Lindsay's Mom's Visit

My mom came to visit for almost 2 weeks at the end of February. As always, we were very busy and the time flew by. She came with me to work each day and worked on her water coloring painting skills out on the beach. We also went wedding dress shopping and made the final decisions on my dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and my mom's dress (no photos for obvious reasons!). We found time to go bird watching with the Audubon club as well as riding on the beach. The last part of her stay we drove down to Tampa, Florida where my Grandfather spends the winter. We did a lot of bird watching there too and saw many new species that we can add to our life lists. Here are a few of the many photographs we took during our adventures.

My mom with all her painting gear. She loved being a bum on the beach all week.

Me hard at work while Mom was being a bum and painting. I am completely re-doing our 500 gallon tank including installing all new plumbing and buffing the scratches from the acrylic viewing panels. Here is a photo of me working on the acrylic.

The Valentine's Ball was the first weekend of my mom's visit. She stayed home while we went out dancing.

We were fortunate enough to borrow a horse from the place where my horse is at so that my mom and I could both ride out on the beach together. This was my mom's first time riding on the beach and she rode my horse. It was a nice day but a little chilly.

Here we are in Florida with my Grandpa and Grandma. My Aunt Sandy was also there, she took the photo.

One of the parks we went bird watching at.

Some roseate spoonbills in Florida. A new species for my mom.

A glossy ibis, new species for me.

A mottled duck, new for both of us.

A not-so-common common ground dove, a new species for me.

And, lastly, a pretty flower near the beach in FL.

Hockey Man

Since I started playing hockey again, I needed a new place to store my pads now that the van is gone.  I made a scarecrow to hang my stuff on while it dries.  Lindsay thought it was cute so here's a picture.

Bigger Bunnies

The baby bunnies are now seperated from their mom, Belle, and are still growing quickly. Here are a few of the latest photos and a video that I finally got to upload.

The 2 babies on their own.
















Matthew loves to feed all the rabbits leaves from the yard. They love it too!
















Here is Belle enjoying her break from motherhood. We have since added a box for her to hide in. I plan on breeding her again at the end of this month so that we will have another batch of babies at the end of April.
















A short video from when Belle was still in with the babies.

Broccoli

Although I meant for it to be a fall crop and planted it in September, I was not able to harvest my broccoli until February! I covered the plants on any nights that got below freezing and they survived through the winter. We have been well rewarded by several harvests (which aren't over yet), including this one which was actually enough to freeze and save for later!

Horse Cart

When we went back to MI in November, we brought back my horse cart that needed a little fixing-up. We basically rebuilt the entire thing, except for the frame. Matthew's coworker, Ben, even welded some L brackets to bolt onto the back of the seat for something to lean on. Also, my dad cut out a single tree (to hook Rabi to) for me and Richard did some finishing touches on it. After 2 months of work, we are finally done. Now I just have to train Rabi to pull it!

The Before Shot

The newly-covered seat (green, of course!)

I sanded, primed, and repainted the frame.

We used high-tech measuring devices to space the boards correctly (aka a piece of wood and a piece of foam board).

Matthew drilling holes in the new boards

Staining all of the boards after they have been sanded and drilled.

Several coats of polyurethane to protect the wood.

I also bought new tires and tubes for the wheels, then sanded and primed the spokes.

After some "aluminum" spray paint, they look new!

We put rubber chair leg protectors on the ends of the shafts for safety.

We strapped the cart to the top of the Envoy without the wheels or seat back and then I assembled it with some help out at the farm. I didn't take a photo of it on the car, but here is the end result!

I can't wait for Rabi to pull it!

More about the Babies

The baby bunnies still seem to be significantly bigger every day we go out to see them. They are now eating solid food and are spending most of their time outside of the nest box. Here are some updated photos. I tried to add another video but have not been able to get any videos to upload. I will try again another day.


In the nest box, for size comparison

Sharing hay with Mom

Arrow Plaque

I used to shoot my bow in tournaments once a week with my dad back in high school. At one of those tournaments, I shot one arrow into another which we call a "Robin Hood" (and yes, it was in the bull's eye!). Richard made me a wonderful plaque for my "Robin Hood" arrows for Christmas and we put it up last week in the den. It goes very well with the sports theme and we're considering hanging my bow up on the larger wall next to it.