Snugglebunnies1. We bought some Australorp point of lay hens about 2 months ago: gorgeous animals and they have settled in well ;) To my surprise though one of the hens turned out to have a very husky voice early in the morning and started koo-koo-loo-kooíng. That’s when I knew we were the proud owners of a Cockerel..lol a very effeminate one at that , but nevertheless, one that we would never get any eggs off. He is gorgeous and we may as well try to breed our own chooks now. All good. He doesn’t seem to be very loud in the morning and since we are not in suburbia it’s not a problem if he were. At least HE isn’t waking me up early in the morning , but somebody else sure is! Which brings me to new thing nr 2:
2. Monday morning, at around 6am I hear this thumping next to my bed. There it was gain: thump run thump..hop..thump. Peeking over the edge of the bed is Bear , ostentatiously looking at me, in quite a demanding way, so ..I get up. He runs to the door, looks around, I follow, he runs to the kitchen…looks around if I am still following him and spurts off to his bowl in the studio where he sits down, two front paws on bowl and I swear I could hear him muttering “I’m hungry, it’s breakfast time!” Yes, we now have a Bear Bunny Alarm clock..lol It is not uncommon for rabbits to have this behaviour but it is the first time for me and Bear. Bear is very special in another aspect as well: as soon as he enjoyed his breakfast, he is off to “work”meaning: he hops to Paul’s office and starts his working day filled with snoozing next to the desk, looking out the window. He clocks off at 5pm to hop to his bowl again and demands diner. Classic! In the meantime, in between working (read: snoozing) and hopping around investigating and the occasional bathroom break (yes, he hops to his kitty litter tray in the studio!) he has never ever destroyed , gnawed or broken anything, except for that one time that he thought the aloe vera plant was looking yummy and pulled the plant and terra cotta pot it was in, off the coffee table and nibbled at the leaves. He probably wanted a good detox that day..lol
Now, I hear you asking, what is the third new thing? Well, the third new thing is unfortunately a sad one. One of Fifi’s baby bunnies, Sulu, a little baby girl and amazingly cute, was looking a bit strange. Every time I was feeding the bunnies everybody ran to the food bowl including Sulu and started nibbling, at least that’s what I thought! Sulu was chewing on her fur though and when I first noticed that two days ago, I had the scare of my life. The teeth of bunnies grow all the time, they nibble and chew and the teeth then wear off so they are in a continuous cycle of growth. Sulu had two problems: her teeth were growing exponentially AND the teeth did not line up. So when she chewed they did not rub together to wear them off. In no time the front and lower teeth had grown so much in the wrong direction that it was probably starting to hurt , so she started chewing off her fur around the neck line and left the fibre in her mouth, chewing on it all the time. As soon as I noticed this bad situation I made an appointment with our good Vet, Kate, but I already knew that there was only one solution: euthanasia.. If an older bunny is developing this problem it can be helped by sawing off the excess growth , but with Sulu the mis alignment was so bad that she would have had to go into surgery every two weeks. The trauma that would mean would simply be too much and also the risks of the anaesthetic is huge. So we had to make a very hard decision to not have Sulu suffer any longer and put her to sleep. RIP little Sulu....
It is heartbreaking to see that such a beautiful little ball of fluff that has been nurtured for 2 and a half months is suffering and at those times I immediately start questioning why? How? It is so unfair! It is nothing that is anybody’s fault, it is just the luck of the gene draw. Just two chromosomes out of alignment , little things that will mean a life threatening situation. Why? We can try and philosophise about it , ask God, ask Science, ask Ourselves, but in the end existentially, it is little things that make big things happen and someties there are no reasons why. The only thing that we can do is to be strong enough to make decisions, to live or to die, to be happy or be sad, to celebrate life in all its hardship and happiness and be grateful for all the breaths that we have on this earth. Carpe Diem and..RABBIT ON!
Fifi’s babies, nibbling , with little Sulu on the left
Valentine Mini Skeins Selection 10 IxCHeL mini skeins with valentine Hexapuff chart AU$23+/-100 grams AU$20
Dalek Party
Ood Song
Blink !
Castellan
Navajo Churro Bunny Tops
(5%angora, 95% Navajo Churro)
100+ grams AU$20
Rose
Stones of Venice
Pandorica
Clockwork robots
Judoon
Wokshops in May and June :
MAY Classes
Beginner Spinner classes
Tuesday May 8th, 15th and 22nd 10am-4pm $150
Learn how to spin in a day ! You will receive a bag filled with fluffy goodies to learn with and the use of a wheel! Different types of fibres will be covered from merino, to Shetland, to rare sheep breeds , angora , mohair, yak and alpaca !
