BACK HOME AGAIN!

No pictures today, but I had to write a short bit. Sorry it took so long but we have been very very busy. You see last weekend the moving men loaded the truck and then some dear friends helped us drive the critter caravan home to Indiana. All the bunnies are now snug in their home barn once more. I worried terribly over the old ones, but they all took it in stride and no one even missed a meal. Even the week old litter of black germans made the move snuggled in a basket and mom was happy to feed them after the 10 hr trip.
It is so nice to be home! I walked out to the barn to feed this morning and listened to the peepers in the pond and the whiporwill calling across the wood. You just don't know how blessed you are until you leave the sanctity of your little carved out nitch of a home in the wood. Now I know and I'll never move again.
Last night I took the dogs for a run in the wood, both of them went splashing through creeks and ran until they dropped. Very happy dogs and I'll admit I loved watching them frolic.
Hubby is working diligently on the lawn that turned into a hay field over the last year. Next he will tackle the fallen fences and after they are up then we can bring the horses back home from my cousins. I have to head back to Wisconsin for a couple of weeks for the software launch and to get the old house listed, but before I go there are several bunnies in need of a wool harvest. Maybe this weekend I can take some pictures to show off those wonderful coats.

Going Home!

I haven't posted for a while because I've been extremely busy. The software at work is moving full speed ahead to a launch on June 2nd. This means we are training users and testing/simulating processes at high speed. There have been a few bugs, so we are working through those, mostly in our businees processes.
The wonderful news is that I found a new job, it is not really new, but allows me to continue to do the software gig only move back to Indiana. They did not want to lose my expertise in this area until the other plant is up and running. So to keep me in the role, they agreed to relocate me back to the farm and allow me to travel as needed, on their dime, back to Wisconsin. This really benefits everyone, so it is a great solution.
So this started the mad dash to get things moved, I have to wait on the relocation company for the house stuff, but I started to look around for a horse transport. I found one who said if I move her tomorrow it is basically half price. He was in the area and with the super high cost of fuel I jumped on it. So today is moving day for my Annie. We are also going to Indiana to do some more work on the house, so today is a long day of travel.

New Spring Beginning

At long last, I have a pure german litter out of SWF White Lightening and SWF Tornado(Tori). Lightening is the son of Suzanna, who was the 2006 IAGARB highest wool producer, even though her record has now been shattered, I'm still very proud of this doe. Although my biggest problem with her is she is very hard to get bred. I decided a long time ago that I wanted her wool production, but with the easy breeding and good mothering instincts of my old lines. Tori has all of the wonderful mothering and breeding characteristics and her IAGARB registration total, while not a record, was quite respectable at around 390 grams. This morning, right on time, she presented me with a nice litter of 5. She always has 4 or 5 and this is a wonderful size litter. The bunnies always get well fed and she stays in good condition.
Another baby update and just for Sara, some cute baby picture of the other litter out of Suzanna's other boy SWF Cumulo Nimbus and my tort doe Buck Creek's Sunny. The babies are out of the nest and although a large litter, they are all growing nicely. All black so it is hard to get good pictures, but the one above is cute. Sunny loves being a mommy and doesn't seem happy unless she has babies to take care of.
Enjoy, and happy spring!

Black Germans

Several folks have asked about my black germans. Two black germans does were imported from Germany in 2006 by Susan Wiley and Leslie Samson. I have a black german buck who is a grandson of one of those does. This picture and the one in my side bar are two from my first litter. Their mother is my SWF Tornado (Tori) who I registered with IAGARB when she was 10 mths old. Tori is what I'm breeding for. An excellent mother who takes every time I breed her. Excellent wool production, she produces just under 400 grams at every shearing, and she stays very clean between shearings even her bottom needs very little maintenance. Tori is now bred to Lightning whose picture is in my header. This will probably be Tori's last litter as she is now two and she is my biggest pet. I will be keeping her daughters from this litter. Lightning is the son of Samson's Suzanna, my 2006 record setting doe.

Sad to say I lost his brother this past weekend, not sure why, found him dead on Sat morning.

The other brother Nimbus has a litter with my tort doe, this will be what I use to bring a much better fawn into my herd in the future.

Well back to work, seems the real job keeps putting on more demands.

