Needle Felted Giraffe

Remember when the Fiber Arts teacher (Mandy) came to visit me and purchased Annie, the White English Angora,  for her classroom?

She brought this felted giraffe that day.  This is what one of her senior students made in class.  The base of the giraffe is made of the off white fiber (I don’t remember what kind of fiber though).  All of the giraffe’s spots are brown fiber that has been needle felted in!  I think the student did an amazing job: A+! Probably because she has an amazing teacher :).

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• GBF’s Annie

GBF’s Annie

I wanted to share these pictures that were sent to me this morning from Mandy – a fiber arts teacher down around the Indianapolis area.  She purchased Annie back in July to use in her Fiber Arts class (high school).    Annie and Adam actually live at the school, in Mandy’s classroom.  The students help with the care and grooming of them and the wool is saved for projects.  It certainly looks like she and Adam are living like royalty!

Annie and Adam in their condo.

“I had to have custom trays made (the ones I made smelled and were NOT good) I also discovered the value of pee guards. Toys were a bigger hit than I could have imagined and Annie is still a picky girl when it comes to how she likes her water (she likes the ball spout over the stick spout).  Our black bunny is Adam.   Annie loves Adam and itches to play with him but I’m afraid to let them.   I submitted my grant proposal to buy carders, drop spindles, and a spinning wheel. I should know on October 18th if I got it.”

How great is that?!  I can’t imagine how awesome it would be to learn spinning while in high school and to have a teacher like Mandy willing to go to such lengths for her students.

GBF's Annie

2010 St. Joseph County 4H Fair

Haley in her 'show whites' - Sr. Showmanship - Rsv. Champion

The goat show started first thing Monday morning.  Showmanship classes were first.  This was Haley’s first year in Sr. Showmanship.  She was thrilled to get Rsv. Champion.   This was Abby’s first year in Intermediate Showmanship and she did well also – 4th place.

Abby & Skipper on the cart course.

Skipper was a bit balky this year and Abby had to keep him focused.

Almost done.

Finished. Whew. Mom can breath now. Rsv. Champion.

The Cart Class immediately followed Showmanship.  Abby & Skipper had won Champion Cart Goat for the past 2 years.  They were ‘dethroned’ this year by our friends daughter and her goat.  But Abby & Skipper still did very well.

Haley walking in Nellie (5+ milking Swiss Sr. Doe Class). 1st Place.

Swiss class winners: Haley & Nellie (5+ yrs); Abby & Tabu (2 - 3 year); Lucas showing Ju-Ju (1 - 2 year).

Nellie won Champion and Tabu was Rsv. Champion.  They both went on to compete against the Nubian winners.  Nellie won Grand Champion Sr. Dairy Doe and Tabu was Rsv. Grand Champion.

Haley & Abby walking in two of our March kids.

Haley showing Jezabelle in unfreshened doe class (1 - 2 yr).

Lucas holding Nellie and Haley holding Elenore in Mother/Daughter. Winners.

Abby with her trophies and Nellie. Abby actually won Rsv. Grand Champion Sr. Dairy Doe with Tabu, but the heat was stressing Tabu and we didn't want to pull her out of the barn to take her picture.

Abby with Toots - Champion Swiss Jr. Doe

Abby with her buddy, Skipper.

The Rabbit Show was on Thursday.  The EA’s were on the table fairly early, with the Hollands immediately after.  The girls were the only ones there with EA’s – they took 3 total – so winning BOB & BOS wasn’t a surprise.   The girls also won BOB & BOS in the Holland Lops.   Abby won BOSG with her Netherland Dwarf Chestnut Sr. Buck, Napoleon.   So, they had 2 rabbits up for 4Class.    It WAS a surprise when Baize (the Jr. English Angora) was chosen as 4-Class winner!

Abby and Ki (both in purple) at the table watching the EA's being judged. Haley is behind Ki, you can't really see her.

BOB Holland Lop: GBF's Airdrie; Blue Jr. Doe

Haley waiting with Baize (4 Class winner) and another 4H'r with her Black Satin (6 Class winner) for the BIS announcement.

Haley just found out Baize had won BIS!

It was a REALLY BIG surprise, when Haley and Baize won Best in Show!

