Stumbling my way through this life, cracking one egg at a time.
Garlic scape pesto – fail.
Why?
I didn’t trim them properly, and the result was course, stringy scape-matter that did not blend down into a pleasant product. No manner of olive oil or pine nuts is going to save this mess.
Live and learn. It’ll probably still taste fine, albeit a little chewy. Next year the plan is for a larger garlic crop, so I’ll have more to work with then. Live and learn!
We have had the strangest weather… hot and humid yesterday, to the point that I moved the rest of my rabbits into my workshop, where it stays nice and cool. Rabbits do not do well in the heat. When it started to cool down in the evening, the wind started to pick up, and I received notification that Prince George, just over 100km away, had received a tornado warning!
Where yesterday’s temperature reached over 30C, today is a nice change, currently sitting at about 15C as I write this. Windows are open, and I’m enjoying a gentle breeze as I work on a university course for work (I’m taking a brief break from the math).
Because of the fact that I have a pesky autoimmune disease that makes it difficult to function in heat (hello, heat intolerance), I truly do identify with my rabbits. Hence, why I’ve placed so much importance on the completion of my bunny barn.
With yesterday’s heat, I try to get most of my chores done in the morning, before it heats up too much. After taking care of all the rabbits, and moving the last of the cages into the shop to keep everyone cool, I was pretty much done for the day. At that point, I tend to do a lot of laying low where ever I can find a cool spot. If I can find a good combination of energy and motivation, I’ll get little projects done. The day before, I started a batch of Chive blossom vinegar.
It was a pretty simple process; all I had to do was harvest about a cup of fresh chive blossoms, rinse them and dry them, then place them in a sterile jar. After adding 2 cups of warm vinegar (I used white wine vinegar), I simply had to apply the lid to the jar, give it a good shake, and place it in a sunny window.
If I shake the jar every day for about 2 weeks, I’ll be able to strain the chives out, and have a beautiful pink vinegar for making salad dressings.
Today, I just may use my harvested garlic scapes to make pesto. Almost all the scapes have been picked now… the first few I dehydrated to make garlic powder. With what’s left, I think I’ll be able to make a few servings of pesto to store in the freezer.
Well, I feel like I got a fair number of things accomplished this week, despite working a good portion of it. On the homestead, I was able to do a good amount of weeding, cut the lawn (I hate having a lawn), and overseeded the carrots, which didn’t seem to germinate as well as I would have liked. The potatoes, onions are garlic are all doing well, and I’m sure it won’t be long until the tomatoes and peppers catch up.
The rabbits are all doing well; I took the opportunity to sex the two older litters (Violet has 3 boys, 1 girl, while Sabine has 2 of each). Violet’s babies in particular are growing very well, every one was at least 2 lbs, 6 oz. They will be turning 6 weeks old in four days, which brings them closer to weaning time.
With the threat of 30C+ weather coming up in the next few days, I’m fully preparing to move rabbits into the shop, which stays very cool in the heat. Granted, I am still waiting on new stacking cages (they were supposed to arrive today), and I will be ever so thankful when the bunny barn is build (which will have air conditioning). I can only do the best I can, though.
This March was backwards… Started beautiful, then turned wild.
Snow melted, mud emerged, then…
Another freeze. More snow. My hopes of an early planting season dashed.
Not all is bad though. I can see buds on my fruit trees. The chickens have started to lay. And I’m so excited to welcome new bunnies and chicks. I’ve started filling the new raised beds with winter’s compost, and the first traces of rhubarb are erupting from the ground.
I have so many amazing plans for this year, and I can’t wait to get started!
Another month has passed, and now spring truly feels to be on the horizon. The snow is melting quickly, leaving mud and last season’s remnants in its wake. I’m excited.
True, I do have several month’s worth of dog droppings to clean up from the back yard (thanks, Sherlock), but the time spent outside helps me visualize the changes I want to implement with the upcoming growing season.
One new garden bed is already in place, with a thick lay of compost set down in the bottom. I’ll know if I’ll be adding a second after I get the yard a bit more organized.
My plans for the yard this year are a bit more interesting than usual – I want to create a space where my animals, garden, and greenspace function harmoniously. Where the chickens can be allowed to venture outside of their run, without ending up all over the back deck. I want a peaceful people-place where I can lounge on the warm summer evenings, after my chores are done.
The days are cold. The nights long and colder. Ice everywhere. Snow drifts as far as the eye can see.
I struggle with the short days, though there’s never a shortage on things to do. After the chores are done, I can crochet, read, or write.
And plan…
Winter is the time to plan for the upcoming gardening season. Where to build new beds, what to plant…
What will I feasibly use?
Figuring out what I will actually use is probably the hardest part. For example, I’ll definitely eat Swiss chard if someone steams it and puts it on the the dinner table, I’ll probably even enjoy it.
