Rabbit and Garden Update

I've been putting this post off for a couple of days,
but it's time to bite the bunny bullet and share some sad news.

There are no baby bunnies.

I was thrilled to announce the arrival of baby New Zealand rabbits at our community garden, earlier this month. It was the first litter, and we were all pretty geeked. The buck and doe are fine, but those poor little baby rabbits died soon after birth.We were shocked, and felt awful. It's been over a week, but I have been avoiding this blog post.

There are numerous possible contributing factors to the kit loss, each as likely as the next. There is no official cause of death, but here are some possibilities:

1. We were not prepared for the litter. It's possible that the nest box was the wrong size. It's possible that we didn't provide enough of the right kind of bedding, which may have resulted in the kits getting too cold at night. The hutches we have are great for housing mature rabbits, but not litters. The doe gave birth two weeks earlier than we expected, which left us scrambling a bit. New cage construction is already under way!

2. The mother rabbit was not prepared for the litter.  Very young mothers, especially those under six months of age, may not "understand" what has happened. Our doe is just about 6 months old, and this was her first litter. Nervous and young mothers sometimes abandon their young, and there's not much that can be done through human intervention. Apparently, it is common for a young mother to lose her first litter.

 The majority of this information was provided by Sean, who is becoming a rabbit master. He's being guided by a friend who just happens to be a veterinary medicine student who specializes in rabbits. He tells us that we're doing things correctly, so that's comforting. He also inspected the doe and gave us the go-ahead to rebreed her.

Death can be a terribly sad thing, especially when it arrives as the shadow of so much life and optimism. Of course we were unhappy and angry that we lost our first litter.  Still, we are a rational bunch of folks who understand that life isn't a Disney movie, and that nature works in mysterious ways. I'd be lying if I told you that a cloud of gloomth has hovered over Poppin' Fresh. We've all dealt with it, and are looking ahead to a rabbit-filled future.  

We've learned from this experience, and we've moved on.  Rabbit death is going to happen, one way or another. Many breeding resources recommend that if you loose a litter, to rebreed immediately, and in 31 more days you'll have more bunnies! We decided to give our momma rabbit a bit of a break, and won't be rebreeding her until later this month.
By then we will all be better prepared!

So, there you have it.

When one thing dies, many more flourish.

 Last week Sean and I participated in some garden outreach, during which we walked around and met most of the neighbors. We invited everyone we met to come over and check out the garden, and promised many tomatoes to friendly folks.

The garden is looking SO GOOD. Now that we've been working the same plot for over a year we feel more confident in our own skills, and we're much more "settled in" in the neighborhood. I've been focusing on beautification, as silly as it sounds, and we have flowers coming up all over the garden. Soon we'll be extending our fence to surround the new lot we acquired, and then Sean will build a few much-needed gates.

Our young fruit trees are doing well, the Jerusalem Artichokes are getting HUGE, and tomatoes, corn and potatoes were planted  our new lot this week. We've been eating fresh snap peas, spinach and lettuce. Squash and pumpkin seedlings will go into the ground soon, and maybe a small crop of hops. We're feeling proud and optimistic with so much tasty food ripe for the taking.

It has been horribly dry in the Lansing area, but we're ready and waiting for a good rainstorm. We've added to our daisy-chain of rain barrels, tripling our water-storage capacity. We have many more barrels set aside, so once we add taps to them we'll be in good shape. Rain barrels are so simple to make, and are absolutely invaluable. Soon I will post an easy how-to rain-barrel demo, so you can make some for your own garden. If  you don't want to wait, do a quick internet search and get started this weekend!

If you want to join us for a work party, keep an eye on the Learning Leaves Community Gardens Facebook Page, where we post schedules for all three of our gardens, on the east side of Lansing.

Russell Means, Lakota Leader, on the Alex Jones InfoWars Show

A recent 15-minute clip from InfoWars, 

featuring Russell Means and his insights on 

America's debt crisis, our love of convenience, 

constitutional history, the impending economic collapse 

and how Americans have lost their critical thinking skills.

Where exactly is the line between fear mongering 

and speaking the truth, or speaking from the heart?

It's easier to keep chugging along, 

to ignore those outspoken activists who

frighten us with their personal truths. 

Doing what was easiest won't help you a lick 

if things do continue to fall apart.





I haven't watched this yet,
but here's a link to Means's documentary,
Welcome to the Reservation.
Streaming free, on YouTube!

Jump On My Shoulders, Get My Perspective

This blog post contains:

 - a future flash mob 

- creepy Pee Wee Herman

 - fabulous MS Paint art

 - a community garden update

 - sweet music for you to listen to 

 - suggestions on how YOU can find happiness 

and peace in your life, through a greater 

understanding of the world we've inherited

I lost my camera charger.