Enjoy the relaxing environment of our little fibre farm and cuddle a bunny on your breaks from spinning. Lunch and drinks provided. Brochures on techniques etc will be handed out as well. Limited places available !
Art Yarns
Saturday May 26th and Tuesday May 29th 10am-4pm $150
Make art yarns, dive into the world of creative yarns! Learn how to make the nip n tuck, coils, slubs, core spinning and adding fancy extras!
Lunch and drinks provided. Bring your own fluff or additions or dive into our shop to get your supply. Every student will receive a bag of surprise goodies to work with as well.
JUNE CLASSES
Wire Core Spinning
Saturday June 2nd 10am-4pm $150
Learn how to use jewellery wire in your spinning to make fibre sculptures , baskets, wearable art and more. !
Its an amazingly nice way to make adventurous, multi functional yarn !
Handouts , lunch and drinks will be provided a dn a bag of goodies, wire core and fluff to play with !
Plying Adventures
Tuesday June 5th 10-3pm $100
Learn how to ply a balanced yarn, Navajo ply, flower power ply or do fancy boucle! Lots of new adventurous yarns !
Every student will be given a bag of goodies and lunch and drinks will be provided as well.
Tailspinning yarn
Saturday 9th of June 10am-4pm $150
Learn the spinning technique in a day. You can create your own tailspun super soft mohair curls (fibre provided!) or even angora ! anything goes! It’s exciting to create yarn like this ! aand now is your chance to learn!
Every student will be given a bag of goodies and lunch and drinks will be provided as well.
Flower Power Art Yarns and Fancy Additions
Tuesday June 19th 10-4pm $150
Learn how to make art yarns with your handspun that look like little flowers or beehives ! and how to add little bits and pieces, feathers, bling and more to your yarn to make it extra special !
Your imagination is the limit !
Every student will be given a bag of goodies and lunch and drinks will be provided as well.
To reserve a spot in any of these classes, email me or message me on Ravelry. I will send you all the details. It’s going to be FUN !
Dates to Remember:
Warragul Knitters and spinners group show
February 14th from 9 am til 2pm
Gladstone rd, Fire shed, Warragul
there will be bunnies and yarn and lots of fluffy tops to cuddle !
Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm (11am-4pm)
There will be BUNNY SPIN INS again in February 2012 !! Yeah!
Saturday February 18th, 11am-4pm
Bring a plate to share your wheel or spindle, knitting or crochet, yourself and a smile and have a fun day out amongst bunnies and friends ! Please contact me to secure a spot ! Bunny food like cabbage, bok choi or broccoli is always welcome as well ! : the bunnies will cuddle you more for it ;D
Thursday February 23rd 11am-4pm
February 14th, Warragul Spinners and Weavers Group, Gladstone street
The Fireshed will be filled with fibre ! I will do a bunny talk and bring a bunny with me to “show and tell” and perform a bunny haircut !
April 9th, Sydney Royal Show
THE Angora Bunny Event of the year!!
Back to Back Bunny World Record
Join the fun and what better way to do it than visit all the Easter bunnies at the Royal Easter Show! Promoting the angora rabbits in Australia for the very first time ! and how ! More information on the Royal Syndey show website and here later !
April 16th
Flower Power Spin in
Grand Valley Spinner s & Weavers
Tapscott-Milbourne centre, Cambridge road, Motrose (melways ref 52 C5)
10am-4pm
It is going to be heaps of fun with lots of new fibres and yarns !!! and lot sof spinning
April 28th
Mini Wool Show of the Hand knitters Guild
Time and place to be confirmed later.
I am preparing heaps of new yarns for that event that will be amazing !!!!!
The Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show 2012
Friday 20th-Sunday 22nd of July
I will be in the Flower (bunny) shed again this year with heaps of new fluffy stuff and in full bunny regalia J
This year it is even going to BIGGER and more HUGE than ever !!!
Join me in the fun !
The woolcraft schedule is published and the IxCHeL Fibre farm is sponsoring a catergory this year in the handspun yarn classes in Natural Animal Fibres class 23 and 24 !!! We feel it is very important to get the word out . Angora fibre and cashmere and mohair and alpaca and baby camel is amazing to spin, felt, weave, embellish and crochet with! Start planning and working on your entry for the show and get your art work out there for everybody tot admire and win prizes !! yeah ! What could be better eh?
Check out the website here for more details : www.sheepshow.com and for questions relating to the woolcraft schedule and ore contact Dot Vallence at Dotv5 at optusnet dot com dot au
You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny. I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods. Any questions? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.
Thank you so much for your help and support !
Charly
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