A friend sent me a link to a website that she thought I might be interested in.  It’s a local organization called EAT South and they are dedicated to sustainable farming/food/lifestyle and education. Here’s a bit of information on what they do:

Mission Statement:

EAT South encourages healthy lifestyles through education and sustainable food production in urban areas throughout the Southeast.

Vision:

EAT South envisions communities across the Southeast that have access to fresh, healthy, affordable food and the knowledge about food preparation that supports a healthy lifestyle.

Core Values:

Access to fresh healthy food is a basic human right A healthy diet includes significant quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables Supporting local food production is good for our economy and our health Sustainable food production reduces the environmental impact of our food system and supports healthy lifestyles Well-designed communities encourage long-term healthy lifestyles.

If  you want to learn more, you can go to their website:

http://www.eatsouth.org/

Why am I bothering to make blog post about this you might ask?  Well, I was on their homepage reading about their work and I saw an old friend in their promotional materials.  Do you see her? (click to enlarge)

There’s my sweet chicken Violet in the second picture.  Some of you will remember that Rosie, Daisy and Violet lived at Hampstead Farms for a brief period before they moved to my friend Debbie’s farm.  You can read about that in my retired blog www.mychickendiary.com

The two post in particular that document their move are here: http://mychickendiary.com/2012/01/31/operation-chicken-relocation/  and http://mychickendiary.com/2012/02/17/new-beginning/

On the day this picture was taken the Montessori kids had just been introduced to the girls by a crazy woman in a chicken suit.  (Man that thing was HOT!)  So Violet obliged a young farmer with a hug and someone took a picture.  I was both happy and sad to see this and I just wanted to write about it.  Hope it made you smile.  Nice to see that the legacy of my little backyard experiment lives on in some small way.  Good seeing you again my little alpha chick! 🙂

Violet, April 2011

There’s been too much loss and sadness in the kittybunnychicken lately, so how ’bout we lighten things up a bit?  Here are some pictures of two of my goofiest critters and their silly antics.  Hope this makes you smile. 🙂

You should really get out of that bag Rowdy. Someone might get the wrong idea!

Rowdy’s secret fort. You know we can see you in there right? 🙂

What’s the funnest place to play ever??? Mommy’s nightgown drawer!

When he gets older we can call him Old Blue Eyes. Handsomest kitty EVAH!

That’s all that’s going on at the Burlingame Ranch.  Sometimes boring is just fine by me!  Best wishes to you and all your critters.

Dave died suddenly yesterday.  Were gone to a family reunion in Pennsylvania and were five hours away when my sweet neighbor called crying to tell me he died while she was petting him on his rug near Buster.  There was nothing anyone could have done, but she felt terrible to have to give me this news on the phone.  We are almost positive that he died of the same complications that killed our little Boo Boo Bunny three years ago.  It’s a common ailment in rabbits that affects their digestion and kills them quickly if something isn’t done.  The problem is that Dave didn’t exhibit any of the symptoms until he was very far gone, so he would most likely have died on the way to the vet even if we could have diagnosed him.  She said he was lying in a prone position and made a small hiccup noise and then just stopped breathing.  He’s the only pet we’ve ever had that died peacefully and at home.  We are sorry we weren’t with him, but he had his friend Buster near and Miss Terri stroking his fur.  Of course we were still hours from home and couldn’t even comfort Terri or prepare Dave for burial.  Dennis and Tama came over to help her and Dennis wanted to bury Dave for us.  He’s recovering from knee surgery and we didn’t think this would be a good idea.  Actually Jim wanted to do it so we had a short service in our ever-growing pet cemetery and placed Dave beside Rosie & Violet.

Thank you Dennis, Tama & Terri for all you did.  I know you loved that crazy little guy as much as we did.  😦

Here are the last pictures I took of Dave, playing with his second best buddy, Mr. Mulder.

Buster seems OK and I’m sure he’ll be fine living with his cat friends, Mulder, Rowdy and Sam.

Best Buns

Thanks for reading. –Deb

Dave Burlingame: January-August 2013

Dave loves to sit on the air conditioning vent to cool his buns on hot days.  I keep my AC cranked so his tummy gets a steady blast of cold air when he stretches out.

Ahhhhhh…I love being a pampered indoor bunny!

He recently showed his old pal how to keep his cool during the Alabama summertime.

Dang it! Now he’s hoggin’ my spot!

That’ll teach you Dave!  Hope you all find ways to “cool it” this summer. 🙂

We fixed Navin’s ring worm so there was no more reason for him to stay here. We wanted to keep him longer, but the smaller they are, the faster they go at the shelter, so I took him back last week.  😦

Do I hafta go?

Mr. Mulder had grown quite fond of him.  He gave him one last bath so he would look his kitty-best for the adoption room.

This was a very special kitten.  We will all miss him. Good luck Navin Johnson!  Hope you find a forever home soon!

GUESS WHAT??? This was my 200th post on the Kittybunnychicken!