Dad's with the love of his life, but...

Here I am again - I have a few minutes so I thought I'd take the time to write and update what is going on. After Mom died I found myself constantly wanting to call her - there was something I needed to ask, or something happened and I wanted to tell her all about it. I haven't found myself calling Dad since he died. I do find the house to feel very empty without him. I have been left with so many unanswered questions - answers I can't get from someone else. I'm not trying to say that only Dad knew anything about my questions, it is more that Dad knew so much more about how to garden/farm and how to raise animals the old fashioned way. Of course now they call it organic, but when Dad was young that was the way it had to be done either because that was all they had (no chemical fertilizers and insecticides) or that was how you did it so you didn't waste money. Sounds like just what we need in this day and age, doesn't it!

Dad lived with us for 6 months. It went by so fast, and yet it felt very much like he'd always been there. It just felt right to have him here. Of course Dad always had to be involved in something meaningful. He had to be able to feel like he was contributing and helping. Each day as I go out to feed the chickens and rabbits I see his last "contribution." He died before it could be finished, but it works and we'll get it finished before the end of the summer.

The rabbits and chickens love their home. They each have a place to run and play and I can see where having a free range makes so much difference to the chickens. We have 5 chickens and we get 4 eggs every day. Considering a chicken lays 2 eggs over 3 days we are definitely ahead of the game. and we no longer have food going to waste. What the bunnies don't eat the chickens do. It is a much better way to live. Fresh eggs for breakfast and lots of love from the bunnies! (of course there are the "dinner" rabbits - but we don't have any ready to eat right now) And just so you don't think we eat our pets - there are pet rabbits (mostly a "pet" breed weighs in at less than 8 pounds) and there are "commercial" breeds. Commercial rabbits are BIG - often weighing in at well over 20 lbs. They are raised for fur and meat. They have a higher protein content and less fat than other meats, yet they are really quite tender - even when they are older and are classed as a roaster.

Becky is doing quite well with the rabbits. We've learned some difficult lessons over the years about the care of rabbits. Our most recent was that you really can't just give the rabbits unlimited feed. We have a Holland Lop that has reverted to her ancestral Mini Lop she has perfect proportions - but she is BIG. Holland Lops can only be 4 lbs. Mini Lops are up to 6.5 lbs. And Floppsy is 6 lbs!
Needless to say we won't be breeding her! (Holland Lops were created by breeding Mini Lops and Standard Chinchilla rabbits and selective breeding to get the mini size.)

It had not been my intent to make this entry all about rabbits, but that is safer than opening up my carefully tended box of feelings. I need a little more time before I do that, but I also need to write about events so that they can begin to be history rather than a painful part of life now. At the same time I need to have it be now because I'm not really ready to have Dad be gone. It helps to know that he's with the love of his life, but sometimes this little girl just needs her daddy!