Dusty's Bath Time

For the last few years I have become quite allergic to Dusty, so I have not been grooming him as much as I should. Lately, he has started looking not only dusty but filthy. My guilty level got to the point that I decided to not only give him a haircut but also a bath. I was a bit unsure as I have never given Dusty a bath since I got him 10 years ago. I have seen rabbits swimming on Youtube. I knew someone who let her pet rabbit swim in the bathtub. I knew some rabbits actually love water, but could that be Dusty? After all, he's over 10 years old now.

I made sure the water is warm but not too warm before putting Dusty in it. He seemed to take it quite well and didn't freak out. That was a good sign. I don't have any shampoo for rabbits, so I just washed him with warm water. I changed the water several times until it no longer turned dirty.  I clipped his nails while they were soft from soaking in the warm water. It was so much easier! I blew dried him with a hairdryer set on low.  He seemed to enjoy the whole experience!

He even washed his face while in the tub and played with the water a bit. I took a short clip of Dusty splashing water with his front feet!

Spring Break 2014

Passion fruit vines are spreading fast and so does the fennel

I have not been spending much time on the farm due to my full time + job. Most of the vegetable beds I built have been taken over by weeds. Fennel is considered a weed in my garden. It's constantly competing water and nutrients with my passion fruit and grape!  Yes, under that bushy fennel plant (see photo above), there is a Concord grape plant.  Every time I try to cut off the fennel, I accidentally cut the grape, too.  It happened again today even though I was trying to be very careful.  I ended up using a piece of tape trying to save the mostly damaged grape plant. We will see if it survives again this year.

Lots of fruit and flowers

A week ago, I noticed some partially eaten loquats on the ground. I looked up the tree, and to my surprise, it is full of baby loquats for the very first time. I don't remember exactly when this tree was planted, but it has to be at least 15 years ago. It produced very little fruits year after year, and usually the fruits would be so high up and almost impossible to reach. This time the fruits are everywhere including all the lower branches that are just within arm's reach!

Can you see all the baby loquats?

The tree is full of baby loquats for the first time

The peach tree is once again growing peaches. I spent a couple hours pulling weeds and checking out all my fruit bearing plants. The weather is starting to feel like summer.  

Baby peaches