Here we is...

"Surprisingly, each year, there it is again; yet it never fails to amaze. For me, it's the sight of the forsythia and the redbuds; it always gives me the same rush. I could almost be a totally obnoxious optimist in Spring. Almost. And then the Inner Cynic comes out again to play, and I feel more normal."

That is a quote from my friend, Ms. Neverswept. Couldn't have said it better myself and I am glad I am not alone in my adoration of spring. The forsythia and redbud abloom are like a time/date stamp for the arrival of the season.

Overnight, the asian pear blooms have appeared and the lawn needs serious attention. The white violets and the gypsy wallflowers are evident and the honeybees seem to have come from nowhere to begin their pollination frenzy.

Then there are the bunnies. Those little darlings.

I knew that Anna Nicole was due to give birth on or around the 28th of March. I have gotten into the habit of checking on pregnant does early and often in the mornings near their due date, and so I was doing that. No bunnies for her then, but fortunately, I looked in on Precious and found a mass of kits all over the place. Really, I had no idea that she was pregnant. No nest at all. Some were, sadly, dead already, and some were stuck in the cage wire, but I gathered up six squirmy babies, all black like before, and brought them inside for warming. I began wondering how in the hell she'd gotten pregnant in the first place. It took me awhile to figure it out. Note to self: never place a caged female on the ground when there is an uncaged male in the same room. Where there is a will and all that. I reckon she was so turned on by the commotion that Precious and Percival were making that she wanted in on the action, too. I've heard it was possible and now I know it is true.

Later that day, Anna did produce two live kits, one of which is BROWN like Ginger. These are the first viable babies from her ever and I am so delighted. She is doing a good mothering job in the barn so I left her there, but I did bring Precious inside after I had built the kits a nice nest and lined it with Lucy's fresh cut wool. One of the six didn't make it - mom nibbled away not only an ear but also some of its hind end flesh and the poor thing wasn't strong enough to overcome the trauma - but the other five are doing peachy.

The older fourteen are all doing well! No repeat (touch wood) of the pasteurella plague of last spring. The new hygiene has worked. Apparently.

Right now, thirteen of them are in a big wire corral in the front yard, helping to keep the grass in check. These guys are ravenous! Seriously, the corral gets moved to new ground daily and it looks like crop circles where they have been. Nothing elaborate, just a nicely leveled, round area full of fertilizer.



The fourteenth, Ginger, has made herself at home in the kitchen with Heizen - who seems to have forgotten all about the outside-the-house world. Seriously, they both are content to stay in the kitchen and they both use the litter box for all of their pee and most of their poop. How cool is that! No electric cords for them to chew on in there, either.

The shawl is through being knit but still needs blocking. It will be smaller than I intended (the vagaries of spinning, plying and knitting, I guess) but is really a more manageable size than the last one. I especially like the ruffle. (There were over thirty-two hundred stitches on the needles when I began binding off.) So, yes, I do love me some ruffle. I love the movement, the weight, the romance of ruffles. No photo, though - not until the thing is blocked.

One last bit of news - Habitat for Humanity will pour a foundation for a new home across the street at the former Camp Swampy in the next couple of weeks.

Now, I think Jimmy Carter is the best ex-president we have ever had and I am particularly glad for his involvement in H for H. I am also glad that we had a plot of land to sell - at cost - to them. I wish we could have donated it, but, well, finances and all.

Here is more Buster.