It's been well over a week, and that little bugger still hasn't turned up.

I take photos for work daily, and without this component I am left using the crummy old camera from 2003. The images are so grainy I might as well be drawing pictures in the sandbox. Not so good for up-close book shots, eh?

Rather than admit total defeat, I will take this opportunity to showcase some superb graphic design skills.
Please welcome this week's guest artist and her unique MS Paint skills as she attempts to illustrate recent important happenings in my life..

Behold, the beauty and splendor of pure creativity at its finest:

Artist's rendering of a re-purposed "broken" bird bath in my garden.

Artist's rendering of my sister, who has recently graduated from CCS.
Kate is moving to Ann Arbor to begin her illustrious art career.

This morning, my sister took the last load of her belongings out of our parents' house, to her little apartment in Ann Arbor. Twas thrilling! I am le proud. Good job, sea-star!

And now for some ranting, of sorts...
I am incredibly susceptible to conspiracy theories, which began when I first caught wind of the JFK assassination criticisms and questionable "facts" surrounding that event. I was about 15, and shocked that someone would have the gall to murder America's reincarnation of King Arthur. (It wasn't until later that I realized JFK was a womanizing, power-hungry politician from a crooked family, addicted to painkillers, etc.) Moon landing conspiracies also intrigued me, but as a high school student in a government-driven educational program, I didn't have many resources beyond the internet.

Then, I became a history major. I learned about the beauty of the toaster, and the horrors that followed in an increasingly industrialized consumer culture hell-bent on living a life of luxury (or a close approximation, based upon ideals created by clever marketing). I began looking for other "alternative" takes on history. Whispers that I had never before heard were now audible to me, and the "truth" became ever elusive. Over-population, Empires, exceptionalism, Disney World, democracy, Monsanto, Vietnam, the Illuminati, the Bilderburg group, mass media... we have been craftily conditioned to become the consumers we are today. It is our present reality, not just history, that is written by the victors - and their goal is to take care of themselves, not us.

Things are screwed up in this country. The hard you look for answers, the faster questions multiply. I don't have any of the answers, but I do have questions. Lots of questions. If you're feeling as skeeved-out as I am about the past, present and future of our grand, increasingly globalized society, I have a few sources to recommend. Take a look at Ethos, a short documentary featuring Woody Harrelson boasting enough information to turn your world upside-down. It's worth it. Trust me. Watch it for free on Netflix (it's streaming) or YouTube. Tell me what you think.

 Like I said, I don't have the answers. I might have a solution, though. I think that if people simply start talking to one another about our observations, our opinions, our dismay and our optimism, we might just be able to turn off this machine and find a better way of life.

Artist's rendering of creepy googly-eyed PeeWee.

In other news, my (tangible) art has taken a turn for the creepier. I've been cranking things out faster than a cranker-outer-machine, and am considering the idea of doing a little art show somewhere local. But, how would people react to the googly-eyed Pee Wee Herman piece? This sort of genius cannot be expressed through half-assed MS Paint illustration, no matter the artist's skill level.

I've baked over 50 loaves of bread since January 1st. The house smells wonderful, the bread is always better than store-bought bread, and it's cheaper.

There are some neat things I wanted to show you with actual photographs, rather than this MS Paint rubbish. I have some pretty, exotic flowers (Night Phlox) that I grew from seed. They're just starting to bloom. I'm proud, but I wonder if they'll make it through the cold snap headed our way. Our peas are a riot of green climbing up our fence, as well as our chimney. Our rain barrel is almost out of water, but we'll be hooking up a second one this weekend. Once that camera charger turns up I might even provide a real-life photo of Mr. Googly-Eyes.

"Very realistic" depiction of the Garden.

Poppin' Fresh, the community garden we spend much of our time at, has just DOUBLED in size! The Land Bank approved our request to annex the newly-cleared lot to the north. It's full sun, so we're going to grow hundreds of delicious tomatoes, raspberries, blueberries, husk cherries and more. If you've been hankering to get your hands dirty and have some fun with me and the gang, this is a great opportunity to jump in and become a part of Poppin'! We have DELICIOUS, ORGANIC, FREE FOOD FOR YOU. We have soft bunnies you can pet. We have free parking. We have fruit trees, we have flowers, and we have a whole lot of fun. Seek me out virtually or in person if you want to know more!



 AWOLNATION is my current soundtrack. Groove with me. They remind me of Fun., but with heaver baselines, a so they sound a little "harder". (I am a world-renown music critic, people!)

OH! And apparently I am going to be engulfed by a book shop flash/cash mob this Saturday, at The Archives.  Wish me luck, as I am the only person working on Saturday, which is also Be a Tourist In Your Own Town day.

I look forward to finding my camera charger...

