there, they asked “Is it normal for rabbits to pull the fur off mice?”

 

I knew then what had happened.

 

Rabbits gestate for around 31 days. One of the does had been pregnant when she joined our family. We didn’t know. Her old owner hadn’t known. If she had suspected she hadn’t mentioned it to us. Sometime this morning our rabbit had given birth to seven babies, but since we weren’t prepared, they all died.

 

I feel at fault. We failed our poor mamma bunny. We weren’t planning on breeding them immediately so we hadn’t prepared a birthing box or area for them. Mamma bunny had tried to prepare. When bunnies are about to give birth, they pull out their own fur to make a soft nest for the offspring. She had done that, but because it was a grate floor most of it fell through. We failed in our stewardship.

 

We know more now. We’ll prepare the birthing area just in case. We also need to check the bunnies and make sure we know which ones are males or females. We just accepted what the previous owner had said but now we’ll check, just in case. We’ll do better next time.

Planting the Garden and then a 3 Week Update - 2021

Accidents Happen

 We were preparing the pasture for some new arrivals and Lumberjack had a run in with some unruly  barbed wire. It's not a deep cut and he's doing fine, but you always need to be careful.

Turkey Update

Today we want to give you an update on our turkeys and all is not positive.

Building a Rabbit Hutch and Getting Our First Rabbits

Memorial Day Road Trip crossed with National Lampoon's Vacation

Chicken Spring Cleaning

Craftsman 9HP Chipper Repair, Including Impeller Removal

Turkey Update and Moving Them into a New Area

Spring Project Preparation and Preview

Door Repair

Family Fun - Minecraft Scavenger Hunt

Just wanted to share a fun extra video this week. It isn't all work on the homestead. As a family we play a video game called Minecraft. We recently had a scavenger hunt inside the game and this is how it went down. Here is a link to the items we were looking for in the scavenger hunt and the point values of each: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-vYvh7-41eEKSZd-HdHPc0q207jg3AUH/view?usp=sharing

How to Prepare for a Garden with a Foot of Snow on the Ground

The Blizzard of 2021

Snow Day

After a long and stressful year, we are taking a snow day today.

Simple Woodworking Project - Guitar Holders

Kids on the Homestead

Miss Independent's Valentine's Day Party

Shoveling Snow by Hand, Should We Upgrade?

To upgrade or not to upgrade, that is the question.

Caring for our Animals through out the Winter

Wear It Out - Repairs to Save Money

Some ideas on how to save some big money through accomplishing your own repairs.

2020 Food Production Results - Was It a Good Year or a Bad Year? (spoile...

Homemade Gits - Family Christmas Gifts

Homemade Gifts - Kids Make Christmas Presents