New Babies

There are lots of new bunnies in the bunny house right now. Amber has tended her litter of nine little ones beautifully and all are thriving and happy. She dragged a few out of the nest box yesterday, though, and I was collecting them from trays all down the line. Vigorous little critters! Misty kindled, a bit unexpectedly because she didn't seem cooperative with the buck. I had put a nest box in with her, just in case, and she was upset about having it there. But she put the bunnies in the box just fine and is tending the litter. Misty is the most nervous rabbit in my rabbitry. She's not aggressive and has sisters with great temperament. But she is timid, a trait I'm not fond of. Sometimes a doe will have a personality change after her first litter; I'm hoping Misty's will improve!

We cleaned the bunny house in preparation for the arrival of Chris of Woolybuns tomorrow. Naturally the bunny house comes first, and my house gets done if I get around to it. Chris is very understanding of clutter, and until we can get the shop building up, here there is clutter!

Most of the week has been spent dealing with computer problems and set up. I was able to strip enough stuff from the lap top so that it functions with a couple of programs I don't have with this computer. Almost everything is in the new one; I just have one file that simply won't come over by email so I'm going to have to borrow a gadget that will hold the file. Training a new computer does take so much time. And I have no hopes of it lasting a lifetime!

Cathy from Catena Expressions sent me an envelope full of columbine seeds! So generous! When the rain stops (is rain a surprise here?) I'll be out clearing a place to scatter them. Many thanks for the kindness of strangers, who are really friends in disguise!

I started a new project last night. In a past auction we discovered boxes of china blanks in lovely patterns and I've been wanting to do something with them. My talents in art are pretty much non-existant, so I've been trying to figure out clever ways to decorate them around my lack of talent. ONE piece turned out nicely last night; two others are OK and one is just plain bad. That doesn't count the pieces I washed the paint off so I can start over! Things are going so well at the weekend craft shows that I wanted something different to sell. It may not be these!

Yesterday before the storm came in I walked down to my mom's. The white rhododendron is blooming, very late this year. Some years it doesn't bloom at all but this year there is a beautiful bloom in the shadowy edges of the woods. Queen Anne's lace parades along the roadside, with delicate florets almost as tall as I am. Black-eyed Susans, with the brown centers that look like velvet, dominate patches with coreopsis and tiny asters. The sun was hot but there was a lovely breeze in the shade along Concord Road.

Our purpose yesterday was to pay a visit to my cousin's cat. She is away because of a hip replacement surgery and will be home today. Charlie, the cat, seemed quite comfortable and well tended; there are lots of people stopping by so he won't be lonely. It's a pleasure to see RJ's house, but lonely without her. Nice to see that niece Jane didn't follow through on her threat to rearrange everything in the house!