Of Elk, Rain, Sewing and Raspberry Vinaigrette & Lyme Disease

 It's been raining a lot.  You could say it's raining cats & dogs, but here on the hilltop it's actually elk.  Eleven of them decided that the pasture just outside the window was a good place to smash the fence graze on the non-growing grass early this morning.

 We saw one bull, several large cows and last spring's yearlings.  One was limping on one hind leg, favoring it quite a bit.  It always amazes me to realize that these enormous beasts roam the woods, yet if you're actually hunting for them, they're not easy to find. 

 I've been spending my days in my usual Winter routine - morning chores, which consists of milking goats, feeding kids, feeding & watering rabbits.  Right now six of the rabbits have litters so it's a lot more interesting to do chores when you can also check on the cuteness progress of the youngsters.  Once my outdoor and minimal indoor chores are done, I'm off to sew!!!

 This is probably the only picture of me you'll ever see.  I am NOT photogenic nor beautiful and I don't do 'selfies' etc. but I wanted to show the pile of 100 little bunnies I made (yep, one hundred).  I've recently done special orders (my Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/hilltophomesteadprimitives) for 100, 75, three orders of 25, and a couple orders of 20 various and assorted primitive rabbits!
It would seem that rabbits rule my world at present.

 .....in the process....












.....and VOILA! One hundred coffee/cinnamon
grunged bunnies!

 I made floppy eared Scrunge Bunnies, too.

 ....and then I made FeedBag Bunnies!!!

 Mainly I made a big mess out of my crafting & sewing areas.

Then, a FABULOUS thing occurred!  A dear, sweet friend came for a visit and brought me THIS!!!!  An AMAZING knitted doily absolutely bursting with ACORNS!!!  I LOVE acorns.  She knows this and said that as the doily was taking shape and she saw the giant acorns it became clear that THIS doily was to belong to me!   WOW.  

My family has Lyme Disease.  Some people don't believe in Lyme Disease.  Apparently they've never had it.  Some think you should just 'get over it'.  Wish we could.  Mainly what we do is soldier on each day, working through whatever the day brings.
Right now we're on an Anti-Inflammatory Lyme Diet for a week.  Mainly that means you can only eat certain fruits, veggies & fish.  Which would be easier if it were summer and all that stuff was in season.  And if I actually LIKED fish.  Not to mention I'm hungry for a big fat steak or maybe a bagel.

Our salad last night was made quite delicious by a very simple Raspberry Vinaigrette (I had to look up the spelling of that one!).  1 cup raspberries (frozen), 1 cup olive oil, 2 Tblsp. honey and 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar.  Blend it up til smooth and that salad was WAY easier to eat!!!

Here's what's on my mind today:  
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. —1 Peter 5:6-7
Sometimes our lives can seem overloaded with struggles, heartaches & fears. We can even feel that we are in danger of going under. In those times, however, it is reassuring to know that we have a heavenly Father who stands ready to help us carry every load. Though the testings of life may feel like a burden too heavy to bear, we can have full assurance that our heavenly Father loves us deeply and knows our load limits. Whatever we face, He will help us to bear it.  Trust in Him.  (excerpted & revised from Our Daily Bread)

Back to sewing!

Winter, Red Rabbits, Then Came the Morning!

 Well, this morning we woke up to freezing temps and a dusting of snow!  I slipped and slid to the barn for morning milking & feeding chores, then back to the house for ham & eggs, toast & coffee.  I'll have to go out in a bit and do bunny chores, but my fingers were too cold right after milking.

Here's a newer pic of my New Zealand Red bunnies!  Their momma, Russet, is a newbie at this kit raising stuff, but she's kept all 9 alive so far!

 You can see our dusting of snow from one of my sewing/craft studio windows upstairs.   Brrrr.
We'll be feeding the cookstove all day today for sure!  We heat our big two story house with an Elmira wood cookstove Oval model that we bought when we built our house nearly 18 years ago.  Do I cook on it?  Well, only if I have to, I regret to say.  It's hot standing that close to it.....

 Here's Kaydence.  She loves me......can you tell?

The day she was born was very cold & frozen outside.  The very tips of her ears were freezing and we stuffed her in someone's jacket and rushed her to the house.  My husband calls her 'his' goat because he hugged her to life ;-)
She loves us for it.

 The kids are growing like bad weeds!  They are just about ready to go into the next stall with a big hay feeder and outside pen.  They've all been disbudded (de-horned) and some will become replacement milkers for us.

 Primitives this week:

A Spring bunny.......

 ...........more mischievous mice..........

.......and some owls.  These were fun!  I used to do a lot of painting when I was much younger and it's fun to be trying it again!

In a day or so, the butcher is going to call and say we should come pick up our beef.  That means I have to get the freezers ready......There are sour cherries that need to be canned as pie filling, strawberries & raspberries that want to be jam and any last year's beef that's left will need to be canned as well.  Can you say.......ouch?  Arthritis in the neck & shoulders will make this painful.  I'm so thankful that someone invented Tylenol and Ibuprofen!
Well, it's about time I went out and did my rabbit chores.  They'll be begging for treats and head-scratching, too.  At least I have a couple of heat lamps and a door to shut out most of the cold in that little building!

 My favorite song this week?  "Then Came the Morning" by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.  You can find it on YouTube, if you've a mind to. 

Until next time...............Keep your eyes on Him!!!