Friday, May 31, 2019

Outdoor Mom's Journal - May 2019

During our outdoor time this week we went...to the backyard to rescue a nest of baby bunnies that Cooper discovered.


Unfortunately, he got a couple of them. The remaining five bunnies we brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville since Sophia thought they appeared a bit dehydrated. (She pulled their skin a little and let it go. The skin went back slowly towards the bunnies' bodies indicating they were dehydrated.)

Sure enough, when we bought them in, they were dehydrated. However, there was milk in their stomachs so the mother was around.

They encouraged us to bring them back home since they would have a higher chance at survival. So we did. The girls put them back in the underground nest and covered the nest with a laundry basket and rock during the day.


Each day in the evening, we would remove the laundry basket and leave the nest open at night. The mother  would feed the babies once in the evening and once in the morning. In the morning, we would put the basket over the nest to protect them again.

When they were still very young and their eyes had not opened yet, the girls did check on them to make sure they were okay. Check out the tiny paw and ears of the bunny below.


Another bunny had cute little back paws. They were not nervous at this stage because they didn't know who we were or what we were doing. The fluid that the vet gave each bunny gave them the energy and electrolytes it needed.


We were so happy to see the bunnies growing during the month; and eventually getting brave and old enough to leave the nest. They have multiple places to hide and are very quick - which is an asset when there are four dogs living in the home.

The most inspiring thing we experienced was...
asking for a "gift of service" for Mother's Day and receiving it. Sophia and Olivia planted flower container gardens by the driveway and entry way to the backyard (essentially our front door).



They are matching planters that belonged to my parents; and we've been planting flowers in them since we inherited them.


Paige cleaned the grill so I could make smoked barbecue ribs for dinner.


The girls also brought loads of compost to various holes and bare spots in the front- and backyards. They spread it out and then put grass seed on top.


This was  a huge timesaver for me so I could focus on other outdoor projects. We have about a month and a half before Sophia's graduation party...and there's a lot left to do.

Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)...how old are bunnies before their eyes open? 

We found out that baby rabbits, or kits, usually open their eyes about 10-12 days after birth. They are born blind, furless, and deaf. They typically start to grow fur after about three days.

In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting...a variety of things. We are removing the raised beds because some were damaged in the fire last year and others are getting worn out. They were made out of some type of heavy-duty outdoor fabric; and they only lasted a few growing seasons.

So, we are not planting any vegetables or herbs this year. There isn't enough sunlight where the gardens have been in the past and there isn't enough interest from everyone to do vegetable gardening.

What we are doing is working on the flower and hosta gardens that have been neglected over the past few years. There's a lot of weeding that we've been doing as well as planting some new perennials. I'm excited to see how the gardens will look during the summer.

I added nature journal pages...in my Nature Observer - A Guided Journal book. I am really enjoying this journal. I write down something I observed in nature on the calendar; set goals on the "Activity or Intention" page about a variety of things; write daily reflections about nature; and am including pictures from magazines of nature images.

At some point, I'll add some photos I've taken of the outdoors and birds to further personalize it. 

I am reading...
nothing related to nature. I've been doing a lot to get ready for Sophia's graduation day (May 21st) and party (June 29th). 

I am dreaming about…
when the pond in the pasture will go down. This is what it looked like on May 16th:



It was high enough for geese and ducks to land and swim around in it. It has been very high this year and was extremely challenging for the horses to access it. They were choosing to go through almost knee-high muck to get to the pasture.



So, the girls and I cut an opening in the fence at a higher elevation and created a new path for them to use. It is much better for them now.

A photo I would like to share...Sophia's graduation day was very windy in the afternoon, and then it ended up raining. So, we couldn't get any decent outdoor photos which was disappointing. The next day, we went to Jax Café and had lunch to celebrate her graduation. This is a family photo of us on the patio at Jax.



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