Where I've Been, What I've Done, and What I Hope to Do

 Hello from the rabbitry! There's been a lot going on around our "micro-farm," as my Lovey likes to call it. So, there's not been a lot going on in the handcrafts area. 

The rabbitry is currently quite full and with trying to feed them a lot of forage to save on feed costs, more work is required. Fortunately, it's pleasant work.

Earlier this summer my Lovey bulldozed out a lot of scrub pine trees and rented a massive chipper to turn them into chip mulch.

In their place, we're growing a nice feed plot of rabbit food - buckwheat, red clover, white clover, alfalfa, crown vetch, and rye from The Rabbitry Center. The rabbits love it. I'm hoping it will work for the quails, too.

Yes, we finally have some quails. This picture shows how tiny the chicks are on Day 1 - much smaller than chickens. I did several things wrongly in incubating them, but still got some hatches so we can slowly build up a flock still, just not as quickly and efficiently. And I learned a lot.

In that same newly cleared area I'm growing tomatoes and squashes, letting the squashes wander as they may, not bothering to weed or mow around them.

The beans in the raised bed are looking good for this time of year in the north.

I got creative in making a bean and cucumber trellis out of an old rusty swingset frame, some pressure-treated boards, spray paint, twine, cardboard boxes laid flat, and mulch. I think it turned out pretty well. The beans particularly are really climbing quickly up it.

Last week was also busy with helping with the art class at our church's day camp. One project was drawing a picture/landscape on cardboard and then filling it in with various colors of yarns.

Another project involved making cards by dipping paper into a shaving cream and paint mixture and then scraping it to make a design. It was interesting to see the middle-schoolers' creativity and variety of designs in all of it.

I did finish another birthday cross-stitch, which I think is so pretty...

...and started another one.

In moments of insomnia, I pulled out my old, sadly neglected Everyday Embroidery (and other stuff) fabric and added a few things. Now I'm inspired again to do more on it.

And, of course, there's the everpresent and still growing crocheting. I think I've finally decided to turn it into a kind of boxy long vest. 

So, goals for this next week...

Homesteading

* Stake up & mulch tomatoes

* Paint quailery

* Start building extra rabbit cage

* Try to sell one of the breeders

Homemaking

* Catch up on cleaning

* Unstick cabinet drawer & put away a lot of handwork stuff

* Pick blueberries & freeze

Crafting

* Continue sunflower cross-stitch & crochet

* A little wall mosaic every day?

* Finish last block(s) of Scrappy Spools & start assembling

* Organize sewing room to be a guest room also

I think these goals ought to keep me pretty busy, maybe too much so, so I'll modify if necessary.

I hope your week goes smoothly and delightfully.