Awesome

I feel a bit relieved after returning from Indiana. The damage from the busted water heaters wasn't as hard to repair as we thought. Got the old subfloor torn out, cleaned off some mold and got the new subfloor down. Of course we had some cut water lines along the way but hubby made quick work of the repair. Still need to install a new sink cabinet, sink and faucet before replacing the laminate floor. We'll make another trip down the first of May or so. The grass will need mown by then so it will be good timing.

On the job front, there are a couple of possibilities for relocation back home but nothing concrete yet. Hubby doesn't mind, he wants to do some fishing yet up here in Wisconsin. Personally I'm in a hurry to get back. I'm itching to get my hands in the dirt of my garden. I want to take long walks in the woods and watch my horses play in the pasture.

Some mid week bunny clean up gave me a chance to take a photo of this guy. I'm so please with Suzanna's boys. I will not sell two of them, but I feel selfish hoarding these genetics. I've offered a few people to breed their does to them. I've also bred Tori and she appears to be prego. She is always easy to tell because she gets a bigger belly and it shows well because she is so nicely straight in body. In two weeks we should have some very nice pure german babies.

Sunny (tort doe) has a litter out of one of Suzanna's boys as well. She had 8 nice fat kits, all black, these are 83% german, but I expect them to be as good as my pure german blacks given their parentage. I'll try to get pics of them soon, but right now they look like a black mass in the nest box. Sunny is a super mom with milk jugs that look like a cow.

Well back to the grind, more snow today, will spring ever get here and stay?

It's Spring!

Finally the snow mounds are retreating. Hubby has been shoveling the ice off the deck and the piles along the roads are melting rapidly. You can now see the ground in the fields, but I think the piles by our driveway will last until June. Such a long, record setting, snowy winter. Of course in Wisconsin snow can happen even in spring, but I really hope it is done for the year.

Baby updates, both litters are doing well, soon to be 4 weeks old and both litters are now eating well. Good thing for poor Zephyr, with 7 in her litter she has really been challenged weight wise. I won't breed her again, just needed the one litter to pass on Snowy's genetics and get the color I was after. April's litter is growing in typical german fashion, with a litter of 4 they are bigger than Zephyr's. April doesn't seem to be enamored with her babies though. She seems to be a standoffish type of mom, unlike her mother Tori who loves to have babies. Hopefully it is just first litter syndrome. Suzanna once again was just gaining weight and didn't give me any babies. I'm done trying to get her to conceive, I'll just concentrate on getting someone to have babies out of her boys and see how that works. Tori was happy to have Lightining visit her so we will see in 31 days. I've got a waiting list going, so either does or bucks are already spoken for.

The picture in the middle is what I believe to be a lilac tort, the tort markings are the lightest I've ever seen. This kit reminds me of Snowy, always running to the door to get attention or see what I'm bringing. Obviously this one stays and I've named her Lily, I hope I've got the sex right or I'll have to change the name LOL.

I haven't been doing much lately with fiber, too busy at work, the training phase has begun on the new software so it has been a challenge to get home before too late in the evening. This weekend I've got to get ready to leave next week which means getting the bunnies all set up and the house cleaned. We are going home to the farm in Indiana for a long weekend, have to work on the house some. Hopefully Steve will move in May and I'll follow within a month or two.

Enjoy the cuteness of new babies!

Updates

I've had the flu for what seems like forever, but I think I'm starting to be on the mend. I have to keep taking advil to keep the fever at bay, which makes for some sporadic work. I did get a picture of my agouti baby this morning with its eyes open. I think it is a doe, but that is probably just wishful thinking, so hard to tell at this age. If it is a doe, when it is old enough I'll breed it to Danny who I know carries chocolate. I've rebred Sunny (tort) to Nimbus to check the color he carries. Nimbus is one of Suzanna's boys and thus my primary line to add size to these new colored pure germans. Thunder's father Edison was quite large, but Thunder is not that large. I've got several bucks that did not get much size, seems to be a common problem in the germans as well as the giants. Not the problem with Suzanna's boys though as all of them are 10lbs! I think Suzanna may have taken with the last breeding I sure hope so, I need a doe out of her. Poor Lola miscarried, I guess she is not meant to be a mother. Well back to work, trying to catch up a bit.

Baby Update

New pictures of Zephyr's litter, still 7 although the choc agouti is smaller than the rest, I'm giving this little one some extra mommy time each day, but doesn't seem to help much. I would move it to the other litter, but I'm afraid those big kits would push it out as well. Better to let nature take care of itself sometimes. The fawns are showing some nice clear color, I'm anxious to see how they mature.

