2015
Where does time go sometimes, smile? (At times it stands still and at other times it seems to move quickly.)
We have been busy the last few years. Astrex Rabbits Curly Wavy Bunnies are Alive and Well. We have lost some bunnies in time gone by, to rapid and unusual changes in weather... winter days that exceed 82 degrees hot, and then fall to under 30 at night...(cold for a southern state huh?) Dog attacks... several years ago, we loss precious, breeding stock fully developed curly rabbits, to stray dogs allowed to run loose that tore through, or climbed 6 foot fences. Dispite our best efforts with heat lights, hay, covers, buildings, fencing, etc. at times we have had heartaches. (doesn't the Bible state the devil goes about seeking whom he may devour?) Among other things, 4 years ago, Joe, got sick and became unable to work... (he's well now but can't work and that meant lots of extra work for me... SO MUCH more so...sigh. It has been a heavy load on me. ) Well, if God be for Us and He Is Always, no weapon that tries to form against Us shall ~~ or shall stand. Through it all God HAS been with US and brought US ~~ carried us ~ through it literally.
We hope to move to Middle Tennessee as soon as possible where we will actually have 4 seasons...sigh, less humidity, cooler summers, and a peaceful more rural enviroment, where we can build a large new barn, and after the first one ~~ an even larger second new barn...smile... We will name the first barn, "Ripples Barn" after my dear beloved little Thanksgiving Day born, Ripples... He was actually our second Astrex Rabbit Curly Wavy Bunny... before him, a little broken black, kit was born, very curly... but he had maliclusion, and I would not use him for development stock. He was kept as a pet only.
Our main goal is to move to a "farm"... minimum 50 acres, perferably 100 or more, and each bunny has it's OWN 6 ft by 8 ft (or larger) stall. I long to (in reality, not just my waking dreams) to walk down the bunny barn isles and see stall after stall with joyful Curly Rabbits frolicking their little butts in the air playing...lol !! ~~ Being sassy and happy in their new stalls !!
~~~ No more cages, unless it's our own special design ones. I have worked on perfecting a wonderful multi purpose animal CAGE DESIGN with out a wire floor over the last year. An easy to clean "animal home", easy to actually access through the doors without nearly standing on your head, or becoming a contorsionist...One that can house many different species of small animals and be an "animal home" rather than an animal cage. After 30 years of thinking there needs to be a better way to keep small pets, I begin brain storming, with Joe, and God gave us a wonderful idea which I have drawn up on paper over the last year. We hope to find a way to manufacture them very soon, which would bring more (much needed) income.
There has been setbacks and heartaches, as with any thing in life, but we are Believers!! (lol, didn't the Monkeys say that too? ~~~ Love that old song)
God is our Refuge, and Strength, HE is for US, then nothing can be against US, smile.
(Thank you God for all Your Goodness and Love. Jesus said "whosoever shall confess me before men, him, shall the son of man also confess before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8)
On that Note: We are declaring we have a beautiful secluded, peaceful, prosperous,
joyful, gentle, Astrex Rabbits Curly Wavy Bunny FARM in beautiful rural Tennessee. We are believing for this dream / belief to manifest into reality in 2015. (I don't know where the money will come from... but I know it will come... from somewhere...I will believe. I have to. I see our farm... I wake up in the mornings, make coffee in my new kitchen, (our new home) sit on my porch and enjoy the beautiful early morning sunrise, or (more likely) take my mug of coffee and head to the Bunny Barn, Ripples Barn, extra early to say "Good Morning babies" to little bunny faces, galore !! Seeing this, living there already in my heart ~~ it gets me through each day without living there until we actually do!! I will surely cry tears of pure joy... right now I'm just attempting not to cry as I write this...
