Raising Baby Cottontails Part 2 (The Cuteness Grows!) : The Ladybug Chronicles

It's been awhile since I posted about our

baby rabbits. The sweet things!

I tried while I was in Ohio but alas...
getting groceries,
shopping for a family reunion,
taking time to eat some
delicious Wendy's chili
(one of my favorite snacks while traveling)
having some Facetime with My Love,
(whom I hadn't seen in four weeks)
and catching up on some texts
because I don't have cell
service at the cabin..


This all took a toll on my blogging time.
A sad reality when I'm traveling.
I try not to stress about it but, in the future,
 I plan to work on very short posts and
a picture. Just to keep things fresh. 
So... here are some pictures and 
a bit of what's going on as they
were getting older.

Roo.. Piglet and Eyore :)

They really go after that milk!
I wonder if they miss their mommy?

This wash cloth that we put in the tub became somewhat like a security blanket to them.
And they used it to keep warm.
We always kept the window open
because we wanted them to stay
pretty acclimated to being outside.

They also liked hiding out in the open-ended oat container that we stuck in there.
Even though they were very easy to handle,
they still acted like wild rabbits.
And we tried not to handle them more than
we needed to so they wouldn't be too friendly. 
Since our goal was to return
 them to the wild.

Look at that! OMGoodness.

love ..
love ..
love.. 

swoon...

The sweetest little cotton tail. 

Still pretty small but they are losing that baby-baby look. And by now,
as you can see, 
they are eating native grass.
I would go out and pick it 
for them once a day. 

When they were about 10 days old, 
we noticed that their nest grasses
were disappearing. 
We came to the conclusion that 
they were eating it and
recognizing what type it was, 
I was glad that we had so much
growing in our field. 
It's amazing how much they eat how
fast they grow. Here, they were close to three weeks old.

 Hmmm..
Where are the bunnies?

Oh.. they have grass.
When they hear me crinkling the
grocery bag, and see me put the grass out,
they're quick to come out to eat!

You can see the size of the tub.
We had to transition to a large one
because they were already jumping to the 
top. Rabbits can jump about four times
their length...
and that is straight
 UP! 

Sometimes, two of them would
 grab the same piece of grass and touch 
noses as they came to the middle.
Such cuteness!

At about three weeks, we introduced
rabbit pellets. And I was so relieved that they could have them because spring is our dry time here and I was having a hard time
picking enough grass to keep up with
their growing appetites.
I think they eat pretty much constantly
during their waking hours!
But we were so happy knowing that they
were growing and thriving! 

They were starting to drink a little less milk
at this point and so we
put a water bottle in the tub.
They were getting drinks in no time at all. 
Such smart little things!
And soooo cute!

I found this screen in my stash pile and it worked
marvelously to keep the little jumpers in
their pen!

 Shortly after they started eating pellets, 
we were able to feed
them dandelion greens as well. 
Although there isn't a lot of 
grass here in the spring, these grow in ABUNDANCE!
That looks like a lot of greens but my goodness
can these little babies put away
the food. I was careful to give them
a nice variety and they
had made the transition
to solid food very successfully
and we were so thankful.
According to others, that's where
they sometimes lose them because they
don't transition well.

I am very thankful that we
grabbed the nesting grass
with the newborns. I believe
that that made a big difference!
And feeding them yoghurt in their
milk gave them the extra
pro-biotics that helped with digestion.

My daughter researched well before
deciding what kind and how to feed
the milk they needed.

Awww...

This is better than Mr. McGregor's garden!

Our sources actually were very
specific about solid food.
No lettuce...carrots or cabbage
or anything of that sort.
Only native grasses and pellets..
So, that's what we did!

The internet.
What a wonderful resource.

So that's the progress up to this
point. Babies growing
and happy so far..

But soon, they will begin changing their
little bunny minds about captivity!

More on that next time.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
I hope that your
week has been wonderful.
I am SOOO glad to be home.

I've had some interesting health
developments.
Nothing serious but a possible concern.
My BP is up above normal.
I'm going to find out what that is all about.