Also posted are pictures of April and her growing litter of 4, she has the very protective instincts of her grandma Windy, she is all gruff and no bite though. Does make you a little more alert when checking the babies I have to remove her or she jumps on top of them to keep me from getting to them. Zephyr on the other hand is like her mommy Snowy and doesn't mind at all if I mess with the babies. April's litter is pure german, I'm thrilled there is a chestnut in the litter. This is the first non black pure german I've gotten out of my german black buck Thunder.

I tried to test the color genetics on one of Suzanna's boys, but she didn't take so I'll have to try again this spring.

Off to the real job, more updates later

Projects and New Beginnings

Well finally the weather man has good news, although it is snowing again it is not going to be the storm predicted and will be off and on snow showers rather than the 4-6 inches predicted. The weekend was spent is home projects. On Saturday the wind was howling and 30 + below wind chills were predicted. I knew I couldn't keep the bunny barn warm enough so two expectant moms came inside. This resulted in the dogs getting kicked out of the basement and the bunnies moving in.

Well, moved them in just in time, on Sunday Zephyr delivered. A nice sized litter, she had eight, but the runt didn't make it, so there are seven left, looks to be mostly a colored litter with the possibility of a couple of whites, but definitely some fawns and I think one choc agouti. Should know more of the colors in a few days. If this litter wasn't in the house they would not have survived. Poor Zephyr is a first time mom and for the last two weeks went off her food and had trouble moving her bowels. I used all the tricks I know, feeding her by hand lots of greens and giving her small amounts of oil and sugar water. Her belly was huge with kicking babies and being a small sized doe I guess the growing babies took up all the room. She scattered them on the wire, but I gathered them up and put them in the nest box with the wool I had clipped from her. After she had rested, she did feed them and now seems very attentive. Best news is she seems to be eating heartily again, she has some catching up to do. Here is a pic of the babies, I'll take one every few days so you can watch how they progress.

I also spent the weekend on the tri loom, a yarn of shetland and alpaca that I spun in December. I think I weave two triangles and put them together for a nice sized blanket, depends of if I have enough of the yarn. On the spinner is a beautiful kid mohair in a faded red color. I plan to also spin a single of red satin angora for plying, pics to come later of that. Bye for now, off to the real job, sigh.

Snowy day and Loom for Sale

Yesterday was quite the snow day, we had a foot of snow! I was supposed to fly to Portland OR for a business meeting, but the airport cancelled flights early so I didn't even try to get out. One perk of our electronic society is that I could work from home on the laptop, so that is what I did.

I also finally came to a decision to sell my 4 harness loom. I've had this loom for over a 1 1/2 years, but I've yet to even warp it. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day and since I've never done this it would take even longer. Plus we are moving back to the farm this summer and unless I want to park it in the garage, there just isn't room in our small house. So I'll stick to the smaller looms for weaving and maybe someone will want to give this one a new home. I'm asking $500 or will trade for a traditional style spinning wheel or a tapestry/navajo style loom. Just send me an email to atlantisranyan@yahoo.com if you are interested, it must be picked up in Wisconsin, too big to ship.

Tribute to Snowy

Sadly I lost my D'Lynn's Snowy Lady (top photo). Snowy was a sweet gentle rabbit who taught me so much. She and her sister Misty will always hold a special place in my heart. They were my first rabbits purchased from Donna in Indiana. They were 50% english/50% german, and excellent import bloodlines on the german side. Snowy had a wonderfully matt free but yet very soft coat. Generally she sheared around 270 grams, not as much as a german, but since her coat was much finer and softer the volume was still the same. She passed away last night, still investigating with the vet to determine the cause of this mysterious illness that seems to only attach my does after shearing. I've lost 4 so far in the last 6 months, but Misty had the same symptoms about a year ago. If I knew the cause maybe I could do something to prevent this.

Anyway I still have Snowy's daughter Storm Warning's Zephyr who is a chestnut agouti from a fawn french father. Zephyr has her mother's disposition and coat. I've bred her to the choc agouti buck in my last post, I'll be saving some of these babies. I'm finding I prefer this type of coat for my own spinning.

Cold again this am, I don't think I will ever get used to these temperatures. The bunny barn was down to 35 this am, the little heater just can't keep up with 15 below zero and 30 below wind chills. I had to dethaw of few of the bowls in the bottom tier of cages. The rabbits don't seem to mind the temp, the ones who have been recently sheared have coats on and the rest are growing out nicely.

