Photographic images posted to 
Designer scarves and shawls added to 
Lovely buck from summer litters that carries chocolate gene for sale.
Dyeing, Dyeing, Dyeing!
Spinning a hand carded blend of my fawn angora, moorit wool and tussah silk on my Reeves Wheel
Posted in Rabbits
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I suppose my lifestyle would really be boring to a lot of people. I'm content to spend the early morning looking after the animals, then settle in to work on the computer for the rest of the morning. I sell books and collectibles on-line and am working on inventory for the new shop. Sometimes I work on accounting data entry for other people or myself. And sometimes I sneak in a game; the advantage of working for yourself. Last week my computer hours were taken up with writing letters against NAIS to representatives. Email is better than nothing, but I've been sending letters in real envelopes with real stamps; harder to delete! This morning I got an alert about a law in Virginia about licensing backyard flocks. It feels sometimes as if the small farmer is under attack by the government supposed to represent them!
Bunny Barn If I don't have any orders to pack up and take to the post office, my next chore after lunch is to whatever is needed with the bunnies. Almost always there's some cleaning to be done, if it is warm enough. I have a two tier cage set-up, pictured below, with trays resting on the bottom cage. I shovel these out as often as I can manage and sweep the floor below the bottom cage. The rabbits get a small meal of wheat in the winter time at about mid-day. Even in bad weather when I can't get much done in the bunny house, I enjoy a trip down the hill several times a day, just to get away from the computer a few minutes. So I space out their feeding: hay in the morning, some green stuff mid morning, then the wheat at noon, carrots up in the afternoon and then their commercial pellets in the evening.
Tiers of Cages Often a rabbit will be due for shearing. I keep about twenty rabbits for wool and breeding, and do the best that I can to keep them sheared every ninety days. This is important for the health of the rabbit and also for the fiber, which seems to me to be in the best condition for harvesting every ninety days. If the weather is warm enough that both the rabbit and I won't suffer from the cold, I shear on schedule, even in the winter. If it seems that there will be a drastic change in the temperature, I'll leave some wool, about a quarter inch, on the rabbit and line the cage bottom with extra hay. Shearing the rabbits is a pleasant experience. I use a pair of short bladed scissors, and sit outside the bunny house door if the wind isn't blowing. Hard to keep fine angora in the bag if there's much of a breeze! I clip the rabbit on my lap and sort the wool as I take it off into prime and second. If any is matted or stained it is discarded. If I stay on schedule with the shearing I don't usually see much matting. Sometimes a curious cat will come and watch as I shear, and I can look out over the fields as I work. The neighbor across the field has a few cattle, and I enjoy watching them graze over the hillside. The changing light of a winter day is always entertaining. After the chores are done and the rabbits are settled for the evening, I often return to the computer for a little while. Then I spend the evening spinning or crocheting, with a loyal little spaniel sleeping at my feet, or beside me on the couch! Just before bed is my favorite reading time, although I'm apt to pick up my book any time through the day during spare minutes. Life on the farm is settled, but time and tasks move with the cycle of the seasons. |
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