Namaste Farms | Blog Talk Radio

Betty says,

Namaste Farms used this of Lilianna and I in the announcement and received quite a bit of discussion and comments on their website and Facebook page.  

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=100001305377626&story_fbid=387646241288885

I had great fun doing the blogtalk radio that lasted almost 2 hours.   In addtion to talking with the two hosts Natalie and Kimberly, there were quite a few call-ins from all over.   From what I could identify, one caller was from Australia and then later in an e-mail I learned that one of the caller was calling from Germany; and there were caller from many parts of the US.

I believe the entire talk program is archived and one could listen by following the following link:      

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/namaste-farms/2012/08/03/betty-chu-legendary-english-angora-rabbit-breeder

Fingerless Gloves

Betty says,

I love to knit with circular needles.   I am able to knit scarves, hats, sweaters, vests, ... with circular needles without worrying whether I'd drop the needles when I don't hold them tight.   

For a long time I avoided double point needles.   When I finally decided to learn to knit gloves, the circular needles just did not work well.    I reluctantly picked up my set of four double point needles and tried them.    After dropping the needles many times, I finally learned to hold the needles properly.   Since April I have not been able to put  the double point needles down!    In three months, I made about 20 pairs of Angora fingerless gloves; even during such hot weather, pairs were sold quickly.   Now I finally have some inventory to show and tell and offer.   The price is very reasonable at $35 per pair plus shipping.   Contact me at bettychuenglishangora@yahoo.com  if you are interested.

 

Purple and white Angora.

Extra long variegated pink/lavender with white Angora.

Two pairs of blue tone, one blue and white and another blue and light tort, both Angora.

Left is pink and white.   The pink is all Angora, the white is Angora plied with merino.
Right is red sheep wool on the edges, then Angora plied with gold and red novelty thread in the middle.

Three pairs of natural color, the edges are sheep wool and the middle fluffy part are all Angora.

Bunnies are Hope

Lucianna has a chocolate tort son and a tort daughter.

Bunnies are cute but more importantly they are the hope of the future.

Namaste Farm Blog Radio Talk Program

Natalie Redding of Namaste Farms   http://namastefarms.com/  is a major competitor in the Angora Goat world.  Her mohairs are in high demand, the fleece are sold almost as soon as shorn from the goats.   She has a long list of followers on her site and on her facebook page. 



Natalie also hosts a blog radio talk show at 6 pm Pacific time every Thursday.   Betty has been invited to be the guest tomorrow, August 2.   The link is:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/namaste-farms/2012/08/03/betty-chu-legendary-english-angora-rabbit-breeder

Hope you'll join in.

Ashley and Cole Announce New Baby Name

Casey's daughter-in-law Ashley is cutting the cake in the party held during the weekend.  Casey's son Cole is to the right of Ashely in the background.    

The party is held to announce the new baby's name and gender:

Little girl  Isara Lynn Jones.

Natasha Meets Lover Boy

Natasha drove from So. CA to Morgan Hill, a 12-hour round tirp, to meet the little blue tort buck, it was love at the first sight.  

Natasha is a make up artist who works in the TV/Movie industry, she has met a lot of handsome men and beautiful women, but little lover boy can compare to all the gorgeous ones.

Betty has a fun time with Natasha.    

Judge Allen's Demo Photos

In the current issue of Domestic Rabbits, Betty's article "Judging and Handling English Angora" is the lead article.   Betty took the photos of judge Allen demonstrating the process of judging English Angora in June during the California Rabbit and Cavy Shows held at Fresno.

The layout of the photos in the Domestic Rabbits cropped out some of judge Allen's image to concentrate on the rabbit.   It may be interesting to see the original photos.



Allen sets the rabbit on the table and pose, also check the back legs.



Allen feels the body type on the top line, the side and flips it over to check the tummy. 




Allen checks the tips of the wool and to feel the texture.




The wool should be visible all the way down to the skin.   No rabbit is "too dense to see the skin".   If a judge cannot see the skin, the wool is webbed or felted.    The judge could blow into the wool but if blowing into the wool does not give a clear picture, use hands to push down wool to see whether the webbing and felting is so severe that the skin is no longer visible. 




The wool around the rear is very hard to maintain.   Though grooming should not be a primary criteria for placing, if there are two rabbits that are very close, checking the wool just above the tail can give the judge a good idea of condition of the wool.




Another hard to keep area is behind the ears.   Due to the friction caused by the ears, the nape area get tangled easily.   Rabbits sometimes also chew on their shoulders.    Once again, these little things are not the primary criteria of the worthiness of the rabbits but they could be a separation between the class winner and the rest.




Some lines of English Angora has weak ear carriage.    If a judge does not pay special attention to the ears, the weak or even flop ears could get through without being noticed.     The ears should be the shape of a narrow V, have good substance, median length with tassels.   Do not accept the explanation of heavy tassels that drag the ears down; if the rabbit has strong ear base, no matter how much tassels are on the ears, the ears should stand erect.





An English Angora should look like an English Angora.   After having close encounters of the rabbit, it's important for a judge to stand back a little too see the entire package.