![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Autumnal prepping
Aug. 29th, 2007 12:06 pmWith Josh home last weekend, we managed to get several projects done and a few more started to prepare our little home for the coming winter. I spent about a half hour spreading fresh clean straw (a large bale) throughout the rabbit pen making it nice and clean so much so that you can lie down in it and let the rabbits run all over you. I'd forgotten how memory friendly the crunch of fresh straw is underfoot, it makes a lovely sigh as the rabbits frolicked about gratefully. No nutritional value whatsoever, sadly, but hopefully they won't fill up on it.
We also cleaned out and re-organized the garden shed into a more efficient format: stacked feeder hay, pellets and birdseed on an organizer near the front door. With plenty of room in the back for tucking the outdoor rabbits inside for the few days a winter it gets below freezing here. It'll probably take another weekend to prep the shed for the rabbits, but that's something I can hold off until later this Fall - especially since Josh wants to add an indoor/outdoor option which means building another pen attached to the shed. I've also managed to put some hay and pellet actually NEAR the rabbit pen, so I'm not constantly running back and forth to the shed for supplies. Which oddly enough, has made the neighborhood kids that much more interested in feeding and watering the buns! Very cool. Now if I could only manage an automatic watering system in time for winter I'd be golden. Filling six bottles every day is a pain in the ass, frankly, especially as the days grow shorter. Speaking of which, I need to head out to the store and buy more flexible tube lighting for the rabbit enclosure. The single strand isn't enough.
I've finally managed to convince Josh we need to build a Pergola over the rabbit enclosure to provide both sun and rain shielding and to improve the looks. The pen is a bit of an eyesore, frankly and I'd love to see a cedar pergola out there. Its a great addition to the property, adding re-sale value as all we'll need to do is put in an outdoor deck flooring when its time to sell. If he and Chicken can install the supports, Deb and I can manage the decorative and weather shielding roof and string new fencing. I'm hoping we can do this for under $200.
We also cleaned out and re-organized the garden shed into a more efficient format: stacked feeder hay, pellets and birdseed on an organizer near the front door. With plenty of room in the back for tucking the outdoor rabbits inside for the few days a winter it gets below freezing here. It'll probably take another weekend to prep the shed for the rabbits, but that's something I can hold off until later this Fall - especially since Josh wants to add an indoor/outdoor option which means building another pen attached to the shed. I've also managed to put some hay and pellet actually NEAR the rabbit pen, so I'm not constantly running back and forth to the shed for supplies. Which oddly enough, has made the neighborhood kids that much more interested in feeding and watering the buns! Very cool. Now if I could only manage an automatic watering system in time for winter I'd be golden. Filling six bottles every day is a pain in the ass, frankly, especially as the days grow shorter. Speaking of which, I need to head out to the store and buy more flexible tube lighting for the rabbit enclosure. The single strand isn't enough.
I've finally managed to convince Josh we need to build a Pergola over the rabbit enclosure to provide both sun and rain shielding and to improve the looks. The pen is a bit of an eyesore, frankly and I'd love to see a cedar pergola out there. Its a great addition to the property, adding re-sale value as all we'll need to do is put in an outdoor deck flooring when its time to sell. If he and Chicken can install the supports, Deb and I can manage the decorative and weather shielding roof and string new fencing. I'm hoping we can do this for under $200.
