*last litter for Athena until the fall

Last week our one year old New Zealand mix, Athena, kindled her last litter of the spring. Athena's maternal instincts are very good and she has taken good care of each litter she has given birth to. It seems her magic number is 9, she had 5 light colored babies and 4 dark ones. They grow so very fast, one day they are completely naked and a few days later they have fur coming in like crazy. If you have been reading my blog for a while you have caught on that we are all about providing good food sources for our family. Unfortunately over the years the food industry has gone wacko if you ask me. A lot of the food we buy from the grocer isn't really food at all but genetically engineered filler. If you haven't already watched Food Inc, I encourage you to do so. It will open your eyes to some interesting facts that you might otherwise know.

One of my friends asked me a while back if we were "preppers". It was the first time I had heard this term. I have learned quite a bit about "preppers" since and I would have to answer no, we are not preppers, but sustainers. We are looking for a sustainable food source and living conditions for our family. As others has said regarding the food industry that we currently have, it is not sustainable.

All of that to say this, rabbit meat is an excellent lean white meat for your dinner table. I know, I know you have heard this from me before, but lets go a bit further. You know that chicken that you bought from the grocer last week and are planning to make a tasty meal from.. it is chocked full of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and herbicides, and on top of that they were grown as mass production in cramped conditions which stresses them out. What about that beef that came from the grocer which was grown on a feed lot? Don't get me wrong we do eat some beef and some other meats from the grocer. We just think that if we can provide more meat from the safety of our barn and property to our table we avoid the toxicity of what commerically produced meats now carry.

Many folks don't always understand why we are doing what we are doing and may think us strange. This is a little peek into our minds. Sustainability is what it is about for us. We do our best to educate and share the enthusiasm with as many that are interested who are in our sphere of influence. What we do here on a small scale is what the meat industry is doing to provide you with meat. Except our meat is clean, antibiotic free, hormone free and kindly raised. No different end result, meat.