Abby was a bit disappointed with the fair this year, although, she still did really well.  We were putting the turkeys in the carriers to take them to the fair, and her hen got away and was totally uncatchable.  So, Abby was only able to enter her Tom (a pair is required).  Haley ended up winning Grand Champion Exhibition Turkeys with her pair of Bourbon Reds.

When they were deciding which bunnies they would take, Abby had the EA that I thought was the best and Haley had the Holland that I thought was the best.  The other bunnies were divided fairly between them (or so I thought).  Ha – so much for trying to guess what the judge likes.  Both the Hollands that won BOB & BOS were entered by Haley.  As was the EA.  So, Abby was quite irritated that her sister was getting all the hardware and glory.

She also got a short-straw with her market goat.  There were 2 heavy weight classes.  Haley’s goat (86#) was the heaviest in his group and Abby’s (90#) was 2nd to lightest in her group.  Haley won her class.  Abby was next to last.  This judge likes to pick a very heavy market goat and Abby didn’t stand a chance against the 122# monster the judge picked.  Haley ultimately lost to the 122# goat.  You just never know.

I purchased a hog from 4H friends and had it processed, so our freezer is full of yummy smoked pork chops, hams and sausage.  We also bought and processed a goat.  AND the broilers were taken in shortly after fair.  So, we are stocked for the winter.

Another fair done.  Now for the aftermath… cleanup.

Fuzz Buckets

I groomed out some Angora’s last week.  Who could this be?

Who is that bunny over there?

This is GBF’s Ramie (Starbuck’s Timberland x GBF’s Antoinette).   He is just over 6-months old now and just keeps getting cuter and cuter.    Abigail is just in love with this guy.

GBF's Ramie after getting his hair 'done'.

Ramie - definitely a pretty boy.

Ramie.

And this is GBF’s Baize (GBF’s Sampson x Hunneshagen’s Salome).    He isn’t quite 4-months old yet.  I love his coat and short cobby body.

GBF's Baize after his beauty treatment.

GBF's Baize.

It’s a Sad Day Here

ELS Mr. Sandman (Sandy)

ELS Mr. Sandman.

He was a beautiful tort English Angora.

He was a Grand Champion with 4 legs.

2007 MSRBA Fall Show - BOS

He was the sweetest boy.

He was only a little over 3 years old.

Sandman looking for a treat.

He was one of the first two English Angora’s I brought home.

Stan called me on my way home last night to tell me that he had died. This was totally unexpected. I feel so bad that when I was out getting bunnies for the show yesterday morning, I didn’t take the time to give him a pat on the head. I never dreamed he wouldn’t be there when I got home.

There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with him outwardly. He had been cut down a few weeks ago, and had been snarfing down his food like normal.

Sandy had recently sired a litter with Hunneshagen’s Salome. This was her first litter and they did not make it. This makes me even more sad to know that I have no offspring of Sandy.

Oh, Sandy.  I hope there wasn’t something I could have done.  I miss you.

Pictures of GBF’s Frank & His ‘Family’

I sold Frank in early January to the nicest couple, Nathan and Lindsay.  They send me emails occasionally updating me on Frank.  In the latest email, Nathan said,

“Lindsay and her family absolutely adore him and he is extremely spoiled!  In the mornings he gets so excited when he hears Lindsay wake up! The little guy gets up on his back legs and stands up looking at her in anticipation of being fed! He spends hours out and about hopping around their living room! My favorite part is watching him attempt to use the litter box. He is so big that when he sits on it he doesn’t realize he is peeing over the edge of it onto the floor!”

Sorry about your floor, Lindsay!

Here is a picture they sent me of Frank when they first brought him home.  He was so little:

Frank at only 2 months old.

And then some recent pictures of Frank from this past weekend; he has grown a lot:

Frank and his family.

Isn't he JUST so cute?!

I really do enjoy getting updates like this on the bunnies I’ve sold to people.  It makes me happy to know that they are being loved and taken such good care of.

Incidentally, Frank and his siblings were named after the characters in the Cary Grant movie, “Father Goose”.  It’s a good movie and family appropriate – my girls love to watch it.

Baby Update

On the Angora front:  Countryside Serenity x GBF’s Sampson are proud to announce the birth of 4 kits on May 9th.  I’m so pleased that she caught and delivered live babies on the very first try.    All I know right now is that NONE of them are REW’s!  Yea!!  I have plenty of REW’s right now and would prefer to have more color.  There is a good chance that there are chocolate torts in the litter.  A few more days and I should be able to tell.  UPDATE:  Looks like two torts and two blue torts maybe.