I would love to hear about your
nature experiences and stories!

Have a very blessed weekend.
Tamara xoxo

More Photos and Stories of our "Country Living" Trip Back East : Our Wanderings

Here are a few more pictures and stories
about our visit to Ohio.

 This cute little guy (or gal) has taken up residence in this park and shop. 
For years, some nice folks have taken turns feeding stray cats in this parking lot.

Well...

 and sometimes they feed some 

of their friends, too. My sister and I were able

to meet one of the ladies that provides the food

and made a little donation to the cat food "kitty".

That was bad.. I couldn't resist! ;)  

And speaking of "kitties"...

This little lady, who we began to call 

Mrs. Kitty, came to find us during our stay.

Looking at the size of her belly, I'm sure you

can guess how she got her name. 

She is the sweetest cat I've ever known.

SOOoo lovey. 

Because she was very much in need

of some loving care, we decided to feed her

and watch over her.

Who can turn a hungry animal away?

Though we were concerned about leaving 

her there when it was time for us to go.

 I considered taking her home 

with me. But trying to 

get a cat 1800 miles in a crate ...with kittens

seemed like it would make for a stressful 

trip. For her, her kittens and us.

And so, I asked the Amish

family up the road if they would

 take her when we left and though

they were a little reluctant, they said they

would so we wouldn't have to worry

about her. We were so happy that

Mrs. Kitty was going to be taken care of.

We delivered her to a very large barn!

Unfortunately, it's very common 

in this part of the country

for people to "dump" cats that are

 unwanted and many times they 

are carrying little ones. 

But at least our story had a happy ending!

During our walks, we can sometimes get a glimpse of the Amish family working in the fields.

I had to climb up a bank and push the 

tree branches aside to get the picture.

This young boy was mowing the field with their sickle mower. I could hear him calling out Gee and Haw as he managed his team.

 An old barn and vacant farmhouse
surrounded by a radiant sunset.

I just love taking rustic photos.

This old hay bale with some

Chicory and Queen Anne's Lace 

growing around it, 

gave me something pretty

to focus on!
And they just happen to be some of my
favorite wildflowers.

They were having a silent conversation..

She has quite an affection for cows!

Visiting this little community fund-raiser 
 brought back so many warm memories of growing up here. They had a nice country parade, in which I used to rode my horse.

 They serve up some of the best roasted chicken
to be found at a country gathering and the ice cream is delicious and creamy! 
It used to be made from the milk of one of the local dairy farmers .
The Bluegrass band playing some lively music.

The nickel toss was going strong.
If you've never seen one, they set up unique
dishes on wooden palettes.
 One tosses nickels to try to get it in the
dish that they want. Even some
teenage boys joined in to support the cause!

 The brave girl on the Dunk-em Machine 
was going down about every few minutes. People
were really hitting that target and 
it was getting cool! 

  It means a lot to me to share the memories
and special places with my daughter. 

I love pictures like this. 

They show real life. 

If you look closely, you can see the name plates. There were many that I recognized and

I spent some time chatting with the fire chief.

He was a year ahead of me in school and has

been volunteering there for 35 years!

I admire him for his dedication

of helping his community.

These are our Black-eyed Susans.
It's visitor is a Silvery Checkerspot Butterfly.
There are many around but 
butterflies are NEVER common in
my humble opinion!
 Isn't it gorgeous?
Thery were so plentiful in the yard while we were
mowing, that I referred to the mowing as chasing butterflies! Oh Joy!

They are so helpful in taking care of themselves

during the long months while we are away!

 A friendly slug. 
Here it is hugging on last year's Basil roots.
Thankfully, they don't care much for my
Black-eyed Susans!

And I'll end with a picture of our little cabin.
It's very rustic, as you can see
and a little rough in spots but it's perfect for us. 
We love it for so many reasons.
It's peaceful and beautiful.

The best being that it brings 
me closer to family and friends and
provides all of us with
a gathering place to connect with
each other and friends, too. 
It has everything we need and it's....
 Pure and Simple Country!
 And it's location is very close to where my siblings and many friends live.
We see it as a special gift from God.  

