Some giant Angora kits. All bucks, but one.

Surprise BOB!

How fun! I sent a rabbit with my son and husband to ARBA Convention and got BOB!!

Thanks to my son for all his lovely grooming! Edward said the judge called her a beauty queen! She does have lovely sheen, even in the photos. Sadly though she came back in poor condition. The trip must have been very stressful, so I've plucked her, so she won't have all that wool and hopefully I can get her eating and in great condition again soon.

Knitting Socks from My Head

I like to knit. I've been knitting for a long time. Socks are king of fun, there is the cuff, which might be patterened, there is the heel, a bit of interest, and then the foot and the toe. I don't use pattern. Thirty years ago I was an exchange student to Austria and the Oma showed me how to knit socks. I knit that first pair for my brother. Over the years I've devised a sort of formula.

For example, for a pair of women's size 8 socks with worsted weight yarn cast on 36 stitches. Knit K1, P1 rib for 36 rows, then 9 rows st stitch (1/4 of 36), then the heal flap (about 2-2.5 inches), then about 36+9 rows of st stitch with gusset decreases, then the toe decreases.

If bigger or smaller socks are wanted, cast on more or fewer stitches and knit about as many rows as the number of stitches as cast on for a cuff. All of my 26 ppii socks are the same sort of “formula”, and are 24 -36 stitches cast on.

The formula works for other weights of yarn too. Think about it. For fingering weight yarn ~60 stitches are cast on, knit for about 60 rows, etc..

Giants

I decided I'd like to try Giant Angoras for all that lovely fiber. I love the color of the Satin Angoras, but they just don't have much fiber.

First liter was 8, 4 died in the first week, leaving one chestnut and 3 whites, all are does.

First Snow

I was excited about the beginning of Autumn and all its glories and then yesterday morning this is what we woke up to.













We had planned to make apple cider, but we really needed to get it done. The weather experts said we had 8 hours below freezing so the growing season was "officially" over.
Tonight we are supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow.

Autumn has arrived

Our favorite apples, the HoneyGold, are ready to be picked and eaten. We've been making apple crisp and eating it almost every day, breakfast, lunch and supper. I think that is my favorite part of the fall. I think it tastes so good because it makes me think of my mother and I have an image of her in the kitchen cutting up apples and putting them in the pan.



















The amur maples are turning color, although it will be about two weeks before they are at their peek.


Even the crab apple tree is loaded with crab apples. In the winter and early spring the birds will come and eat the apples.

There is a lot of planning in the fall. The sheep have been separated into their breeding groups. We have to decide which rabbits will be overwintered, poultry has to go into the freezer.
The boys picked all the pumpkins and put them around the yard to celebrate a favorite season!

Summer babies

We had two litters of angoras in July and and other just this past weekend. at four weeks old the rabbits are the sweetest little things there are. These satin angoras aren't the colors I thought they would be. When they were first born I thought they'd be opal (ended up chestnut) and lilac (ended up tort). I guess when they are hours old is too soon to determine colors.



Mom makes a nice resting spot. It couldn't have been too warm outside.


The French angoras posed a bit by the crab apple tree too. A few were more interested in the tree than in having their picture taken.
The blue angora sniffing on the apple branch feel off the grooming table, no harm done. It was very interested in the tree.

This cutie did a great job of getting it's picture taken.