We need barns ~~ instead of odd buildings, insulated like a garage from heat and cold, we need better and more property ~~ in the peaceful quiet, country, and more funds ~~ we have gotten by with so little for so long, I feel that we are so close to our farm and a better life for all of Us (bunnies and us) . If I think of all the things we do need, my mind becomes boggled, and tired, (I have a headache now) but my heart believes, and I know because I know. God will figure it out... His ways are so much above ours. In the blink of an eye he can provide a funder, a donor, a donation, funds, that exceeds anything we have hoped or believed for. I've worked hard all my life for what I have... so it's not easy to think of someone just giving us money, but I feel I need to release that mentality, because I know there are many people out there that would gladly give freely and help. Jesse Duplantis has said for years "Heaven is not bankrupt"... AND we are believing for Heaven's abundance to give all we need and more.
We have a few new litters of Adorable, Astrex Rabbit Curly babies.... Sister, one of our wavy does had a litter of three kits, 4 weeks ago. She literally had them on the floor at my feet... lol... "Like here you go... I'm not having them in a box, here they are.... YOU put them in the box... Mawmaw..." (LOL since Sister's mother is Pretty Girl...that means I'm "Mawmaw"...)
Our Astrex Rabbits are children and know just about anything we say... several live inside and a bunch go in to "visit" and play regularly, and back out... They even know the sound of the frig opening... For goodness sake do not take out a plastic bag and rattle it unless you are definitely going to give out carrots, because how ever many are there... 2 or 3 or 5 or 7.... LOL will be standing on hind legs begging or either "walking" on hind legs to get a carrot or other treat. SPOILED does not begin to describe our animals. Nearly every bunny gives "kisses" when asked. I can't begin to explain the understanding and intelligence they have... We spend so much time with them, their understanding levels are uncanny at times....smile.
BB a steel sable doe had a wonderful litter of 5 darling kits. There's a furless in the litter of curly...smile. All the babies are broken patterns. I'm so thankful for this litter. The dad is Sister's son from her first litter, a blue eyed, curly wavy charlie marked broken black rex buck. (charlie means lightly marked broken color.... broken means white with another color).
In the last 7 months we also adopted a homeless puppy dog... a small bird and a large white New Zealand rabbit that was abandoned. Three more little mouths to feed, but we will be fine. I have seriously been considering non profit status, as we rescue when we can, and rehome, puppies, kittens, birds, bunnies, etc. In the last few years we have rehomed several orphan kittens, several dogs, and a few rabbits.
The puppy dog is one of our babies now...( shes about 2 years old, about 28 lbs, half schnauzer and half yorkie) This once homeless pup has adopted each and every bunny as her "pack"... and if she even hears a squeal, a growl or a grumble or just bunny chatter she takes off to see if all are ok !! The baby bunnies are her special care favorite. (Sadly this leads me to wonder if she was used for breeding before we adopted her, and perhaps her puppies taken away from her very young?)
Ohhhh !!! That's another thing, our Curly Rabbits are VERY vocal... they chatter, growl, grumble, "fuss" and squeal, and are just in general, 75 percent more vocal than most other buns. (if you could be a fly on the wall you'd be amazed at the conversations we have....lol...) Often Joe and I ask each other "who are you talking to?" Most of the time our answers are "the buns"...LOL !!
Another bit of news: We adopted 4 geunia pigs in the last year that needed homes. Another family member is Comfy, my almost 3 yr old crested duck. I found her in a feed store for sale at Easter time at a day old... so tiny she could not keep up with the other ducklings and chicks. I scooped the tiny ball of fluff up in my hand, and never put her back, bringing her home. All I told Joe was "I have to get his little duck". He just said ok...?? I said she's too little to be here, she won't survive if I leave her. Comfy lived in the house for 5 months under a heat light... until she was more than big enough to more outside. Yes, we definitely need a farm... lol definitely !!
Thank you for reading our blog...please excuse the long times between writings / and / or any mispelled words, even though I try to spellcheck but miss some writing half alseep...smile. I forget I have one, a blog that is... alot of the time, and actually with all the things we do in a day I often don't have time to update regularly. God Bless.
Kindly, Rett and the Gang
AstrexRabbits@gmail.com (correct working email)
www.AstrexRabbits.com