My "little" Miss and I during our re-union.

It was a wonderful trip
 and I could share so much more.... 

However...

I will move on and look forward to getting

back to posting about some of my crafts and

projects around the house and just the everyday
blessings that come my way.

It's so special to be able to share a little of my 
life here on my blog. I hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you so much for stopping by. 

I am so excited to be back.

Bless you and have a great week, 
You all..

Tamara xo

Where Have I Been.. 1800 Miles From Home: Our Wanderings

Hello to my friends in Blogland!

How I have missed you. 

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying 

the beauty and bounty that the

month of August brings.

I cannot believe that it's been so

long! I have been away from

home since the 7th of July and just returned

home with my youngest daughter

yesterday. I feel badly that I have not

posted in so long. I even lost a follower.

While being gone, I had very little internet

access. And so I didn't have time to post.

I tried but never succeeded.

 Our girlies enjoying their OWN motel room.

Paid for by big sister.

(which is actually Gracie on the left) :)

Groom, Texas

I love this huge cross.. 

You can see it for miles! 

We travelled across the country.
I love that. 
It's a long trip but nothing beats
seeing our beautiful land and 
meeting wonderful people 
all across the way...

My daughter and I 
were visiting family and a few friends

at our be-loved Sugartree get-away. 
(Gracie had to get back to work.)

It's our little cabin sanctuary that we bought in Ohio so we have a place to 

stay when we visit family
and friends there.

We were able to spend a lot of time with my

brothers and sisters, cousins and a

few friends. It was a long time

to be away from home but it's

what we do. Family and friends are important

and it means a lot to us all to be able 

  to keep making memories together! 
 I seem to thrive on connections. 

My life is rich with people and my heart 

is full of wonderful new adventures,

projects and occasions and.... 

stories

There are always lots of stories..

New stories... stories born for remembering

another time and those re-told. 

I love to listen to my older siblings 

talk about our family life from times

when I was too young to remember.

I'm number 5 out of six. My oldest brother is

10 years older than I and my youngest sister

is 10 years younger than I. 

Here are a few more photos...

Auntie Mikailah.. with sweet Naomi.

She is the youngest and before 

we left on our trip, she said

that she wished there were more babies

around. Being the youngest, she hasn't 

gotten to experience the 

joys of holding newborns much.

While we were in Ohio, we were 

able to hold three newborns 

in one week! I guess she got her wish..

at least for now.

The huge flags that are flying along the interstate always stir up patriotic feelings. 

They are so beautiful..

proudly waving their colors for all to see.

Now this is a rare shot, indeed. 
My dreaded spot on the entire trip.. 
I can't believe that I was actually 
taking pictures with my cell phone! 
But the traffic was crawling and 
I thought it would be somewhat unique.. 

all the signs...

the arch in the back ground.. 

St. Louis

Changing interstates...

 We take a lot of walks at our little place..

and we were blessed with this beautiful sunset.

Glorious Rain! 

Maybe most people

don't get very excited about rain. But my daughter

and I are delighted when a thunderstorm rolls in

and the showers begin. 

Arizona life doesn't provide that sweet

experience very often.

{ The richness of rain made me feel safe 
and protected. I have always considered 
the rain to be healing- a blanket-
the comfort of a friend. }
Douglas Coupland


I decided to cut my post in half.
I think my posts are too long at times.
And so I will share more later..
and more often.


My busy life doesn't allow for 
the consistency that I would like. 
 There's so much to
catch up on and then there's playing..
LOTS of playing 
and visiting.. 

And I'm looking forward to it all.
 Celebrating this crazy, rich,
 wonderful life and embracing it with joyful
anticipation.
There's so much to celebrate ..

EVERY  SINGLE  DAY!! 


Thank you so much for stopping by.
It's so good to be back in touch.
I'm very excited about catching up and
blog-hopping to see what's been happening in
your world.

Blessings and hugs,
Tamara xx