As for Hollands:  KNR Chestnut x GBF’s Houdini (Siamese Sable) have 3 kits.  There appears to be a black and maybe an orange.  I’m not sure on the other one though.  This was more of a test breeding to see if Chestnut possibly carried REW or the shaded gene.  UPDATE: The one kit looks like it might be a Sable Point.   So, Chestnut does NOT carry ‘C’.

Hayden – The Disappearing Bunny

A couple of weeks ago, I brought in two of my young English Angora does to groom.  The one gal, Hayden, was having great fun dashing all over the place, exploring here and there while I was gathering up my tools.  I put my daughter in charge of watching them while I went downstairs.  While I was gone, Abby had put the one bunny in the bathroom to keep it contained since she was having a hard time keeping on eye on both of them.  When I came back up, Hayden was gone.  We couldn’t find that little stinker anywhere.  I mean, where on earth could she have gone?  It’s not like she was the size of a mouse or anything.  As we became more desperate, we started searching areas we wouldn’t normally worry about.  Like the fireplace in the dining room.

There used to be an insert in the fireplace, but we took it out when we re-modeled.  In its place I have large antique crocks that we keep our magazines in.  Behind the crocks, in the floor, is a 4″x8.5″ ash vent with a door that pivots down.  We had never paid attention to what was under that.

Since we were desperate, I took a flashlight and peered down into the ash opening.  There, 8 feet down, was my bunny,  in the ash pit that is about 3′ x 4′ in size.  Horrible thoughts started racing through my head since she wasn’t moving – broken neck, broken back, broken leg…

I tied a large metal spoon to a piece of rope and dangled it down the opening, while holding a flashlight and tried to tap her with it to see if she would move.  She did!  She didn’t appear to be hurt.  Whew.  But how to get her out???

The only other way into the pit is a small door in the basement, wide enough to get a small shovel into.  However, that door is behind a large wooden shelving unit that holds all of my canned goods.  NOT movable.  So Stan started working on removing one of the shelves so that we could open the door.  But was Hayden interested in hopping out into the light?  Not even remotely.  It was nice in there.  Dark.  Quiet.  Roomy. Perhaps even pleasant.  And better yet – wonderfully dirty!

We put some hay by the opening, water and food and hoped that by the next morning we would find her hopping around the basement.

But no.  Of course not.  That would have been far too easy for all of us.  Instead, as I was trying to find her with the flashlight, she had actually dug a small burrow into a wall of ash that was still left down in the pit.  You could just see her bottom sticking out.  Then my fear was that the ash would collapse and she would be buried under it.  And she was in the opposite corner of the opening downstairs – we couldn’t reach her at all.  What to do.

She eventually hopped out of her burrow closer to the basement opening.  I had Abby go downstairs, to be on the ready to shut the door should she hop out.  I got my handy spoon-on-a-rope and dangled it down the hole, trying to swish her out the door.  Not.  Straight to her burrow.  Which then, of course, collapsed.  Then I was freaking out.  She was making no effort to dig herself out from what I could tell through the haze of ash dust with my lousy flashlight.  Oh my god – she’s going to suffocate!!!

By then Stan thought I had completely lost it, as I was yelling to get the shop vac.  Mr. Practical was saying things like, “the hose isn’t long enough to reach”, “what are you going to do, suck up all the ash?”.    My reply, “what other choice do we have”.  So, I stole all the attachments off my vacuum cleaner and we stuck them onto the shop vac hose.  Down the hose went into the hole from the vent upstairs.   There I was on my knees, trying to work this hose that took up half the vent opening and hold the flashlight at the same time so I could see what I was doing.

Eventually I could see her wool.  The hose plugged up several times with large chunks of burnt stuff and once the vac itself was full, so we had to dump it out.  I kept sucking the ash out, finding more of her body.  The hose must have found her ears, because all of a sudden she shot out there like a bullet.  I yanked out the hose to see where she went.  She was no longer in the pit!!!

Abby ran downstairs and shut the door to the pit so she couldn’t get back in.  We found her behind the furnace.  Nothing broken.  All in one piece.  And, incredibly filthy!