Monday Musings

I promised pictures of the new bunny hutch.

Better late than never, right?

This is actually before it was totally finished.

Now there is a final cage on the left end

and shade cloth on the east and west ends.

They seem to be quite comfortable out there.

Lots of fresh air.

Tonight we Kyle and I sat out on the patio

and watched the sunset.

One of our favorite things to do.

I thought this one was pretty neat.

See how the clouds look like a reflection of the trees?

SO COOL!

Hey! It's Hay!

This weekend Kyle and I went to the feed store to get our feed for the week.

I generally get 6 bales of "Florida Coastal".

It's basically a grass hay.

We were watching them load some hay into the vehicle in front of us.

We couldn't figure out what it was.

It looked pretty fibrous,

like straw...

And then they started loading it in MY truck!

Ack!

They said it was Oat Coastal.

But I'm pretty sure it was just the straw after the farmer harvested his oats.

There is no way my Senior horses could eat that.

Meanwhile, somebody else got a round roll.

As they took it by on the fork lift

You could SMELL it.

It smelled like fresh cut grass.

I would eat it!

So I went in and cancelled our 6 bales

and had them load up a round roll.

And then Rod got home and saw it.

He agreed it was awesome.

And an amazingly good deal.

So he and Kyle went back and got 3 MORE!

CJ donated his stall to the cause.

We put down a large tarp and then wrapped it up

the side wall to keep the rain out.

The boys LOVE it!

And we don't have to buy any hay for several months.

SCORE!

EGGS

My girls are laying up a storm.

I got 3 dozen today.

And yesterday.

And the neighbor's hens are laying like crazy too.

They have more eggs than they have customers.

Which means they don't need mine.

So I have 22 dozen eggs in cartons on the kitchen table.

Good grief.

I've been researching freezing eggs.

And thinking up creative ways to get rid of them.

(I have posters up at everybody's place of business...)

We are switching back to regular feed tomorrow.

I can cut the price substantially

(and be more competitive)

when I'm not feeding organic.

And most regular folks just don't care.

Since an egg forms in 24 - 26 hours

switching from regular to organic 

isn't that big of a deal.

48 hours after switching, the new eggs are organic.

When the neighbors want my eggs again, I'll switch back.

Meanwhile, the rabbit hutch is coming along.

I was going to put in a picture, but I can't find the ones I took the other day.

They are going to put the doors on tomorrow

and then I can take pictures of it all done.

That will be good.

The girls are nearly ready to be bred, so we need to get them separated.

I don't really want ALL of them having babies at the same time.

Spring has sprung.

and there are lots of babies everywhere.

Pretty soon there will be baby bunnies here.

Well, not pretty soon, but soon-ish.

WHEW...

As usual, I have been busy.

But its a good busy.

I had the weekend off.

Rod went to the Orlando Temple with the youth

Friday night.

So I just relaxed.

Aaaaaah

Saturday morning we woke to a cold front.

It was supposed to be 88.

It might have hit 68.

With wind.

And clouds.

And rain.

But Rod was determined.

So he worked on the new rabbit hutch.

Got the roof on.

And the wire floor.

And, with Kyle's help, the side wire walls.

Pictures tonight.

I promise.

Then some new friends came for dinner.

Bbq country style pork ribs.

YUM!

And corn on the cob.

And potato salad, maroni salad, baked beans,

and cupcakes for desert.

Oh, and Rhodes rolls.

Cuz, ya know...

We eat inside.

Even though I bought new chairs.

Oh well.

It was too cold outside.

More later.

*posting "blind" on my phone.

Forgive errors, k?

Day Four

"They" (T-Tappers) say day four is the hardest.

No Kidding!

I feel great, but whoooooeeeee, it was a killer.

Doing plies like to killed me.

(Southern expression...)

In other news, I have 12 dozen fresh eggs in my fridge.

The girls lay between 26 and 32 every day.

There is a white girl that sneaks out every day.

Yesterday Kyle moved something in the yard and found a rogue nest with 5 eggs in it.

Stinker!

He fed them to the flock.

They went nuts.

And then they got raw burger I found burned in the freezer.
Anybody says chickens are vegetarians never met mine!

*** Edited to fix errors and add:
Tonight I hard boiled 2 dozen - they peeled GREAT even being fresh.
Then I made a bunch of deviled eggs and
a big bowl of egg salad for sandwiches.

YUM!
Is it lunch yet?????

On A Roll

If you do something twice, 

does that make it a "roll"?

I'm going to say YES!!!

I woke up on time yesterday and did T-Tapp's Basic Workout Plus.

It was like visiting with an old friend.

And it kicked my fanny.

Then Sabrina and I went for an evening walk.

Felt good!

So this morning I got up 10 minutes early and did it again.

(I was a little rushed yesterday feeding everybody...)

Kind of loving it!

Hyperventilating

I'm back down south for the weekend.

A little behind schedule tonight, though.

My farrier came this evening.

Finally.

We were a little late setting up our 6 week appointment.

We eventually set it for February 4.

Dennis showed up, but the gate was closed and Kyle was next door.

So he said he would come back later.

(Had a full schedule)

But a couple of hours later, Andy put his hoof through the barn wall.

Didn't really want Dennis messing with his feet when he had a gash on his leg.

Stitches and a wrap isn't a good idea for the farrier.

So we waited until he was healed.

