Pumpkins on a Gate

The title sounds like something on the menu of one of those restaurants where the "ambiance" costs more than the food. You know, the type of restaurants that spring up in touristy areas promoting down home, old fashioned cooking (usually with imported food). But I have to admit, the pumpkined gate gives off an ambiance all of its own without any hype or spin. It's quaint, old-fashioned and charming. It's also totally unplanned and truly did spring up on its own.

A long, long time ago (last spring), Don made new pen for the baby chicks from the three broody hens. He bought a very large and deep storage shelf from work so he turned it on its side, stuck doors on it, made a few air vents and ta-dah! a chook coop! Worked well, too. We kept 24 chooks in that thing. Of course, they were only in it at night, but still it was roomy and airy and sooooo easy to keep clean. Don even put a window in one of the doors for the chicks so they could look out in rainy weather. The only problem was the afternoon sun. Except for right behind the coop, there was no shade at all. So I made a little strip of a lasagna garden by the fence to cut the sun's blistering heat and create some shade. I planted snow peas, sunflowers, corn and nasturtiums. The snow peas and sunflowers never stood a chance. They were planted right by the fence and the chicks ate the young plants as soon as the little plants poked out of the ground. The corn is ragged, having their lower leaves torn and shredded by little curious beaks, but the corn is tall and strong and their yield is good. I suppose there are a couple of nasturtiums in there somewhere, overshadowed by the broad pumpkin leaves.

I never planted pumpkins; they were pop ups from the compost I used. I'm used to having pop ups now. I enjoy them, actually; it's like Nature is adding her own special touch when I plant gardens. Pop ups confirm the co-operation between myself and Nature. So when I noticed the pumpkin plants, I thought, "Oh, that's cute, kind of like a miniature Three Sisters Garden." Pumpkin plants by nature are a curious lot, always exploring. They grow and stretch and stretch. These found a gate that was beside the pen and started growing through and up and over it. The gate is sturdy and strong and I knew the pumpkins wouldn't wreck it, well not much anyhow. I think it looks really interesting. I can't wait to see what it looks like once the pumpkins turn orange.

Standard Rex Rabbits

I have two new rabbits. I don't 'need' two new rabbits but that's besides the point. They are both young does about 3 months old. I had to have these two rabbits because they are Standard Rex and have just amazing fur. You can't really tell in the picture but the fur is the softest soft, the plushest plush, the velvetyest velvet and is beyond thick. Their fur is that way because their guard hairs are very fine, straight and the same length as the under hairs. If I ever get into tanning the hides, Rexes make the best pelts. While Mini Rexes abound, the Standard Rex are hard to find. In fact, I got these two from New Brunswick. The Standards are considered a good meat rabbit. They weigh about 7 pounds, like the Creme D'Agents I have. Most meat rabbits are bigger, but I like this size, still enough for a meal and easier to pick up.

The one on the left is a chocolate otter colour. She's a dark brown with a triangle of light brown on her neck just behind her ears. It also looks like she is wearing light brown eye liner. Her tummy is light brown going to white at the center. The other one's colour is Lilac. They're both considered solid colour rabbits. Rexes do come in 'broken' colours which simply means they're white with spots that can be black, brown or whatever. I like the solid colours better, I think.

They are in an isolation cage right now, just as a precaution. The barn were they came from was immaculately clean and it's obvious these rabbits were well taken care off. Other than "This One" and "That One", they still have no names. I was thinking of using names from old rock ballads like Ruby Tuesday and Maggie May. That way, if I ever do get a buck, I could call him Rebel, Rebel. But these names don't suit these rabbits at all; old rocker types they ain't. And the two girls are from different lines so they need to have different theme names. I'm kind of leaning towards calling the brown otter after a tree. She's dark and earthy and has a presence of calm sturdiness. The lilac one is a lighter in colour and personality so I'm thinking either moon names or mist names.

So I'm up to eight permanent rabbits, a far cry from the four I started with. That's it, no more rabbits, none. Doesn't matter what breed they are (Harlequins and Chinchillas would be nice), how cute they are or how perfect they would be. No. More. Rabbits... probably.

Earl Was a Fizzle

A little rain, a little wind, I've seen worse. And that's fine by me. I'd rather be over-prepared than under-prepared. From what the forecasters say, Earl moved eastward so we were spared the worse.