Satifaction come in many forms

Today I celebrate two things:

My favorite doe kindled successfully, giving birth to FOURTEEN kits! Half are black, half white (pictures coming soon!). All are squirmy, warm and happy. She is in good shape, and the neighboring buck, Bawb, the sire of the litter, is beside himself with excitement. He even built a nest on his side, hopeful that he'll get visitors once they're up and about!

The second thing I celebrate is being able to enjoy the fruits of having done something right the first time. We are experiencing our occasional gusts of wind along the front range, estimated to be getting up to 90 miles per hour tonight- hurricane force, minus the pelting rain. As I go check on the buns, top up water bowls, and give them their night-feeding, I am tucked into the lee side of the fence, huddled in calm air inside the bomb-proof condos we painstakingly reinforced for our rabbits. All is quiet for them, other than the wind howling inches away. The new, naked kits are snuggled in a shallow nest of straw and belly fur, right at the surface (she built her nest above-ground this time). They are warm and happy.

I am so glad that we not only took seasonal sun movement into consideration, but weather patterns and wind direction as well when we planned the layout of our structures. Those hours of chipping out river rock to sink cement-encased 4x4s two feet into the ground, our careful construction with no shortcuts in the woodwork, thorough roof reinforcement, and the seasonal plexiglass screwed over the chicken-wire (open-air) doors have resulted in an effortless haven for newborns even in harsh conditions. 

Even though the wind is scary-sounding and makes my eyes grow big in awe occasionally this evening, I can rest assured that my buns and chickens are cozy and safe. That's a nice feeling.