Eight Tiny Surprises and a Race Against the Sun

Getting everything ready around Lemon Squeezy Farms before the snow flies can be somewhat distracting. One minute, Marc was telling me he thought Honey, our new lop bunny, was building a nest. The next, our barn had become a maternity ward of sorts!

Apparently, Honey and Biscuit weren't just a bonded pair when we brought them home. They were also expecting parents! And just like that, our already lengthy to-do list acquired a few new additions. Rather urgent ones, I might add.

Suddenly, I was giving myself a crash course in rabbit motherhood, making adjustments to living arrangements, and trying to find time to simply marvel at the sweet little creatures who had become the newest members of Lemon Squeezy Farms.

The first and most important adjustment was separating Honey and Biscuit. Armed with some 2x4s, 1x2s, hardware cloth, and a little determination, I constructed a partition in their barn stall. We made sure to leave several inches between the two layers of hardware cloth because, as I've learned, rabbits can be remarkably resourceful when it comes to expanding their families. And while baby bunnies are absolutely delightful, I think we'll hold off on another litter for now, thank you very much!

While installing the partition, I finally had an opportunity to get a really good look inside Honey's nest. Marc had estimated there were four or five babies.

Four or five? HA!

Imagine my surprise when I counted EIGHT!

Eight. E.I.G.H.T.

Oh, my goodness, I was positively giddy!

And here's a little something you probably don't know about me.

When I was six years old, my first-grade class was asked to draw pictures of what we wanted to be when we grew up. While other children may have dreamed of becoming teachers, firefighters, or astronauts, I had a very specific career in mind.

I wanted to be a bunny veterinarian.

Not just any veterinarian. A veterinarian who took care of bunnies!

I had absolutely no idea what becoming a veterinarian involved, much less one who specialized exclusively in rabbits, but six-year-old me was convinced she'd found her calling.

Well, here I am, several decades later, and although I never became a veterinarian, perhaps that little girl's dream came true in a different way. I get to care for these sweet bunnies, along with all the other animals who call Lemon Squeezy Farms home. And what a wonderful opportunity that is!

Our eight little additions are now approximately two weeks old, and I've even had the privilege of watching Honey nurse them. Good thing I didn't blink because, holy cow, rabbit mothers don't linger over mealtime!

Honey and Biscuit are slowly adjusting to their new living arrangements. I've tried explaining that the separation is for everyone's benefit, but neither seems particularly interested in hearing my reasoning. Apparently, my carefully constructed partition has not received unanimous approval from the rabbit department.

Meanwhile, Marc and I continue checking projects off our ever-growing to-do list, which does help ease my impending sense of winter doom.

And winter is certainly making its presence known.

Tonight's sunset is at 6:47 p.m.

6:47!

Oh, how I miss those beautiful northeastern North Dakota summer evenings when we can work outside until after 10 p.m. without giving daylight a second thought. Now, the sun seems to be packing up earlier every evening, whether we're finished with our work or not.

So, out come the headlamps and work lights.

We've learned to squeeze every last bit of daylight out of the day. And when we've squeezed all we can, well, we simply make our own light and keep going.

This past weekend, we managed to winterize our original goat structure, which turned out to be excellent timing. Saturday brought a high of 82 degrees, and approximately 48 hours later, we were looking at a high of 49 degrees with a feels-like temperature of 38.

Welcome to North Dakota, where apparently summer and winter can exchange pleasantries over the course of a weekend.

I'm awfully glad we finished that project when we did!

Another project we're hoping to complete is a new chicken run connecting our two remaining coops. The plan is to create a fully enclosed space and the roof is made of clear corrugated material. Now, the plans on paper look wonderful. The plans in my head look even better. Whether the finished product will resemble either version remains to be seen!

One thing I'm particularly excited about is the natural light the clear roofing will provide. Both our original chicken coop and the hen house have windows, and we've always tried to give our chickens as much daylight as possible.

Anyone who lives this far north knows how gray our fall and winter months can become.

Oh, the gray!

I know how much I appreciate natural light, and I'm hoping this new run will give our feathered residents a brighter, more comfortable place to spend their days.

At least that's the plan. And around here, having a plan is always a good place to start!

As Marc and I have continued building Lemon Squeezy Farms into what it is today, we've learned the value of looking at materials a little differently.

We reuse. We repurpose. We upcycle. And occasionally, we look at something and think, Well, surely we can do something with that!

Our hen house is a perfect example. Much of its siding and paint came from an auction lot Marc purchased. To this day, we still talk about that particular auction because the amount of building material we brought home was incredible!

Those supplies have helped us complete several different projects around the farm, and we've certainly gotten our money's worth.

Building materials aren't cheap, and we've learned to stretch our dollars wherever we can. We also try to keep our structures flexible because, as we've discovered, what houses one animal today might need to accommodate something entirely different tomorrow.

Eight surprise rabbits, anyone?

We certainly don't have everything figured out. Not even close. But we keep learning, adjusting, and trying again. And I believe there's tremendous value in that.

Now, before I wrap up this little farm update, I have to share a couple of changes that happened this past weekend.

Two rather BIG changes involving two very SMALL creatures. Our garage population has officially decreased by two! The largest and smallest kittens from Clementine's litter have gone to their new homes.

Did I shed a few tears?

Well, of course I did!

I mean, have we met? Haha!

But those tears were mixed with happiness because both kittens went to wonderful homes where they're already being loved, cuddled, and thoroughly spoiled. I've even been promised updated photographs as they grow, which makes my heart happy.

That leaves three kittens in our garage, now affectionately known as the Three Musketeers. And let me tell you, those three are doing just fine! With two of their siblings gone, they'll be getting even more one-on-one attention from me, which I'm quite certain they won't object to. I'll continue looking for good homes for them, although I haven't completely ruled out the possibility of keeping all three as mousers here on the farm.

Is that the most practical decision?

Perhaps not.

Have I made a final decision?

Absolutely not.

But I've learned that sometimes you don't need to have every answer right away. And maybe that's the common thread running through everything happening at Lemon Squeezy Farms right now. We make plans. We build structures. We prepare for winter. We try to stay ahead of the shortening days.

And then eight baby rabbits arrive, a project takes longer than expected, or two little kittens leave for their next chapter.

Life keeps changing, whether we've checked everything off our lists or not.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

Proverbs 16:9

So, we'll keep learning. We'll keep building. We'll keep loving these animals and doing the best we can with what we've been given.

And when the daylight runs out?

Well, we've got headlamps.

One day. One chore. One animal cracker. One step at a time.

Until next time, friends, keep squeezing the good out of every day!

Lemon Squeezy Farms