Friday

Warm and snowy. Took the day off. Vet appointment for Badeaux. Dug the berm out at the gate, found a tire flat on the Subie, tried Fix-a-Flat but it was old. Changed the tire (spare is a donut, jack stuck in the holder, lugs stuck, cussed a lot. Feh.) Got to the vet 15 minutes late. Dr. Cassandra was really nice, as always. Badeaux has an aggressive mouth cancer, fibrosarcoma, no effective treatment. So she has steroids and antibiotics, and will have a few months before it interferes with breathing and swallowing. She's 12 and pretty spry, but it was starting to swell and hurt and irritate her eye. I'm grateful the vet didn't want to do surgery and try to get a few more months. Not worth it. Poor old Doober. We'll try to have some fun with her before she goes.

Haven't seen the bunders yet today. There's a leak in the roof drain over my studio door that I've been meaning to fix. The melting snow has made a mess there. Now I'll fix it AND clean up the mess. Procrastination, you are my master.

Making brownies. Wish Badeaux could have some.

Day two

They've started making noise when I poke at the nest  – a sort of hiccuping – and they make squirmy lunges that heave the fuzzy nest cover. The photos were taken just a few seconds apart, but you can see they've launched themselves into different positions. And their faces are becoming more rabbity and less piggy. (Except for the black one who has a fat head.) I think there are three whites, one black with a white chin, a chocolate one, and one grey with orange highlights. Wonder what colors they'll be tomorrow?

Mama is looking relaxed

More relaxed than I've ever seen her, in fact. She's nibbling Smokey's hay while he looks out from his box. C. can't remember what she was told his color is called. I vote chocolate tort, though you'd expect whipped cream or a maraschino cherry on top. (I guess we could make him a hat.) The whole angora color thing is complex, with subtle shadings making all the difference. From my limited research online, they seem to range from red-eyed whites like Chrystal to jet black (even inside their ears), as well as all shades and combinations of grey and peach and orange, Siamese-cat-like dark points, and even spotted, like regular rabbits. Some breeders even have the the color genes mapped out on their websites.

The little guys are two days old, and we'll go play with them soon and see what color their fur is today.

Above, Savvy looking pretty, even without the badger stripes on her face.

No, wait! It's six!

We went in and rooted the little guys out to admire them and discovered an extra one, for a total of a big half dozen. They are about 27 hours old now, and you can see their fur colors a little more. That one in front might be a solid blue (rabbit talk for grey) or blue shaded to apricot (there's a rabbit-talk name for that, too, but I don't know it). Anyway, they are lovely, and look at that strong little bunny foot there.

Bunderkind!

Yes, we are a bunny grandma as of yesterday. There are five of the little squeakers, all sleeping snug in their angora bed. We didn't want more rabbits (keeping the two we have combed and plucked is plenty of work) but baby rabbits are funny and charming, and I can't say I'm sorry. Just don't do it again!

And C.'s King Stropharia or wine cap mushrooms are up! They were a birthday present from me via these cool fungus guys. The fat sack of cultured medium has been sitting on the kitchen counter getting spritzed every day for a couple of months, and these two handsome mushrooms just popped up. There should be plenty more coming soon, and then we can plant the thready roots (or mycelium) in the garden in the spring to continue to produce. (We hope.) The big one is about three inches across, and they are said to be delicious.

Weiner duo

Em and Richard were up, and they brought their new dachshund, Isabella (on the right). I think Annie's nose is out of joint. They are about the same size. Isabella is maybe a little pudgier, and her front feet turn out like seal flippers. Annie's are very straight and tidy, like little hooves. 

Isabella belonged to Richard's mom, who is very ill. 

Below, guinea tracks in the snow. The birds loiter around the chicken yard until they get fed, then flap up into the giant pine south of the house. I've read that guineas are good watchdogs, but mine are uninterested in visitors. They do object to me driving the noisy old truck, and march over and CHUCK-CHUCK-CHUCK at me until I turn the thing off. It's like being scolded by vampire librarians.

Christmas vacation...over

I'm supposed to be back at work tomorrow after two weeks of lolling and frolicking. I can't even imagine. Get up at 6? Snort. Sit at my desk, wearing shoes, being polite – even productive? Huh.

So it's been wonderful. I lost track of the days – there were so many rolling off into the future.  I got a few things done – patched the power lines to the girls' locker room and bathroom, so now it's bright in there! Got started installing the vacuum. What else? Read several books. Slept. Chatted up the sheep. Threw the ball for Early. Threw the ball some more. Did some cooking – cheesy crackers, double-chocolate brownies. Surely there was more... ? Oh, hauled a set of kitchen cabinets we picked up cheap from a guy in the valley. Attempted to make a cool present for one of the little fellows – it was an utter failure so I gave him some commercial thing instead.

One of the leghorns laid her first little egg. We're so proud.

So it's over. It was good. Sigh.

Below, the new light in the locker room, from outside. Now I need to find a cool fixture for over the door.