Mennonite-tis: A Case of Better Living

Our slow shift in lifestyle choices has become the butt of many jokes, recently.

After a few of our Let's Become Mormons jokes
were taken too seriously, I think it is time to
shed some light on our "alternative lifestyle".

Signs of Mennonite-tis:

 - We grow much of our own food and buy things like syrup, eggs, butter, apple cider, carrots and kohlrabi from local farmers markets.

- We don't buy fast food or coffee drinks, and rarely go out to eat.

We do get pizza once a month, or so. 

- We don't have cable TV. 

When we want to stare at a screen for a prolonged period of time,

we can watch stuff online or on Netflix. The internet is our main news source.

We read the paper and listen to NPR and other radio stations.

- We keep the heat down in our house, and supplement

with the two cords of wood we picked up late last year.

- We walk, bike and bus to work whenever possible.
- We're learning new skills!
The more people we meet, the more we have to learn.
Some of our current study topics include
herbalism, passive building and solar energy, plant identification,
animal husbandry (looks like we're getting rabbits at the Garden!),
pioneer recipes and food preservation, basic construction,
furniture building and restoration,
and how to keep our cats from eating violets.

 Note the fine beard and willingness to work hard with 

like-minded folks for food, not money.

Since late December, I have been making bread
every few days. It's easy, healthy, and much cheaper
than buying it from the grocery store. 

The quality of bread we eat is on par with
artisan loaves, and smells so good!

 Plenty of bread means plenty of ingredients. 

We've ordered bulk amounts white flour, wheat flour, rolled oats, 

quick oats, yeast, sugars and more from ELFCO. 

These buckets have Gamma Lids, which are a life saver! 

Sean found a great company out in Utah that sells all sorts of 

long-term food storage things, like oxygen-eating packets to 

put in with bulk foods - they'll keep for 25 years!

 My first rag rug, made of unwanted bed sheets.

This is just one example of "old-timey"
craft projects currently under way.

Just to be clear, we are not currently planning on
converting to the Mennonite lifestyle
(though I'm sure it is lovely). 

We just think it's awfully funny to say we have Mennonite-tis, 

because it sounds like Meningitis and we are goofy.

We do these things because we want to. 

Financially, it's much sounder. Healthier, too. 

We have a greater respect for the things we
eat, make and use. We care more about where our
food comes from, and enjoy supporting
 local businesses instead of Big Box stores.

And hey, if the zombie apocalypse comes earlier than expected 

we'll have a good chance of outlasting the first wave of chaos.

Giving up the Hard Juice

I'm writing to you today from Command Central, the newest technology hub in East Lansing! Alright, so it's technically a glorified computer desk with a television atop the highest shelf. But, hey, at least it's got internet and cable. It boasts cool, below-ground temperatures... in my basement.

Everyone needs to begin somewhere.

Sean and I are embarking on a new challenge. Taking it a week at a time (my caveat), we'll attempt to stop eating out. No big deal, right? Sean's a thrifty, creative and talented cook, so we'll have plenty of meals and leftovers to carry us through. In that respect, the hard work is already done. Still, we spend a lot of time and money "eating out" around town. Dominos is across the street from us. Quality Dairy (which is considered an eating establishment in this experiment) is a block away. I walk to work on a path which parades me past two coffee shops and a myriad of local restaurants and bars. When we're on the other side of town we like to stop at Culver's (*shudder*) or Cracker Barrel.

I don't know if this will work.

I drink a lot of coffee. I'm fine with giving up restaurant eating, especially fast food. It's the loss of COFFEE that I fear will be my downfall. True, we have a good (semi-broken) coffee pot and a sporadic supply of delicious fair trade coffee beans that my dad imports green and roasts at home, from Sweet Maria's. And yes, there's a free supply of coffee at the bookshop, as well. I can manage to get from our home to the shop without visiting any of East Lansing's fine coffee establishments. I think.

I know Ellen from Grand River Coffee better than I know my neighbors. I met Bob Fish, American hero and co-creator of Beaners (Biggby Coffee), and was starstruck. The average large coffee in this town costs $2.00. Two dollars for a cup of life-sustaining juice from magical beans, imported to Mid-Michigan from afar. Sold! Granted, more often than not I find myself clenching a more expensive drink than I expected to buy, but that's marketing! I'm an important part of the local coffee-buying population, and I'm throwing in the towel.

What we're not giving up are the drinking establishments of East Lansing. To the average 24 year old living in one of America's most alcohol-focused college towns, this is good news! I think I'd rather keep coffee and give up the spirits, though. Ah, well. At least I have Boobs and Beer, a Michigan brew blog, to keep me informed.

I made my own coffee this morning, but I'm going out to lunch with a friend this afternoon. Hey, we haven't started, yet!