RAISING RABBITS

     When I was a little girl, somewhere between the ages of 7-9, I decided I wanted to raise rabbits.  Rabbits were such soft, furry animals, and I was sure I wanted to have some as pets.
     My dad agreed to let me have some rabbits, and it would be my responsibility to feed, water, and take care of them.  I was excited and couldn't wait to get them.
    We found some for sale in the Clovis newspaper classified ads.  So we went, and I think we got two, a male and female.  We took them home and put them in some cages that looks similar to the one pictured, but ours was way older and more rustic.  (As a side note, we used these cages to put setting hens in, but that is a different story. )
I had to water the rabbits, though I can't remember exactly what the water container looked like.  I gave them some rabbit pellets that were of a cylindrical shape and kind of brownish green.  There were metal trays under the cages where the rabbits were, and I had to dump the rabbit poop each day.
   At first this was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed getting the rabbits out to play with them.
   After a time, the female rabbit was going to have babies.  This really seemed exciting.  When it was near to the time of the birth of the rabbits, my dad put the mother rabbit into another building,which I think was an old chicken coop.  It was a wooden building with wooden floors, and was mostly used to store farm equipment or tools.  The mother made a nest in the straw, and one day I went out to check or feed her, and there was the shock of my life.  I expected to see little tiny furry cute baby rabbits.  What I saw was some tiny animals that looked more like pink mice than anything.
They were the ugliest things I had ever seen. Talk about disappointment!  I ran to the house and told my mom that there were these pink ugly mice looking things in the rabbit house. My mom laughed, and said, 'Those are baby rabbits."
     Well, in time the ugly newborn rabbits turned into cuddly, sweet, furry animals---the kind I had expected to find when I first saw the newborn rabbits.
It was so much fun to take the little rabbits out of the cages and play with them in the yard.  We had to watch our cats and dog though or they would want to chase and kill the rabbits.
     A little further down the road, we had LOTS of rabbits, so it was time to do something with some of them.  I did not want to kill them and eat them, but this was the plan.  One day while I was taking a nap, my dad, mom, and brothers went out and butchered several.  That evening while we were eating (I thought I was eating fried chicken), one of my brothers said, "You are eating rabbit!"  He thought it was funny to tease me since he knew I did not want to kill and eat my pets.  Eventually, I got used to the idea of eating rabbit, and it wasn't so bad.  Rabbit was good fried.
    I don't know how long we had rabbits, but I got to a point where I was very tired of feeding, watering, and cleaning cages.  I was probably being nagged every day to do my chores.  So, it was time to sell them, and leave rabbit raising behind.  It was fun, but I was not sorry to see them go.

THE JERSEY COW

     I am not sure how old I was when we had a milk cow or my age when we sold her.  I know I must have been around 3 or 4 years old.  We had a Jersey cow which looked very much like the one in the picture.  I do not remember if the cow had a name.  I have a very vague memory of my dad milking the cow.  Sometimes he would take the milk in the pail and pour it into the pigs trough.  I suppose the cow had eaten some weed that made the milk taste bitter or bad, so was not fit for  human consumption The pigs loved the milk the best I remember.  What will a pig not eat?

     Then my dad became unable to milk the cow because of his joint stiffening condition.  My mom took over the job. I would go with her to the barn, and we would go to the pasture to get the cow.  I cannot remember exactly where that pasture was, but I do remember vividly the gate to the barnyard area. We would bring the cow through the gate, and then my mom would take the cow into the lean to on the barn and milk her.  I don't have a recollection of her separating the cream from the milk, but I do remember the cream being put into a butter churn.  Ours looked somewhat like one of these.  We would put the cream into the churn, and then I would get to turn the handle.  We would crank the handle until the cream hardened into butter.  I am sure I had to let my mom take over at the end when the handle became too difficult for me to crank.  After churning the butter, I do not remember what was done next.  I would suppose my mom would take it out of the churn, wash it, and salt it, and put it in to some sort of container.  I cannot even tell you what it tasted like.  I wish I could remember the taste of fresh butter and fresh cow's milk.

   I do know that when I was 4 or 5, we sold the cow.  It was too much work for my mom and too expensive to feed the cow.  My mom bought our milk from the grocery store.  I know that we did not like store bought milk. It did not taste like fresh cow's milk.  It probably didn't take too long to adjust, but that change was not a welcome one at first.

LOOKING BACK

   
     I've been racking my brain for blog ideas.  It has been most difficult for several reasons.

1) I am not a writer.
2) I have a pretty dull life.
3) I lack imagination.

     I am sure I could list 100 more reasons, but we'll leave it at that.  
   
     After thinking for a while, I have decided to make a list of things I remember when I was a child and write about some of those events. There is nothing exciting, glamorous, or of great importance, but they will be events put down in writing for "posterity".  One never knows when they might develop memory loss, and all those stories would be lost. Stories about a person's life tells something of who they are.  I always loved hearing my grandparents and parents tell stories of when they were a child or were young. Maybe my grandchildren will feel the same.  

      
    

LOOK OUT! GOOD TIMES AHEAD!

     It always happens.  Every time I come up with a plan or an idea for idle times at work, things change.  I really have not had many idle hours since the previous post.  I suppose that is ok, but I was all excited to try out my ideas.
     Right now the BIG event for us is the Fletcher's moving to Woodland Park.  I am so excited to have them living near us.  I know that the ones in DFW will miss them and feel a big loss.  I feel sad about that.  I know how much fun the 3 sisters had and how much fun the cousins had playing.  There is always an upside and a downside to moving to a new place.
     We have been so blessed to have the Meyer family close these past 10 months.  It has almost been like having our own kids here.  They have provided some really fun times for us.  We actually lived in the same house/apartment for about 2 months total.  It was a great experience.
      We and the Meyer's have tried to have a weekly/bi-monthly get together.  One of us will host, and we both fix and bring food.  Then we will usually watch a movie or play a game.  We have really enjoyed the times spent together. Now I am anticipating having the Fletcher's join in on those weekly events.  I am sure Maddy and Kelsay will add a lot of fun and laughter.   Isaac is not old enough to get in on the action yet, but I am sure he will join in soon enough.
     Feeling excited and ready for what is ahead!

Time to Blog Again??

I have had a lot of time on my hands lately at work.  Seems that I have sat and twiddled my thumbs more than I have worked.  I feel badly that I am paid to sit, but what can one do?  That was the question---"What can I do to pass the time?"


I wanted something to do that was profitable.  I began to think.  I came up with several ideas.


(1)  I could work on Bios.  I did that anyway, but now I could be thankful I had the time to work my second job and get paid for two jobs at once. 


(2)  I could purchase blank note cards and send them to people for encouragement, birthdays, anniversaries, get well wishes, etc.  I have yet to start this idea, but plan on doing it soon.


(3)  I could begin to write.  Jenna gave me the idea about blogging.  This was something that I had done in the past, but had long ago quit.  Jenna said she began blogging a lot when she worked at Tech Health Sciences and had little or nothing to do.  So...... here we are.  At the beginning of taking up a blog once again. 


(4)  Cindy suggested writing stories.  I am NOT a story writer, but hopefully I can incorporate a few stories in my blogs. 


Who knows where this will go. This may be perfect for me.  It will give me an opportunity to share my memories, current events, ideas, thoughts, etc.