Eric's Busy Life

Eric and his table help, 6-year-old Carribbea.

Eric and his table help, Kathie.

Eric and Michael's Best In Show Mini Rex HGF Dragula.

Eric and Michael's Pyrenees Emma.

Eric and Michael's Colored Angora goat.

Eric and Michael's colored goat herd.

It's great to hear from Eric from PA. He is very busy as we all could expect. He is currently the ARBA district director, in charge of the judges' education and conference at the convention, and also the president of the national Mini Rex. He is also starting his campaign for the position of the Vice President of ARBA. He says,


"Personally, things are well. Despite the single digit temperatures, we have mini rex litters coming along well and the goats should start kidding very soon. I sheared our does last week and it’s obvious that most of the 'Bare Naked Ladies' are definitely close to kidding. They are fine having been shorn in the cold as they keep warm by staying in the barn and eating plenty of hay. By shearing early, it keeps them close to the barn and less likely to be outside when they give birth. Also, if there is fleece on their bodies, the kids cannot find the mother's udder. The next step will be vaccinating all of the does for CD/T (Clostridium and tetanus); you do this early enough to also pass immunity on to the unborn kids. Being gone so much, I have a 'Kidding 101 Kit' here with instructions at the house, with all of the necessary items in case something goes wrong. This is all very exciting. Our Pyrenees, Emma is doing very well and is almost full grown. She is absolutely beautiful. Its very reassuring to have her here as a daily 'presence' of Cathy Patrick.


I've been committing myself to spinning one bobbin of yarn each evening. I just had 35 pounds of mohair/mohair blends processed and am working to get it spun. It’s very relaxing and I'm using it as my 'ME' time to unwind after a hard day. I have the wheel and everything set up out in the 'parlor' (its like our sunroom) which is where the wood burner is located. I'll have the TV on, and use the light from the TV and the fire to spin by; kinda rustic but very calming. I've spun my first bouclé yarn this week. I was a bit nervous how it would turn out as I've never done it before, but it’s actually very easy."


As Angora breeders and fiber enthusiasts, we can appreciate Eric's expertise in fiber projects. No wonder he is such a great judge for our breeds. Of course, he is great in other breeds too. We also know that he is loved by all, young and old.

Three Handsome Boys

Betty is sharing pictures of her three handsome boys that are in shows at the current time.

The top picture is Elio, a chocolate tort buck. Elio has 20 legs and an all breed Reserve In Show under his wool. He is a very active boy; it is almost impossible to get him to sit still long enough to have a photo taken.

The second picture is Armando, a tort buck. Armando won the Best Opposite of Variety at the ARBA Convention in Grand Rapids. He was only 4-3/4 months old then. He is a Grand Champion with 12 legs.

The third picture is Peter Fawnda, a fawn buck. Peter competes well even with Elio and Armando around; he has gotten beat by them but also has won over them many times. Grand Champion, of course.

Carol G. Had Fun In Utah

Best In Show Fuzzy Lop, from left to right: Lou, judge Carol G., Nate, and wife Lisa

Reserve In Show: Holland Lop. Carol G. and exhibitor.

Ski resort.

Carol G. and hubby Jim.

Beautiful snow scene.

Carol G. had a great time in Utah the past weekend, she says,

"On Saturday, Feb 23, I judged for the first time in Utah. The show was in Farmington, near Salt Lake City. The club was happy with the entries, show room was filled, and the rabbits were lovely. For open show A, the Best in Show was a beautiful black Fuzzy Lop junior doe, owned by Lou Towne and Nate Burbidge. The junior does were hot on Saturday, because RBIS was a Holland Lop jr doe.

After the show, Jim and I spent a few days skiing in Utah on vacation. It was a lovely trip!"

Melissa and Family

We have seen photos of Melissa and hubby Ed, Melissa and son Russell in the past blog posts.

Melissa and Ed also have a little girl who does not go to rabbit shows as often as big brother Russell because she is not as involved in raising rabbits.

Earlier this month, little Lena appeared in the show in Stockton. We finally got pictures of Melissa's entire family.

In the pictures are judge Melissa, her husband Ed, her son Russell and her daughter Lena. What a happy and good-looking family!

Best In Show Upside Down ?

Betty's old cat Shia Hwa (Little Flower) was taking a nap in the winter sun. After raining for several days, the warmth of the winter sun is very soothing.

Shia Hwa woke up to the camera clicking; then she stretched and prepared to get off her "bed". Did you see the "bed" says Best In Show in upside down way? Shia Hwa feels that she is as good as or even better than a Best In Show rabbit!

Tracy's Wonderful Day in Shows

Tracy went to the California State Club show in Turlock last Saturday.

She had a wonderful day, winning Best Of Breed in three Angora breeds.

The top picture is Tracy with Satin Angora red doe Rios Flame. Flame won BOB in both show A and B; she was runner up to Reserve In Show under Randy and Allen. This is the highest honor that a Satin Angora has achieved in this area. Tracy is very proud of it, and we are too. As we can see in the background, lovely husband Franco is proud of his lovely wife.

The second photo is Tracy with judge Ray after her English Angora white junior buck won BOB and tort junior doe won BOS. This is the first time that Tracy's English Angora won BOB and BOS.

The third photo is Tracy with the tort junior doe that won BOB in show B. The white junior buck that won BOB in show A took BOS.

It's a wonderful day for Tracy indeed.

Betty's Bunny Nursery

Betty says,

"Since I started raising rabbits in the 80s, I have been keeping the nestboxes and bunnies inside our family room away from their moms. It was not a common practice of raising bunnies then but it is quite common now. I find bunnies raised this way are more personable, calmer and face less chance of accidental deaths.

Here is a picture of our family room turned bunny nursery. Each of the 18" x 32" cages has a little bed on the left side for the bunnies to hop in and out. When convention comes, these cages would be divided and used as three-hole or four-hole carriers for flying."