Got so much accomplished this weekend! First, there was the rendezvous in NC on Saturday where I delivered the last of the bunnies. It was nice to see everyone, but I didn't stay for the whole day. I still had a lot to do because people were coming for stuff Sunday, and then again on Monday.
Once the buns were gone, I could finish gathering up the rabbitry inventory for pick up on Monday. I had most of it packed up already, there were just a few things the rabbits were still using, so that didn't take long.
I concentrated on the furniture that was being picked up Sunday. I had to get rid of some big excess items that I didn't want to move with me, and the only other option would have been to leave it behind which a new home owner might not appreciate. Found an ad on craigslist for "free hauling". Turns out the guy really wanted scrap metal (big business around here), but when I described the furniture, he said he could use it. So I had to hustle up and get the stuff that was on the furniture off. It was a nice young couple who were just starting out and needed a lot of things. They took quite a bit of small stuff off my hands as well, so I don't have to haul that to Goodwill. They even offered to move anything around that I needed. I played the "old and no longer strong" card (mostly true) to get out of doing any more heavy lifting than I had to. Same for the rabbitry stuff. They couldn't get all the furniture on their truck, but said they could come back the next day. I told him there was quite a bit of scrap metal that he was welcome to as well. It's not a priority for me to deal with it (it's out back and out of the way), but he was so nice and helpful, I'm glad to help him financially in that way.
Then the gal who bought the rabbitry called and said she couldn't come Monday as planned but she could come that afternoon. Sure, we can do that. She didn't show up until 7 pm, but we managed to get her loaded up before dark. She let slip that she was a single mom, and I warned her again that she needed to bring muscle to move that stuff. She said no problem, her 14 year old daughter was strong. She wasn't kidding. That young girl was tall and efficient. The family was pretty interesting. At first, I thought she said she had 2 daughters, but a little later, 3 little boys piled out of the truck. Oh my. They lived a homesteading style of life, and utilized their animals. She raised some heritage rabbit breeds for meat. Turns out she's not a show breeder, she just had some dwarf breeds that could use the equipment, and a friend or two that would take what she couldn't use. This passle of little kids were very well-behaved, and pitched in where they could. Mom was very patient and never yelled at anyone. She deserves a medal for raising that brood so well.
As they were tying down the truck and trailer, I stood on the porch to continue chatting. It had started to rain again by then. I was stunned to see the smallest boy do a face plant off the truck's tailgate! It's almost like he did a cannonball (like into a pool) on purpose. His face landed in the grass, but he barely missed smashing it on the driveway gravel. His hands and knees hit the gravel. He just got up like that was normal! I wonder how often she has to visit the emergency room!
Now that all that big furniture and the shed is cleaned out, I can get back to the job of getting the house ready to show. I have so much room now, I can actually see what I'm doing! There were just narrow paths through the junk in the back bedrooms and it was hard to organize the piles into trash, Goodwill, and what I'm keeping. Now I can. A lot of it can go out in the shed.
I decided that getting the entire house ready to list wasn't going to happen as quickly as I wanted. Now my goal is to get the main part of the house presentable so I can list this week, and continue to plug away at the chaos in the back rooms later. Potential buyers will just have to look past that part.
Haven't had time to start digging in the gardens. It's been raining for the last 4-5 days anyways. After good soaking rains is the best time to dig so I'll try to do a little each day. Oh yeah, and I have to drop everything to cut the damn grass again now that all this rain has been feeding it. Need a dry day to get to that.
A friend gave some insight into downsizing as I'm doing. It's liberating. It really is. Getting rid of all the unnecessary stuff in one's life is a good thing. When I realized how right he was, I feel I can be even more ruthless about what I keep for the move.
Yes, I miss the bunnies. And the chickens. I'm sure once I get settled I'll want a pet rabbit. No, I'll never breed again, but I'm a gardener, and every gardener should have a rabbit or two. I already have a nice outdoor hutch being planned in the back of my head. If my new home allows for it, I'll probably want a couple birds, too.
tnt
Natureschild
5 days ago