Here is a picture of a buck I sheared last weekend. Noah is a chocolate agouti whose father is a 1/2 2006 import german and his mother is a nice fawn doe who is only 47% german. Noah never got to be very large, but he still has wonderful spinning fiber and has good depth of color. He is bred to a chestnut doe who father was also fawn. Looking forward to having some nice fawn/agouti babies in early February. These will not be high percentage german, only 50%, but I'm love their texture for spinning. It is softer than german, but still matt free and both parents have been extremely carefree. This babies should make really nice spinners bunnies. I plan to keep a fawn for myself, but the rest will be available if anyone is interested.

Bye for now

Bitter Cold

17 below zero this morning, and so far we have only gotten up to 6 below. Had to go run errands though, we all have to eat, but boy the wind sure does cut right through when it is this cold. I'm spending the weekend spinning and reading. My copy of Ravenshade has arrived. My friend C.S. Marks has written this fantasy series, and it is hard to put down. This is the third book and the last in this trilogy. I sure hope she writes some more though. If anyone is interested you can find more info at the website www.elfhunter.net.
I finished the merino/alpaco roving and I've now started on a little bit of pygora in shades of purple/lavender. It is a lovely fiber and glides right through the fingers. It was expensive though and I didn't purchase much I'm not sure yet what it will become after spinning. Sometimes I just get pleasure out of trying a new fiber.
Bye for now

Black Germans

Very cold this morning temperature is 2 below zero and I'm sure the wind chill is much lower than that. The new snow is pretty, and I don't mind it as much as the cold. Seems like the wind cuts right through any cloths you can find to put on. I'm currently working on a 50/50 wool/angora sweater, but I don't think it will help me much this winter. I'm a slow knitter :>(

I'm sharing a Christmas picture of my pure german black doe SWF Mariah. She is from the first litter of my pure german black buck. I've got two more does bred to him, should have litters in early Feb if they took. I'm currently taking a waiting list for these babies if anyone is interested just send me a note at atlantisranyan@yahoo.com. I'm really pleased with the depth of color in the pure german blacks. They have more even color distribution than the german crossed with other breeds do.

Bye for now.

Rocky

I haven't seen my little friend for a while now. We had a blizzard right before Christmas with the wind blowing the snow very hard. Since that time I've not seen the squirrels. I miss their antics, I would fill the bird feeder almost daily just so I could watch them. I hope they are sleeping somewhere nice and warm. I find it amazing that any creature can survive the winter cold. One thing I really miss about the farm/woods back home is being able to walk even in winter and see all of the creatures scurrying around. The squirrels were a link to the woods, so I hope to see them in spring.

Winter Cold

Cold and more snow on the way. This morning it is 9 degrees F. Wind Chill -10. 5 inches of snow forecasted for Wed-Thur. It is only January and I'm very tired of winter. So far the bunny barn has averaged 50 degrees, but with a forecast high of 4 this Saturday it will be a real test for my little heater. Fortunately I'll be able to monitor it well on the weekend. Several rabbits have been shorn recently so if the temps in the barn drop too much they will have to come in the house. They get to wear nice little coats, so as long as it stays above freezing in there they should be fine.
In the past I've struggled every winter to thaw water bowls and worried through every shearing. When we moved to Wisconsin, not knowing really what the winters were like, I invested in a bunny barn and spent many long hours getting it insulated. Well the work has paid off and I've learned a few things. When we move back to Indiana I again will create a climate controlled area in the barn. Winters are much easier, but the big worry there is summer heat. Several friends lost rabbits due to the high temps this past summer. So I'm thinking that if we want to create high producing angora rabbits, it is only fair to give them comfort in the summer.

New Beginning

After several years of reading other's blogs, I've decided to create my own. Transplanted from home this may give some of my friends a chance to keep up on what is happening in my life. I'm currently spinning a lovely blend of merino and alpaca. Once I figure this blogger out maybe I can post a picture. I did manage to post a picture of my darling boy Lightning. Lightning is the son of my 2006 highest wool producer in IAGARB doe Samson's Sunny Suzanna. Lightning is the best of the 4 having reached 10 lbs at 9 mths of age. I've currently bred him to a tort doe to see what color genetics are hiding under the white.