Pepper Hill Plushes

February 17, 2018

I have had my stud name approved ‘Pepperhill Plushes’. I have obtained some seed stock from a plush lop breeder who has been in the rabbit stud game for a number of years – Daffodil rabbit stud. And am now developing three lines of plush lops.

Currently I have two litters of 7 week old plush lop kittens, and have picked 3 to keep based on feedback from experienced rabbit exhibitors. The next show is on 4th March in Goulburn, unfortunately cant make it – hopefully the Corrimal shows.

The composting is going well and I should have my first batch soon! The bamboo is loving all of the bits cleaned out of the hutches.

Bunnies! 5 1/2 weeks

February 4, 2018

So wondering how the bunnies are going? Now all of them are 5 1/2 weeks old they are a couple off weeks of needing to find new homes. I am still tossing up which ones to keep – and am guilty of naming them. Funnily enough – all food names. Guess that is what being on a diet does to you.

I am including a pic below of my niece’s favourite bunny. Her mum will not let her have one yet – maybe when she is older.

favouiteBunny

The great ginger experiment

February 4, 2018

Recently I have been consuming a lot of ginger – fresh ginger root. I have been going through at least 500g a month if not more. It is not because I am fond of ginger, I don’t really like the taste, it is because of the supposed health benefits.

Health benefits supposedly include:

  • lower blood sugar
  • lower cholesterol
  • weight loss
  • fewer and less severe colds

So I take it in a tea every morning and evening  with lemon, honey, and apple cider vinegar. I am getting on in years and it may be a good idea to start looking after my health, besides as a chocoholic anything that lowers my blood sugar is a good idea.

But fresh ginger root is expensive! So I thought I would try and grow my own. So I mixed some well draining soil and stuck a few old and sprouting ginger roots – they aren’t from the nursery and have seen better days. I guess all I can do is keep watering them and cross my fingers.

The containers and bucket lids are upcycled – if this works….. well, the great ginger experiment will have been a success!

Plush Lops – a new hobby

January 12, 2018

I have decided that I would like to start showing and breeding rabbits. From the sounds of it, it will be a steep learning curve. I joined the three clubs that I was told to join. Now I need to follow their facebook pages and newsletters until I start to get the hang of the rabbit scene. Everyone that I have talked to so far have been super friendly and helpful. Hopefully I will learn quickly.

I purchased my seed stock from an experienced breeder earlier in the year and had two litters born over the Christmas weekend. They are health and doing well and I think there are a number of promising youngsters.

The colours range from black, through chocolate, choc otter, grey, chinchilla and a broken pattern (I don’t think it would qualify as butterfly). It is probably too early to tell if they will have good coats.

In the mean time I am generating loads of material for making compost – so I probably should set up my compost turner.

DarkHorse

Mushroom season

April 14, 2017

A wet autumn means a tonne of field mushrooms to be found on my evening walks! I have had many of these delicious mushroom pizzas over the last couple of months.

A mushroom base topped with tomato, onion, chicken, cheese and BBQ sauce. Just awesome!

Summer sunsets

April 14, 2017

I love summer, the days are long and I can enjoy the sunsets on my evening walks. This year was super hot though.

As usual I lug buckets all summer in the hopes of getting fruit from the orchard. At least on piece before the birds (or cows) get it all. Unfortunately this year I was too slow and what the birds didn’t eat the cows did (along with most of the trees).

I am planning to build a chook compound around the orchards eventually. It will be nice to have fresh eggs, fruit and no need to mow the orchard. The trees should do better without regular bovine pruning.

In the meantime, maintenance every weekend without fruit rewards in summer. One day…..

Spring visitor

April 14, 2017

So much for slowing down and making regular blog posts – ha. So I will update everyone about the last few months all in one go.

Spring last year was awesome. The grass grew well due to the wet winter and I started my plan to slow down and enjoy life more. This started with regular walks so I could just enjoy my backyard. And we have plenty of wildlife moving in.

William the wombat is a regular feature at our place. He hangs out in my driveway. I have to stop to let him cross every time I come home.

Our paddocks are well ventilated due to this fella and there are holes everywhere. I am pretty sure our shed is just about to fall over due to his excavation works. If it happens I hope it doesn’t fall on me. The posts holding it up might make an awesome pergola though….

Feeding cows everyday, even in the snow. Brrrrrrrrrrr……..

August 13, 2016

Really hoping it keeps raining and starts warming up. Feeding the cows everyday because the grass will not grow is getting annoying. Don’t get me wrong I love going out to feed the cows – but around midday when it is sunny and warm. Feeding cows early in the morning or evening in winter, when it is dark and cold, quickly loses its charm. That snowy morning, it took me ages to get feeling back into my fingers.

cows2

To wet is really too wet!

August 13, 2016

So when it is too wet to get large deliveries, like say what you need when you are building a house, it is a bad idea to test a dirt road. Trucks, and yes even cars, often come out second best. Add water to a dirt road and it quickly becomes mud. Add a heavy truck with an even heavier load, and it quickly becomes a bogged truck. After a number of bogged trucks, well soon the dirt road cannot even be traversed by much lighter cars. After digging out my car, then my even smaller ATV, well…..

Now I park on the road and make the long hike up and down the hill, to and from the house, every time I want to go anywhere.

Just waiting for the local contractors to deliver the 100+ tonnes of stuff to fix our driveway. I hope it comes soon.