Corralitos & Watsonville Show Weekend

We had fun time in Corralitos and Watsonville this past weekend. Corralitos we just had shown up to visit since our specialty had be cancelled. Watsonville was our show day.

We did decent. Not as well as I had hoped, but we had brought some pretty molty rabbits. The numbers were good as well as the quality of the competition. Considering we were missing a couple of our 'normal' exhibitors, you guys missed out on a good show! :)

Congratulations to the BOB/BOSB winners, as well as everyone else. In show A Amy M. won both BOB & BOSB with her AOV's. In show B BOB went to Carol G. with her Broken Senior Buck, and BOSB to Amber H. with her Self Junior Doe. It's not too common to see a Junior go that far, way to go!

For those who haven't known, I have switched my website address to: http://hautewoolycouture.weebly.com

Simply, why I have done this is the time I put into HTML is too much to keep up with. Yesterday I had worked my first day on technician side at my vet clinic, it was a 10 1/2 hour day.





Well wishes!
Susie :)

Summer Babies

Happy Independence Day!

Half-way of 2010

It's been a long time but reasons are legit. Things started to slow down for a few shakes and have picked back up into full swing over the past week. Today I am writing this blog as my boss & family are on vacation for the weekend, and I'm not having to work! It feels unusual, but it is great to use this time to catch up and do some chores around the house. Hopefully clean cages this evening, maybe.

We've had a successful breeding season thus far.

Baby count this year(as of now or live to weaning):
Netherland Dwarfs: 3
Holland Lops: 2
American Fuzzy Lops: 6
Jersey Woolies: 25
Total kits: 36

I don't think I have shared much about my Netherland Dwarfs or Holland Lops. I currently own a pair of Holland Lop does, and a small handful of Netherland Dwarfs. I love the Netherlands a lot and having a lot of fun with them!

They remind me a bit like the Jersey Woolies and Fuzzy Lops combined. They are calm when holding them like a JW and excitable in their cage like a AFL. They take good care of themselves and also tend to mind their own business. I like them, they are different and their trays are SO easy to clean! :)

I also did rather well at Solano County Fair! It was a lot of fun with my buddies and so laid back. The weather was great, though it was much hotter at home. Most days we only went to check our animals and go back home to keep watch our others. It was a blast.


Melanie, Nikki, me, Stephanie

I was so proud of my favorite fair friends (above). They did such a great job with their animals and showmanship!

My results go:
FFA Advance Rabbit Showmanship; 1st
FFA Advance Poultry Showmanship; 1st
BOB Jersey Wooly: WWR Sango
BOSB Jersey Wooly: WWR Little Steps
BOB Netherland Dwarf: C&M Mickey
RBIS goes to my Jersey Wooly doe, Sango! :)
and also FFA Advance Master Showmanship Champion

It's been an interesting past couple months here, little good and a lot of bad, but that is just how life works sometimes. Just gotta keep moving forward!

Have a fun & safe Independence Day!
Susie :)

Convention Hopefuls Pt. I

With lots of babies around here, I can't help but share some of our "Convention Hopefuls" We are currently working on a new website and hope to have it up in the next month or so. Things have been so hectic these past few weeks. Between fair, triple my hours, and my aunt being in the hospital. Unfortunately, she passed away last Saturday and we are still cooping with our loss. It's a hard thing to go through.

I think sometimes bad things happen in inspiration for better things to come. Sometimes one doesn't realize how precious life can be and how quickly it can be snatched away from you. When you realize things are bad and only getting worse, the best thing to do is stay positive. With hope there will always be dreams. Dreams there will always be reason, and most likely in a better hope for happiness.

Most situations have a purpose in the end. And some just happen because it is the way life is. The doctors said when they took the breathing tube out of her lungs, she wouldn't be able to talk again. A few days later, they said she would die. A couple days after that, they removed the tube, and she replied with, "WHOA!" That day, we talked with her for a few hours. She told us she was going to beat this cancer. And though, it was terminal, I believed her.

I though her body won't be with us I know she hasn't gone. She's the strongest woman I know, she didn't go down without a fight.

On brighter news, here are a couple babies who are really cute at the moment. I believe they are 6 weeks old and maturing quite well.





Take care.



Susie

Baby Nethies

How could you not LOVE? ♥ If you can't, you're crazy. LOL.

SO EXCITED!!!

What a great round up to the Dixon May Fair this year! It had been a busy week. Tuesday- arrival & set up. Wednesday- rabbit show & showmanship. Thursday- poultry show & showmanship. Friday- round robin showmanship (rabbit, chicken, cavy). Saturday- BREAK. Sunday- awards ceremony & break down.

