Highlights from VT

My family and I spent the July 4th weekend camping in Vermont this year. Having been camping at this particular place in the past we knew there was a vast amount of wilderness surrounding our campsite so we brought our four dogs with us this time. We did a great deal of hiking in the Green Mountain National Forest during our stay. Each day we found a new location to explore and each new place appeared as though no one had set foot there in years. We stumbled upon a countless number of fresh moose footprints. It's a wonder we didn't walk right up on one! We even came across a small pine tree blocking our path that must have been within days of being knocked down by a rather large moose. The presence of wildlife surrounded us in the form of wild turkey, ruffed grouse, whitetail deer and of course the elusive moose.

Above: The river that ran through the backside of our campsite where the dogs spent much of their time.

Everywhere I turned there was picture just waiting to be taken.

Above: In the left side of the photo you can see an old beaver dam.
Below: We stumbled into what must have been dragonfly mating season because these friendly little bugs took quite a liking to us and eachother. As I'm trying to photograph this one I had four more that had landed on my arm and head.

The only thing this fence and daisies was missing was a picture frame around it.

The Rabbitry

The rabbitry got an overhaul this past weekend. All the cages came out and got pressure washed. The linoleum was taken out and sprayed thoroughly. The entire area was vacuumed. The water bottles and dishes went through the dishwasher.

A majority of my does are housed in 24x24 cages but I have six enormous 36x36x24 double cages that housed some of my does. They were taking up entirely too much room so I shifted some of my smaller does into 18x24 cages. Heaving the metal trays for those large cages has gotten the better of me and they needed to go. I bought them used a few years back. They were just single holes so I bought wire dividers and double cage doors to convert them into 2 holes. When I move they cannot go so they will be for sale.

I enjoy getting a glimpse at other people's rabbitry setups and reading about how they maintain their herd so I thought someone might enjoy hearing about mine.
My setup is in my basement which is ideal for a number of reasons:

1) The temperature stays consistent throughout the year without the added expense of air conditioning or heating units. I use only a fan to circulate the air. The fact that it is located underground helps keep the rabbits from overheating during the hot summer months.

2) Having the rabbits right below our living area desensitizes them to noises that would normally startle a rabbit.

3) Location location location: Many breeders prefer to place pet rabbits in indoor only homes because they believe a rabbit is likely to receive more attention if it is right under foot. In all honesty the same can be said about a rabbitry. A convenient location makes for better quality time spent in my opinion.

The bucks each have an 18x24 hole. They are against the wall on the right side as you walk into the basement. The does (pictured above) are further down on the left side. I keep linoleum under the entire rabbitry side of the basement to protect the floor from accidents. For lighting I use just the basic fluorescent workshop lights from Home Depot.

Wild Cousins

I was outside the other evening when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. A wild rabbit had come out of it's burrow for some evening grazing. Like many of my own rabbits this one appeared to be in a molt. He was very tolerant of my presence allowing me to approach wihtout hesitaiton even hopping closer once I had settled into the grass.
He proceeded with his evening grooming ritual in complete relaxation that is, until the neighbors dragged their trash cans to the curb. At this point he darted for the nearest cover and I had decided to leave him be since it was getting dark.

The Great Outdoors

For someone who grew up in a small town in Vermont, living in Connecticut has been a culture shock so to speak. The words overdeveloped, overpopulated, and overpriced all come to mind when I think about this state. Having spent all but the last 8 years of my life surrounded by mountains and wilderness I took for granted what was in my own backyard. I've since gained a healthy respect for where I come from. At the time I didn't appreciate the landscape and mountains. I didn't appreciate the deafening sound of the peepers at night. I didn't appreciate the quaintness of my small hometown. I didn't appreciate having to make due with the limited selection of products available at the local mom and pop shops . . . until it wasn't there.

The town/city I currently live in is very urbanized with every amenity at arms length. It's the kind of place people go when they need to go into town shopping for the day. Not the ideal place to live. Picture a Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds on every street corner, stop lights as far as the eye can see, 25 grocery stores within a 5 mile radius, any and every retail store or restaurant you can think of.

We live on a small street tucked away amidst all the hustle and bustle, for the time being. There is talk of a neighborhood lumber company constructing a larger facility on what I'm convinced is that last piece of wooded land in this town/city. This piece of property is situated on what is currently the end of our dead end street. It also happens to be home to several friendly deer like this young doe I recently photographed from my backyard. She was completely oblivious to my presence and four excited children. A family of young raccoons like the one below that I photographed up a tree in my yard also call this neighborhood home. A mother and two babies have been spotted playing in a brook that runs through the woods. Surely the sights and sounds of yet another unnecessary construction project will have a negative impact on the future of this small but thriving Eco-system.

**The first photo in this sequence was taken in Woodford,VT

Tort vs. Color - Round 1 -

I always hear the argument that the overall quality of the black tortoise holland lops is superior to color in general. Which may be true in some cases but that statement holds no ground in my rabbitry. Although blues have grown to be my ultimate favorite I do not seek one color over another. It happens to be that out of the 30 rabbits that make up my herd only two are torts. One solid and one broken. Not because I dislike the color but for the simple fact that out of the litters born here the color rabbits are always much nicer quality than the torts.

I brought this topic up because I recently had one of the rare torts pop up in a litter. Along side it was a broken cream and a blue. In a neighboring nest box there was a litter of two blues and a blue tort.

The kits are only five days old currently but assuming the little tort survives to the 4 week mark I would like to hold a friendly competition among he/she and one of the fellow color kits. I will post milestone photos every 2 weeks of them to compare. I will be pleasantly surprised if this little tort proves to be better than any of the others.

The Grass Is Always Greener

There is nothing quite as amusing as a Holland Lop in explorer mode. Move over Jacques Cousteau and make way for the next great explorer

-ELS's Royce-

Now that the temperature is warming up I've started taking the rabbits outside for excercise in the evening. It's definately more stimulating to the senses than sitting in what is essentially a larger version of a cage that we like to call an excercise pen. Although it's convenient in the winter nothing beats some good old fashioned frolicking through the fields in the spring. Besides, you couldn't capture shots like this sitting behind a wire fence.

THE END

The Sepia Gallery

.:Sepia In Spring:.

"Pieces Of The Past"

"A Watcher Among Us"

"Untitled"

"Beauty Is Behind Us"

" Nature's Roller Coaster"

"Vying For Attention"