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Life's Hard Lessons

What a jumble of days and emotions here on Painted Ridge.  Last week we excitedly announced that Mauer had 2 babies!  Then we headed off for a family day at the Horse Expo on Saturday and had a great time.  Sunday was supposed to be rabbit show day, but we were all exhausted and I had no desire to drive into the high wind advisory section of the state.  So, we stayed home and instead I put a chicken in oven, made the family favorite cheesy hash brown potatoes and invited my sister Katy to bring herself and Great-Grandma to our house for supper.  While waiting for the chicken, we all experienced the amazing sight of a bald eagle landing in a tree in the backyard with his own supper in his grasp - a very large fish!  Reminds me of the neat advantages of our location.  I tried to get some video of him, but as soon as I got outside he flew off.



Supper went well, Great-Grandma enjoyed the meal and we finished with a cherry chip cake with white chocolate frosting.  So far, a stellar weekend... then came a turn of events that I didn't see coming....

Emma announced that Mauer's furry nest didn't have any "movement" to it, as you normally would see little shifts in the fur as the little kits moved and wiggled underneath.  So I handed Joelle off to Daddy and to the "rabbit house" Emma and I headed with the flashlight.  One touch and I knew instantly we had lost both kits.  A very hard lesson in love and loss.  We decided to leave them for the night with Mauer and deal with them on Monday (today). 

Monday morning found that Mauer had covered them back up and was still attending to her babies.  I could totally relate... The hard part was watching her after I removed the babies, as it brought back so many emotions of loss.  Then, as I looked over towards our other doe AP, I noticed something on the floor of the rabbit house under her hutch.  Then I see there's not one, but two of the same masses and later I find a third.  Not only have Mauer's born babies died, but it would appear AP has miscarried 3 kits.  This may seem odd to write about, I suppose it's more therapeutic than anything... but for those with a strong biology/animal science interest it was intriguing to make the discovery and recognize what it was I had found.  Next came the realization that I have to break the news to Emma.  Another night of tears, another night of sadness, another night of wondering why us....

But tomorrow is another day and we have miracles to celebrate, such as the sight of the bald eagle and more importantly our two beautiful girls and the critters we call ours.

Comments

  1. LauraMay 2, 2011 at 10:18 PM

    I'm sending some hugs from our house to yours. I'm so sorry to hear about the sadness at your house. I'd agree with the question of why at your house??? On the otherhand I love how you can point to the joys you have in your life right now too. Hope to chat soon! Love your friend Laura
    ps. I have way to many email addresses for you- what is the correct one?? Yep I have asked this before and already forgot. :)

    ReplyDelete

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