Bye Bye Beautiful Fluffy Coats

Today was a busy day! We spent over two hours clipping the rabbits.  I have plucked Lola before, but today the scissors came out.  It was just too hot for those thick wool coats anymore.  Both Lola and Chip now look like freshly sheared sheep.  I now have two Walmart bags full of angora wool, and Lola and Chip look much cooler and happier. However, my back is killing me! I must have stayed hunched over for way too long. 

101 Degrees, 118 Degrees Heat Index

"Man the fans, ice bottles now!" This seemed to be the motto of our morning until I could not stand it anymore.  "Bring them in," I said. So... Lola, Chip, and even Winnie(our ancient mini-lop) all came into the cool.  We dumped out Christopher's toy totes. We filled each with shavings and lined them up beside Carolyn's guinea pig, Rosie.  They munched on Timothy hay and a bit of cucumber through the afternoon without a care.  I have just returned them to their pens with refilled water bottles for the night.  Tomorrow we will follow this same indoor routine as the temperatures are supposed to skyrocket again. 

Time for Better Housing

Well, it is definitely time to build something better for our bunnies.  Let's put it this way - I am tired of constantly cleaning cages.  We need an old fashioned hutch with a modern twist that will let the rabbit poop and pee fall freely through.  I have been looking for plans on the internet that were not too involved or that would not be too costly.  Today I stumbled upon what I think will be just the ticket- PVC hutch plans.  I ordered the ebook and we are now ready to attempt this project.  I will post pictures as things begin to come together.

We love to make things from wool!

Carolyn was the reason we started working with wool.  She and I have enjoyed making scarves and needle felted sculptures together.  She is now working on making jewelry too from wool and I have started making bowls.  I have always loved to crochet.  In fact, I think I was Carolyn's age when I first learned.  It took forever then to finish anything and more often than not I didn't finish.  Since then I have made numerous afghans, scarves, and even stuffed animals.  I had never really used wool before.  I had always used Red Heart from the local Walmart.  Oh boy, what fun it is to make something and then felt it until the stitches are no longer visible and what is in front of me has been transformed into a thick sturdy piece.  I have now made two bowls.  The first one is more lightly felted and the second very tightly felted.  I am amazed by how nicely they hold their shape.  I see Christmas presents for family members and friends when I look at them.   Plus, I have added them to our Etsy store.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/kiomade

Chip is NOT a boy!

Carolyn sold two of her felted scarves to some teachers at school back in the spring to pay for her newest angora, Chip.  He was to be a buck, a boy so she could begin her breeding program.  Well, as fate would have it, there will be no babies for our Lola yet.  Chip is a girl!  I have checked and checked.  No signs of male anatomy anywhere.  He is now 5 months so certain things should be apparent.  Oh well...I guess we should call her Chipette!  However, we still love him...er her.  I don't know if we will ever get used to calling him a girl.