mini horse

I visited Brandon's house the other day after his big move. He was watching a tv show called Rob & Big. Mostly it was stupid, but in one episode they purchased a Mini Horse. Now I want one. lol

This led me to other thoughts about my future farm. I would prefer to stay with smaller livestock. I do not plan to have hundreds or thousands of acres for a huge farm, just 5-10 acres is all. Due to space, time, and financial constraints smaller livestock would be more...effective for me. I'm think mostly fruits/veggies, rabbits, birds of different kinds, goats, and maybe Mini Horses for fun!

It is just a dream for now, but everyone needs dreams and goals. Hopefully one day a full-fledged DenJak Farm will be a reality. I really like the idea of producing at least a percent of the food I will consume. Actually, I told my dad about my plans recently and he agrees that it is a good idea. Of course, he grew up farming in Iowa so he is pro-farm.

house bunnies

My pans were delivered today. I worked for two hours on cleaning up the cages and finding a spot in my bedroom for the cages. I could never have a "full-sized" rabbitry this way. The set up will require daily cleaning to maintain a pleasant scent.

If this becomes my permanent bunny set up and if I continue breeding them, I would probably have only 8 cages. I'm not sure that my original idea of 10 cages would fit. My wooden hutches are still outside, I'll be using them in decent weather to give the bunnies fresh air.

precalculus

Math is by far my worst subject. I'm currently taking precalculus along with an education class, creative writing, principles of geology, and theatre appreciation. Out of all those classes I am only struggling in one - math.

I took my first precal test on Thursday. It was largely unsuccessful. I am 90% sure I failed the test. Every time I attempted the practice problems, I ended up frustrated and missing answers. It sucked.

I HAVE to do well in this class so I enrolled my sister to tutor me. She is sixteen years old but is a whizz at math. I started doing our next homework assignment, with her help I actually UNDERSTOOD the work AND got the problems RIGHT! I'm very excited.

new rabbit plan

On Thursday I placed an order with Bass for five metal pans. Once they arrive I will be moving my remaining rabbits inside my home. It has been suggested to me more than once that perhaps it is the odd weather we are having that caused my losses. I no longer wish to chance it.

I *think* if I go at least a month without losing any of these rabbits, I will consider them "safe". At that point, if I still have the desire to breed and show, I will continue. Since the rabbits will be in the house, the rabbitry will be on a very small scale - approximately ten cages. I will keep my wooden hutches to put the rabbits outside in for brief periods of time during pleasant weather.

writing creatively

I signed up for a creative writing class at school because I needed an elective and writing has always been fairly easy for me, but I have now found it enjoyable! I am currently working on three short stories. One is an adult story, another is about this crazy dream I had, and the final story is a narrative on how I'd feel if I ever lost Brandon.

My class seems to be more for people who wish to become professional writers. We talk a lot about rules and markets for getting your work published. I'm not sure if that is for me, at least it isn't right now. I write because it is an escape from reality.

I believe everyone should write. I write this blog to share experience and rant a little. I first started it because I liked writing but had not explored the world of fiction and wanted to write something. I felt a blog about parts of my life was suitable. Then I began writing information about rabbits for my rabbitry website, which turned into nearly fifty articles and then an entire website about rabbits. Now I've written a couple of poems (my least favorite genre), a gruesome short story, and have three others in the works.

If you have never written before, start now! There really are no rules to writing for pleasure. Heck, write about your morning if nothing else comes to you. I seem to have a lot of weird dreams, if you do too, write about them. Turn them into a story. When you hate the cold as much as I do, write how it makes you feel.

painting

A few weeks ago I started painting again. Out of several attempts, I created a beautiful (in my opinion only) Rough Collie with a sunflower background. I tried over and over again to produce something of equal quality that I was happy with, to no avail.

I do not believe I am a talented artist. Drawing and painting is enjoyable for me which is why I continue. I think that this Collie painting is one of the rare pieces I actually like and it will take a long time before I get something I am just as proud of.

Oh if only I could be like professional artists who seem to create perfection every try. I certainly cannot create realistic art. No matter how many times I try and no matter how often I look at a reference photo, I cannot paint or draw anything that looks real. I have settled to drawing cartoon-ishly.

After a break

I spent yesterday talking to some friends about rabbits, looking for guidance on what to do next. That is still undetermined but I'd like to write it out and hope a decision comes to me.

First (this is the choice I've been heavily considering), would be to keep my remaining rabbits as pets until they pass on. I would not have a breeding or show herd any longer. Just five pets.

Another option is to cull these five rabbits in case it is illness, sterilize my cages thoroughly, and seek out new stock. I have put in so much time and effort into my rabbits with no success. It is more than frustrating. Since my rabbit-world return I have had nothing but failure. I invest money into good rabbits, nice cages, and equipment. I lost my first-return rabbits to dogs and I continue losing rabbits for reasons I have never experienced before. I don't think any breeder has had so much awful luck.

I enjoyed raising Netherland Dwarfs before which is why I came back to the hobby. But this go-round is beyond discouraging.