Flickr photo album

I just discovered Flickr.

I know, I'm a shelter case. I'd heard of Flickr before - who hasn't. It's only one of the biggest sites on the whole Internet for shutterbugs. I'd anticipated cutesy, but poor-quality photos of people's pets and friends. There are a lot of photos like that, of course. But there's also some amazing works by incredibly talented people. This one, by user "williscreek" is my favorite of the moment:

I uploaded some bunny pics too, which you can see here. [sheepish grin]

- Hannah with jaw hanging open...

Promising juniors

I love spring. This year is especially exciting because we have a lot of kits in the nestbox right now and several promising juniors.

Tulip, a Creme d'Argent, gave us a litter of six in the middle of the winter, four of which are shaping up nicely for the spring shows. I really wasn't sure how these youngsters would look, because this is the first breeding to combine the two bloodlines we're working with. (We sent an intermediate buck from Ferryman lines to Convention last fall, but since "Firestorm" was going to another breeder out-of-state, I wanted to have at least one litter from him before he left.)

Tulip has nice hindquarters and she's a great mom, but she's rather long in the shoulders - a common fault in Cremes. Firestorm was surprisingly strong in the shoulders, but peaks too early in the topline, making his hindquarters slope off. The goal was by breeding these two, their strengths would counteract the other rabbit's weaknesses. The two does both carry some of the weaknesses of their parents, but both have improvements that make them worth keeping, at least until they're a little more mature. I'm really excited about one of the junior bucks too - he's big, which is something I really need. In addition, he has nice strong shoulders, which is something else I'm looking for in our barn. It will be interesting to see how they mature!

NC Convention & Youth Royalty Contest

We made it to both shows hosted at the North Carolina State Convention this past Saturday, and let me tell you, it was a blast! The NCRBA had more than 500 rabbits entered just in the open division! This set a new record for entries.

Since the whole family loves rare breeds, we were thrilled to see several breeders there with some of the nation's most endangered breeds - Lilacs, Belgian Hares, Standard Chinchillas, Satin Angoras, Creme d'Argents (mine, LOL), and a Silver Fox. Woohoo!

A youth breeder named Noah Hayes did especially well. Noah isn't even in his teens, but his very lovely Belgian Hare was runner-up for Best in Show Saturday! It warms my stinkin' little heart to see a KID go out there with an endangered breed and knock the socks off all those Netherland Dwarfs and Dutch. Congratulations Noah!

How did our rabbits do, you ask? They were so amazing that no one dared bring...well, not exactly. We showed eight Creme d'Argents and two English Angora babies, but they were the only ones of their breeds entered. (However, one of the judges did ask to see a 16-week-old Creme d'Argent doe that we hadn't entered in that particular show. He thought she was better than the buck who won Best of Breed!) I really appreciate both judges taking the time to carefully evaluate our rabbits, even though so few were entered.

And oh yeah, yours truly won the breed ID and youth Royalty contests for the age group of "Borderline Youth Breeders Who Really Need to Grow Up and Face the Adults". Yer lookin' at the "official" Bunny Queen of North Carolina now... I have to hand it to those hard-working adult breeders for putting on the youth activities though. If I heard right, more kids participated in the youth activities this year than ever before! And they had fun too!


All in all, the North Carolina Rabbit Breeders Association put on a great 2007 Convention. The show went smoothly and there was a great turnout. Congratulations!

Three Years in the ARBA

I just got my 2007 membership card from the ARBA and I realized that it's been three years since I plunged into showing rabbits. Wow! It seems like a lifetime, but compared to so many other breeders, I'm a newbie!

We got our first rabbit, a pet New Zealand White, several years prior to the show bunnies. "Fluffy" was only with us about a year, but he taught us a lot about bunnies. His quirky personality and goofy hijinks did a lot to influence my decision to get into rabbits as a breeder. Later on, I purchased a pair of "mutt" rabbits from a backyard meat breeder and raised a couple of litters. Looking back now, I definitely regret that, but "Bucky" and "Blossom" did further my "bunny education". One of the things I learned is the importance of setting goals for your breeding program and purchasing only quality rabbits "worthy" of passing on their genes!

In January or February of 2003, I got four Californians from a reputable breeder near Richmond, Virginia. I'd never really intended to show rabbits, but after cuddling one of those rabbits, it seemed a shame not to try it at least once. Off we went to a show with two of the new "girls" in tow. Of course, one of them won her class and I was smitten with showing. (I was like, "This is so EASY and so much FUN!" Easy? NOT! Fun? Yes.) In 2004, we got Creme d'Argent rabbits and then last September, English Angoras. At the current rate, I figure I'll have all 50 breeds in my barn in the next ten years. [rolls eyes]

Still awake?

Moving on from my tail of addiction, erm, story of showing, we got a really fun email Sunday from Peter and Lynanne in northern Virginia. Lynanne had contacted us several months ago looking for an English Angora and she's waited very patiently for a bunny since then. (the Angora waiting list deserves a post all its own...) Saturday, they came down and got an adorable little lilac pearl buck (click on the picture labelled "Yeti").

"Woolsley" made the trip just fine, but the fun began Sunday morning. Woolsley had been given a toilet paper tube stuffed with hay the night before (great cheap toy, by the way), and of course, being an intelligent, resourceful English Angora, he worked all the hay out and devoured it. The next morning, he greeted them, then he picked up the now empty toilet paper tube and pitched it in his food bowl! I don't generally attribute human characteristics to animals - expect in the case of rabbits, dogs, cats, horses, chickens, ducks, turkeys, etc. - so I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that story...

Mama mia! It's pesto night!

If you've never tried pesto sauce, you are seriously missing out. I've only had the pleasure of eating that sumptuous stuff a few times but I am hooked. What's pesto? Minty basil, garlic, olive oil, and rich Parmesan cheese join forces to create a hearty, versatile sauce fit for the pickiest eater. My mom - I love you! - treated us to homemade pesto over pasta tonight. If my tummy were a kitten, it would be purring.

Here's her recipe (she replaced the fresh ingredients with dried herbs and Parmesan):

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic

If you use dry ingredients, you can just mix everything together and go, but fresh ingredients will need a little more preparation - everything has to be chopped or grated. Or you could just throw everything in a food processor. Pesto can be refrigerated for up to a week (although it probably won't last that long :) ) or you can freeze it.

To make pasta with pesto, grab 4 cups of cooked and drained spaghetti or fettucini noodles. Take 6 tablespoons of the basic pesto sauce listed above and toss in 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine. Add one cup of Parmesan cheese to the mixture and toss with the noodles. Makes 4-6 servings or 2 servings for hungry rabbit breeders. ;-)