Projects, projects and projects

Picture perect blueberry-lime jam in the making


We are still selling the house but as that is not something I can actually claim as a job title we are going forward with all kinds of projects. I am looking for a truck or van to buy to make hauling easier and so I can get around.  We are about to get meat chicks, and then the next project is to build rabbit tractors as we try out raising meat rabbits. I have never had rabbit but am hoping to will myself to like rabbit. I was raised a vegetarian so like many of you thought rabbits were pets but the Globe and Mail says "rabbits produce 6lb of meat on the same feed and water as cattle will consume to produce 1lb" . They taste like chicken and are easy to keep. That is good enough for me.

Reading up on the subject I have discovered that rabbits are very easy to care for, having almost no diseases or illnesses, requiring no shots or antibiotics and I can tractor them outdoors most of the year so they will have nice protective outdoor bunny lives, until the end.  My husband has experience gutting and skinning them so I don't have to worry about the learning curve  that we did with chickens, getting it in our heads that if we are going to raise and eat chicken we should do all of the killing. We read all of the books and tried a few of the methods but after the first ten chickens we were beat. It wasn't the gross factor, it was the work of it. Until you know what you are doing, it is so tiring and frustrating, wanting to kill them quickly and expertly, owing them that much at least. The knife wasn't long enough, the cone was too deep and in the end we chopped their heads off with a sharp axe.

Feathers everywhere, boiling water in every pot in the house to keep the scalding bath hot, gutting, then cleaning and using tweezers to pluck the last few stubborn feathers.  We had done the deed as far away as possible, out of view of the other chickens. The problem was, that meant many, many long trips back and fourth to the house. Now we take them to our local abattoir. I am glad we know how because every now and then injuries occur or you end up with a few too many muscle headed roosters making trouble so you have to kill and clean and eat them but at $3.00 each, it is nice for someone else to do most of the work. Maybe down the road we will build a plucker and save ourselves all of that cash but for right now, this works. Rabbits on the other hand I am told will be "no trouble at all". We will see about that. I am following my husband's lead but we will see if he is all talk. 

I  have been canning, dehydrating and freezing berries like mad and enjoying the lovely weather lately. So nice to finally be able to have the stove on. Our wood delivery comes next week. We are buying full  trees so have to junk and split all of the wood but I am looking forward to the workout and we save quite a bit doing it ourselves! $120 a cord as compared to $280!! There is something so satisfying about watching the wood pile grow higher and higher. 

All of this is sort of bizarre set against the backdrop of me trying to have everything picture perfect, in case we have another viewing on our house which we are trying to sell. Perfectly manicured lawn, spotless kitchen, bathrooms and perfectly clean floors don't exactly go along with all of the projects ongoing at our house. One day my counters are covered with every dish, spatters of thick, blueberry jam have hit the walls and the floors are coated in sand from a  recent trip to the local beach, traces of chicken bedding get dragged in clinging to the bottoms of shoes and little chicken  turds decorate the porch and deck. The next day, poof, clean and sparkly.   Wait, remember I said I couldn't claim selling my house as a full time job, can I change my mind?


                                                                 The reality.

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