This year I won 1st in my class for showmanship, it made me legible to compete in the round robin, supreme showmanship for small animals. Actually, this is more of a requirement with winning, as typically if you decide not to compete, you forfeit your placing, which is 1st/2nd place.

I LOVE round robin, and for the past 5 years or so have competed in at least one or the other at Dixon May Fair/Solano County Fair. My first year doing round robin (as a junior) I took 1st/Champion. Since then, every time I competed I always came so close, but ended up in second placing. Since I may close my fair years this year (I can still do next year if I really wanted to), I felt very pressured to do well then to wing the chicken & cavy showmanship like I have in the past.

On Thursday night I was up until 3:30 studying chicken & cavy showmanship. I was reading on all the body & wing anatomy on a chicken, diseases and such on cavys. Both I was gathering as much information as possible to take with me into the show ring.

Well, all that studying paid off! I got all my Cavy questions right (4/4), and only missed one question on the chicken (3/4). As for rabbits, I took too much time on the examination and our 5 minute time went up, and was unable to answer any questions. I thought this was the end of me.

Last night we went to the awards ceremony which they have never done in the past. They usually tally up the scores then, and hand out awards. That night until Sunday at about 4:00 the anticipation was eating me alive, I couldn't wait to hear how I did. I just needed to know.

We all lined up in the show ring and placed 4th-1st. When they went through and didn't call my name at second, I felt so relieved more then anything. They called my name for the Dixon May Fair FFA Supreme Small Animal Champion and I was pretty happy! YAY! :) I was showing as an independent, which is even more exciting because we usually get booted to the back of the line. TEAM UNDERDOG, GO! :)


Me & my awards.

It's been 7 years attending the Dixon May Fair. This place is my second home, has evolved me into the person I am today. I have learned so much, and I continue to every year. It may not be as it used to be, but I do take it as it is, and I know for many years, even without my showing I will be there. I've taught my competitors, and I've taught my friends, and now that I am growing up, I'm hoping the ones who pursue it take my place. I have so many kids who look up to me, and it makes me feel happy and believe myself. I try my best to help anybody who needs it. I feel it has been the number one thing since I started in 4-H. Helping & teaching others to be the best they can be. I know they will continue to shine.


Left to right, Sarah (4-H Junior Supreme Showman), Melanie (4-H Senior Showman) & me (FFA Senior Advance Showman). Melanie is a good friend of mine and Sarah is just a sweetheart! I'm so proud of them both.

What week! I have to go back to work today and have a busy week with that & watching Zeus. Sadly we lost a couple of babies this weekend to enteritis. I hate that! :( It's a horrible death process. :(

Have a good week everyone!
Susie :)

Tons Going On!

It's been over a month since I've had the chance to blog, and even now, is a bad time to blog as I am SO busy!

I currently have a total of 22 baby bunnies between 8 litters & a wide variety of colors. This has been keeping off the computer on top of work, rabbit shows, and other various things. :)



A very promising AFL Junior Doe

Right now I am exhibiting my 5th day at fair, and tomnorrow will be my last. Tuesday was check in, Wednesday was the rabbit show, Thursday was the poultry show, Friday was Supreme Small Animal Showmanship "round robin", today I'll be going a little later to check on bunnies and finally have a chance to see the other exhibits & livestock.

I entered 7 rabbits, but only got to bring two, my Broken Magpie Holland Lop, "Puck" and my Broken Chestnut Netherland Dwarf, "Mickey". Mickey took 2nd place Senior Buck ND in a class of 7. I won my Showmanship class in Advance FFA as an Independent. My Astroloup hen got 2nd place and I also placed 3rd in Advance FFA Poultry Showmanship as Independent. Strangely this was only my second time doing Poultry showmanship, and I didn't get dead last! :P



As for Round Robin, we are all awaiting results until Sunday (tomorrow). Fun stuff! The anticipation is killing us all. Everyone did so well and I wish my fellow competitors good luck!

So, yes, I have been on the run. I attended the Stockton show last weekend, but did not show. I also attended the West Coast Classic the weekend before in Monterey, CA. We did pretty well. I showed my Broken Chestnut Netherland Mickey and he got his first Leg in show A! Super exciting. The bad news on him is, while exhibiting him as fair, it appears an accident happened and his toenail is completely missing. It appears as if it won't grow back. It's a bummer since he is developing so nicely, I was hoping to Grand him out...



C&M's Mickey at the Beach

This is just a quickly, hope to have more opportunities to blog soon, but who knows where I'll be next! :P I'll surely make a blog with my showmanship photos when possible.



This is a photo of my Fuzzy Doe, "Madalyn" and I at the beach in Monterey.

Have a good weekend!
Susie :)