Behind the Times

Magic and Crazy Di's litter.

GC Tom Thumb and Hyacinth's litter.

GC White Excitement and GC Blue Diamonds litter.

I promised baby pictures and with one thing and another, they all grew up. That is the thing with dwarf breeds, they look full grown at 4 weeks old because they are so small to begin with. They always look cute no matter what age the are. Everyone of the babies look to be all girls except for one REW buck which normally is good but I was really hoping for a blue boy out of one of the litters.

When working with brokens, it is always good to have a solid color to cross back with if you don't want to get any charlies. I was planning on trying a broken to broken litter later in the year or into the spring. I wanted to see what they turn out like and use the charlies back to a solid with broken in the background. This is supposed to intensify the color on the broken and give more pattern overall. We will see.

I am looking forward to seeing how the baby Woolies grow up especially the 2 REW babies as they have a really nice coat and body type already.

The Baltimore and Howard show was fun but I still felt in a fog for most of the day from my cold. Most of my angoras are out of coat or not grown up enough to compete yet. GC Shepherds Aslin took BOS in English Angoras and GC CR Blue Skies took BOB in Jersey Woolies. Aslin is now retired. He molted all of his coat off his belly but he ended up with a Reserve in Show and 11 GC legs. I am very tempted to breed Blue Skies but might wait until after PASRBA in Feburary. Have a few other does hopefully bred. Wish me luck. The last 4 Angora breeding produced nothing.

Glamour Shots

Tulamores Caprice posing after her BOB win.

GC CR Blue Skies after her BOB win.

CR Conspiracy Theory sitting up nice after BOSG win.

I am falling behind on the blogging after getting a big head cold and taking 6 1/2 to drive home from the Carroll County show. It is only a 3 hour drive but with accidents and road construction, it took double the time it should have. So it has taken me 3 days to recooperate only to turn around and do it all again tomorrow. Well, there are only 2 more shows until show season finishes for winter so I will have to make the best of it.

Donna McGraw took these beautiful glamour photos of a few of my winning Woolies and of my English Angora Tulamores Caprice. She is one talented animal photographer. Sorry I couldn't get the photos of Caprice bigger as the detail of her wool shows up just beautifully. If you want to see Donna's many other animal photos look up the photo gallery at her website Tulamore Farm. I am trying to get her to go into business:-)

Caprice looks really nice and is a very young senior. She had a hard time showing against Sweetpea but is coming into her own now. What a nice silkey texture she has.

The Woolies are brother and sister (can't you tell by looking at them?) and have come along well during the fall show season. Blue Skies has 7 GC legs, 4 BOB and a 2nd Reserve in Show. I aquired her brother later in the season and he has won 2 GC legs with 2BOSG wins. They are the sweetest bunnies and just love going to shows. Their GC Mom is sweet like them and has a beautiful litter of 2 REW babies which I am holding out high hopes for spring 2010. I have to get some photos of them, they are so cute. Will have to wait and see how they do. Here's hoping.

Over to the Dark Side

Oh No! I actually bought yarn.

My very wavy knitting.

They do make a pretty pile.

After almost twenty years of having angora rabbits, I finally asked my Mother to teach me how to knit. Horrors, this is from someone that used to throw away her angora wool. It is all Donna McGraw's fault. She said "We know how to knit but we need to learn how to cast on." So I said I would get my Mother to explain it. She could make a diagram or something. The next thing you know she is "making" me knit.

Now mind you, my Mother is a very talented knitter, seamstress and cross-stitcher. My Mom has offered to teach me to knit before but I never really had the time. I am also very un-coordinated, having been throw out of ballet class, at age six, for going in the wrong direction too many times. But ok, I would learn how to cast on so that my friend and her children could become expert knitters.

Well, the casting on went fine. I have a talent for casting on. It's when the rest of the knitting happens that I get into trouble. Remember the whole wrong direction thing. It kicks in when I am knitting. To add to the trouble, my Mom taught me on wood needles and gave me some metal needles to practice on. They are like knitting on ice. You can see, in the photos, my imitation of the ocean waves with my practice knitting. So I thought that if I got some wood needles at the craft store, I would have an easier time practicing. But the yarns were all 25% off and all the colors were so pretty and they were so soft, so now I am in big trouble. Apparently, the person that dies with the most yarn wins? Anyway, that is what all the ladies buying yarn were saying. You are in big trouble, Donna McGraw!

Spooky Taco

Candy corn eyes.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

Yes, I wrapped myself up in the rug.

It is nice and cozy in here.

