I’ve started to adjust to my new schedule as a full time employee. On one hand, it is very nice to have a reliable paycheck that comfortably covers the bills and the “labor” is not actually strenuous working as a file clerk. On the other hand, it is tedious and boring and I miss the ample time I had to create and be outside with the rabbits and working in the garden. I am literally stuck in a concrete box and I do not particularly enjoy that part. Still, I must remind myself that this is something I need at the moment and it is certainly better than a $30 paycheck. We are adjusting to the new schedule and I will be doing everything I can to continue to run things at home. I have no intentions to stop running the Etsy shop or the rabbitry.

It’s not perfect, but despite the concrete box, I do feel like I have turned a corner. I can feel the spring sunshine coming through.

Now for the fun news: the bounty of our rabbitry. After our post summer “dry spell” last fall, we finally got our breeding season started with winter litters. We have roughly 40 lbs of meat in our freezer now that we’ve processed our winter litters. In the next few weeks we will have another 11 to be processed (which we expect to be another 30+ lbs of meat). We have some newborns little nuggets as well and intend on one more breeding for Rewby and Carina to finish out our spring season. And if I’ve done my math right, this should hold us over through the summer and fall until we resume breeding.

Now how did I come up with my math?

With just myself and my husband generally in the household, our meat consumption tends to average about 1 rabbit per week (roughly 3 lbs of meat), with a little more or less depending on what is going on in our lives. So we typically need 52 rabbits (156 lbs of meat) to feed us for a year. Right now [so long as there are no tragedies] we have about 40 of our quota, this includes what we’ve harvested, current grow outs and our newest litter. The last breedings we’ve planned will ideally get us to our quota as well as a little extra cushion for our freezer and/or to share with friends. It’s a comforting thought to know that we are secure in the bounty of our harvest.

…and to think, the garden is just getting started.

As I dwell on and share the good fortunes that have smiled on me, I am not free of the my own problems. For a while there, things were pretty bleak and I was consumed with my own despair. Still, I persisted and did my best to share some positivity, even if it was just for my own sake. It’s not all sunshine and butterflies here, but it is significantly improved and I intend to keep my head up and soak in the sunshine that I can. Hopefully things are looking up for you too.