But…
If I grow it, as I have every year for the past four, there’s a 99.99% chance that I’m going to let it go to seed. Same with spinach, lettuce, etc, etc, etc…
I know, what a horrible waste, of time more than anything else.
Things I will eat, include onions, garlic, potatoes, beans, and definitely tomatoes… really, the issue is more of a Amy is far too lazy to cook most nights after work.
So, I need to plan. Prepare for canning salsa and sauces, dehydrating onions, garlic, and tomatoes, freezing and pickling carrots, beans, and the like.
I can do it. I just have to organize.
This is my goal for 2025.
Summer, 2024. I had so much to do. Garden with struggling a little with unpredictable changes in weather, but over all, was probably my best yet. Rabbits were thriving, and I was in the middle of planning deck repairs and new hutches.
Until…
Work. You know the place where we go to support our habits? Yeah, that place.
I work in a pulp mill, and I run an assortment of heavy equipment. I love my job. But on August 24th, in the middle of troubleshooting a vital piece of equipment, I stepped down, and turned my left ankle.
Badly.
To the point that I fell to the ground.
Finished my repairs (though screaming through the pain, it’s ok, it’s a very noisy work environment), and ended up at the emergency room an hour later. Avulsion fracture… that’s when the tendon rips a piece of bone right off your ankle.
Six weeks in an air cast, then physio. The air cast aggravated a previous pelvic injury to the point of being in agony 24/7. Clearly, the summer/autumn plans vanished in a puff of smoke.
I did manage to harvest a good haul of potatoes, and the tomatoes were pulled still green, and ripened inside. Not ideal, but it was ok. Still got my zucchini and herbs, though the carrots went feral, as did the beets and chard. Whoops!
Obviously, the deck still needs to be repaired, and new rabbit hutches will happen in the spring. I struggled, but I also learned. A lot.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will my homestead.
PS- rabbit manure is gold. Eight tomato plants yielded over 150 lbs of tomatoes.
I spent the better part of a year researching before I decided on the rabbit breed I wanted to bring home. As someone who aspires to have an urban homestead, I knew I wanted a breed that was hardy, had an exceptional temperament, and grew quickly with good feed to meat conversion.
Granted, I think I had only eaten rabbit once of twice prior to this adventure, but that did little to slow me down.
In addition to the points above, I also wanted something that wasn’t too common, and was a heritage/heirloom breed. Oh yeah, and multi-purpose was another advantage.
The American Rabbit Breeders Association recognizes 52 breeds of rabbits, in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. I narrowed my choice down to American Chinchilla, Silver Fox, and Champagne d’Argent. Ultimately, I went with the Champagne, after being able to locate an excellent breeder within my province.
Armed with my research, I soon found myself with a pedigreed trio (two does and a buck, each with a 3 generation family tree). That was spring of 2023; and that year we had 12 kits. In 2024, we produced 26.
As part of my goal, a good portion ended up in the freezer, and were later used in soup, stew, stir-fry and more. Some hopped on to new homes, joining new rabbitry breeding programs. The one thing I had not expected to happen, was to show my stock… but I did, and I did well! Further to that, I expanded my rabbitry genetics, and imported fresh stock from the eastern United States.
Of course, it wasn’t without occasional struggles. Sometimes does fail to become pregnant, and extreme weather poses additional challenges along the way. I always strive to do the best that I can in any situation.
I’m very much looking forward to what 2025 will bring with the Ravencroft rabbits. Follow along for updates!
I suppose, all things considered, this should be my first post.
Who am I?
Once upon a time, close to two decades ago, I was young, single, and full of big ideas. I left my home on Vancouver Island, and relocated to a small acreage in a tiny community called Baker Creek, in the Cariboo regions of British Columbia. Man, do I have stories from those times! I had horses, goats, chickens, sheep, dogs, cats… quite the menagerie! After a few years there, I bought a piece of raw land, and built a cabin – completely off grid. As much as that was my plan for my permanent homestead, well… life happened.
I got married, moved into town, had a couple kids, and less than a decade later, found myself a widow. Which, one way or another. brings me to where I am today.
I live in town, a typical urban lot in a suburban setting, surrounded by other houses and lots of people. Do I still dream of the days where I was living in the northern wilds? Heck yeah, I sure do! But for now, I’ll do what I can, raise my kids and try to teach them the same skills my dad taught me.
City bylaws allow me to have four hens, so long as they are housed in accordance with the regulations set forth. Eggs are great, except for our long, cold winters – with impacts egg production in a big way. So, as much as I love my chickens, they are more suited to entertainment and compost assistance than feeding my family (in the winter, anyway).
But rabbits… I did not see any mention of rabbits in the bylaws. Rabbits are quiet, don’t smell, and produce the most amazing garden manure ever. So a total win for me!