Whoooh! Look at the Spooky Taco. We have some crazy pets that live at our house. Jemima was brought home from the Stop n' Shop by my husband. She was too little to be away from her mother but the people were going on vacation and just wanted to be rid of the kittens before they left. She spent a lot of time with our dogs so she really doesn't think she is a cat. She rules the house and will not let the dogs pass her without permission. We put a throw rug down by the back door to keep the wet from traveling into the house. Jemima thinks this was put there just for her Halloween costume. Spooky isn't she?

Berryville, West Virginia Show

Judge Owen Yates picked a REW.

Judge Chris Howell's choice for BIS and second reserve, photo by Donna McGraw.

GC Shepherds Aslin in his beauty shot by Donna McGraw.

The Blue Ridge Rabbit club threw another fun filled "woolie" show at the Shenandoah Fiber Festival in beautiful Berryville, West Virginia. This Rabbit club goes all out to make sure everyone has a great time. They do a wonderful job with prizes, giving gift baskets full of goodies for BIS, Best Reserve and 2nd Best Reserve, to help us make the long drive home. A very handsome French Angora sable pearl Senior buck won BIS at both show "A" and "B" owned by Pam.

I was lucky enough to come home with 2 baskets of goodies won by 2 different breeds of bunnies. GC CR Blues Skies, blue Jersey Woolie Senior doe, was lucky enough to win 2nd Reserve in show "A" and GC Shepherds Aslin, English Angora REW Senior buck, won 2nd Reserve in show "B". We now have it on record that Judge Owen Yates actually picked a REW bunny. We all know they are not his favorite but he said he will pick it if it's a good one.

The club also had another fun and wool related raffle table with lots of goodies to take a chance on. Even some pouring down rain storms did little to dampen the spirits of the group and spectators. The food on the fair grounds was great serving grilled lamb sausage with a dill yogurt sauce and many other yummie things. My only regret was no time to actually see the festival. Next time, the show should give us an hour off for lunch so we can tour the vendor booths. Many thanks for the unexpected overnight accomodations. Had a great time at the McGraws Bed and Breakfast, Donna knows what I mean. What a fun weekend!

The Stork Arrives

The King of All and Hyacinth, 1 broken blue and 2 blues.

GC CR White Excitement and GC CR Blue Diamonds, 2 REWS

Mystery and PB Crazy Di, 1 black and 2 broken black.

The Nest boxes lineup.

The stork was here yesterday and I am just waiting for one more arrival today. Woolie litters are so small, usually 2-3 babies. Once or twice there will be a big litter of 4-6 babies but that is unusual. They are the size of a women's thumb when they are born. The colors show up almost right away or at least by day 2. So you can see who is broken or charlie and if the marking have turned out pretty even. I am very excited about my first woolie litter with both parents being Grand Champions.

I use plastic bins for all my litters and I use stacking office bins for the woolies. They are just the right size and even have a spot for a label on the front where I list all the information about each litter. I put this on right away, Mom and Dad, how many and what color and date of birth. This way if any babies escape, I know who it belongs too.

The nest boxes are taken away from the Moms right after birth, covered with a dish towel and brought in the house. They are kept inside a cage and brought out to Mom twice a day, morning and night, to nurse. If the Mom doesn't get the idea, I put the Mom in the nest box and put the dish towel over her so she has some quiet time with the babies. When she is done, she will poke her head out from the towel to let me know. I do this for the first 2 weeks until the babies have grown some wool and the Moms have a chance to re-cooperate. After 2 weeks, it depends on the Moms. Some are happy to have a cage to themselves and some want the babies with them. I let the Moms decide.

BIS at the Lebanon Show

Whitney's beautiful Belgian Hare.

Shepherds Sweet Pea sitting on the lucky rug.

Judge Travis Finkle with me and Sweet Pea.

Shepherds Sweet Pea listening to the judges comments.

Yea! I got a new camera for my birthday and am able to post photos again! Just in time for some exciting news and photos.

I almost didn't go to the Lebanon show after I realized that it was nearly 3 hours away. Thinking that it was a closer show, I didn't look at the directions until the night before. It was a single show but with an additional Jersey Woolie specialty show. Blue Skies needed one more leg to grand and she was looking really nice so I made the trip. Sure am glad I did. Sweet Pea won Best of Breed and then went on to win Best in Show along with Whitney's beautiful grand champion Belgian Hare as Reserve in Show. How exciting to win along with such a nice friend! She almost didn't stay for the Best in Show judging but needed to register her rabbit. I think she must have forgotten all about the registration after her win. This is her first grand champion and now her first Reserve in Show. No matter how many times you might win best or reserve, it never looses it's thrill. But the first time will stay in your memory forever.

Thanks to Judge Travis Finkle for picking Sweet Pea. Karen, show sectrary from the Delmarva show, brought my lucky rug back to me. I must have left it on the table after all the excitement. I sure that is what helped us win. Rabbit people are the best. Oh, and Blue Skies did get her last leg after all.