We had an appointment last week, but it rained all day.

Which put Dennis WAY behind.

So he rescheduled.

Again.

The boys REALLY needed their feet done.

So... I was late getting out of town tonight.

(And their feet look fabulous!)

On the way down, I drive by a huge orange grove.

It smelled GLORIOUS!

It's such a lovely smell, that you just can't help smelling it.

Over and over and over.

Until you realize you are hyperventilating.

And passing out while driving 70 mph down the highway isn't a good idea.

And then you come around the corner and hit the county dump.

And stop breathing altogether!

Life is such an adventure!

Enjoy the journey!

(Just don't hyperventilate...)

A Little More Bragging

So it's time for a little more bragging.

Only this time it's Rod's turn!

His company did 5,000 Safe Loads in the last year.

Rod was responsible for 124 of them.

8,284 miles.

That is quite an accomplishment!

I am proud of my man.

He's a great driver.

A great husband.

A great provider.

So when you fill up your vehicle this week,

remember the guys (and gals) that deliver the fuel.

They work HARD.

Breaking Records

Wow!

(drive-by post)

Yesterday I collected 34 eggs!!!!

Way to lay, girls!

Close Call

After all the mix-up with the schedule online,

I had only ONE student this morning at 8:00.

Well, actually, I had one at 7:25.

But he was a student from a year ago.

Just repeating class since he's getting ready to take his state exam next month.

(He has already tried 5 times and Florida just changed the law to only allow

5 tries in a 12 month period...)

So anyway, he's not a "virgin".

Then about 7:50 an actual student showed up.

Then at 8:10 another past student arrived for review purposes.

At 8:30 I called the director.

Explained the situation.

He sighed and said

RUN CLASS.

(company policy is you have to have five virgins to run class....)

But he's a powerful guy and can override policy.

At 10:00 another virgin showed up.

At lunch I sent a text to all the other registered students letting them know we were

missing them at class and inviting them to join us.

One student texted back to expect them Sunday.

But one of my review students called it good.

It's HARD to have such a small class.

Not lots of feed back.

And these poor folks are "front and center" the whole time.

We were all exhausted by the end of the day.

I went to Payless and bought some new shoes.

Forgot to bring them upstairs, so no pictures.

They are comfortable.

I have been wearing the same pair of loafers for

... 3 years?  4 years?  Who knows.

I liked them, so I bought 3 pairs about 5 years ago.

I've put several sets of insoles in them.

But the actual sole split off.

They are done.

After getting the shoes I went to Red Lobster for a

DELISH dinner of Rock Isand Stuffed Tilapia.

YUM!

And now I'm sitting in my fancy living room with my feet

on a pillow on the coffee table.

Updating my blog and watching TV.

And heading to bed.

Enjoy Conference if you get a chance to watch it!

Looking forward to downloading it next week.

How the Other Half Lives

When I checked into my hotel tonight,

they were a little surprised to see me.

Last month I told them I wasn't coming back.

Since I was retiring.

LOL

Anyhow.

To celebrate my return,

they gave me the 

"apartment suite".

I didn't even know they had one.

I feel bad being here all by myself!

And I'm leaving at 7:00 tomorrow morning and

not coming back until 8:30-ish tomorrow night.

And then checking out at 7:00 the next morning.

I could move my class over here...

It even has a little kitchen with a full sized fridge,

stove and microwave!

It's pretty fancy.

I could get used to this.

SPOILED!!!

ACK!

The company I teach for is moving.

They built a fancy new office and are getting ready to transition over there.

Meanwhile, they have switched all the state schools to something called E-Logic.

Well, all the state schools EXCEPT Florida.

Naturally.

E-Logic lets the instructors do all the admin stuff

in real time right there in the classroom.

Which means they have re-assigned all the admin folks 

in the home office who used to do it.

Oh, wait!

Florida still needs admin folks.

So I think they pulled some homeless people off the street.

Everything is messed up.

EVERYTHING.

I just got a text from a Regional Vice President.

Wondering why this weekend's class is cancelled.

So I checked the schedule on the website.

Yup.

Cancelled.

So I phoned the Director.

At home.

At 8:35 pm.

Poor guy.

He always answers the phone when I call.

It's so nice working with someone you can count on.

He was frustrated that it was all messed up.

Again.

But promised to make it right in the morning.

There is not enough money in the world to do his job.

But I'm sure glad he is willing to do it.

April Eggs

April is here.

Spring is here.

I'm hoping this is the month all the girls come on board.

This is 4 dozen eggs.

All washed up and drying on paper towels.

This is the OTHER 4 dozen eggs

still in the sink getting ready to be washed.

And this is the EIGHT DOZEN eggs

all cartoned up and ready to go next door

for sale.

Not bad for 6 days.

May I Brag?

Yes.

Since this is my blog.

Yes, I may.

This morning I got my email with the national standings for our latest contest.

Out of all the insructors in the country, 

I rank

drum roll

SEVENTEEN!!!

Boo Yah.

************************************

Update:
Just double checked.
I'm also
Number
ONE
in the State of Florida.
Nifty!

EGGS!

The first set of 20 chickens are nearly all on board.

Today we set a new record of 

TWENTY THREE EGGS!

Cute basket, eh?

That's a lot of eggs!

Maybe in a couple of weeks, we'll be getting double that.

But for now, I'm happy!