The first show of 2008 for me, and the first time I’ve attended this specialty show for Polish rabbits. 

Held in the Richfield Fire Station, which is between West Bend and Sussex, I began the drive worried about the forcasted snow flurries.  The snow did come during the show day, but melted as it hit the ground so my hour-and-a-half drive was not treacherous as I thought it might be.

The building was heated, and had a nice kitchen and showroom area - everyone brings their own batch of chili which is all combined in one large cooker and sold by the bowl at lunchtime, along with other goodies.   There was a nice raffle which the kids always like, and Roger Moeller’s rabbit equipment was there to offer just about anything you needed for your rabbitry.

I only brought 5 Polish rabbits to show - I have more, but since I am only in week 7 of recovery from my surgery, I didn’t want to carry and handle a whole lot just yet.  

There were a lot of Polish there!  Many of the senior classes had more than 10-12 rabbits in each, which is plenty for Polish!  My black senior buck didn’t do well in his huge class, being out of condition compared to the other nice rabbits there.  My broken does only had each other to  compete against in their class - and the judge did not pick the one I thought would do well at this show!

My chocolate doe who just turned senior, won her large class and then won Best of Breed!  I was surprised by this one - she’s got a very nice body and nice coat to her, but to me, her head is not as nice as my pretty little brokens’ heads.  But I am not a judge……and I am fairly new to this breed.

Funny thing about this doe is that twice she was not going to be shown:  I originally planned to take my black senior doe to this show, but she seemed a little ‘off’ in the morning, so I grabbed this chocolate doe instead, and the second time was when I became so tired around 1 pm, that I came close to scratching my chocolate doe so I could leave for home……… but I stayed and this is the doe that won!

The Polish breeders here in Wisconsin are the best I’ve met.  Every single one has been so nice and helpful - and I noticed so many of them offering assistance, advice and encouragement to the youth that participated in yesterday’s show.  This in itself is very refreshing to me- everyone works as a true team to better the Polish in our area!  

If you are pondering what breed to begin with, you can’t go wrong with the Polish - this small breed is delightful to handle and breed, and in Wisconsin you can get quality stock readily and plenty of good advice to go along with!  You will only encounter encouragement showing against the other Polish breeders around here - the Polish are just a very nice breed of rabbit!

Cathy

I am about half way finished with the redo of my main website.  Learning CSS has not been too bad, although there are just some little things that show up differently in different browsers that I can’t seem to make work the way I want. 

Tables, tables, tables, there will always be a place for tables, despite CSS.  I ended up using a few here and there just because I can make them look the way I want, quickly and without fuss. 

I hope to publish within a few weeks - and then I’ll make a decision about the other directory/information website.  I am not sure if it is worth having that site. 

Well I hope 2008 finds you and your family healthy and happy, and your nextboxes full!

Cathy

I know, I know…..I haven’t done anything with my blog or my websites - when am I going to get off my butt?

Well I am making good progress on my redo of my main website, LaReau Lops & Cavies - my old site was made entirely with tables - and lots of bulky code.  Although the site looks OK in most browsers - any changes I want to make to the site must be done manually, page by page. AARRGGGGHHH

This is specifically what killed my interest in my other large directory site, The Rabbit & Cavy Directory - that site grew quickly, but I became overwhelmed with requests from breeders to make so many changes, so often, to their listings.

Now, that doesn’t seem unreasonable to the average web designer - in fact, info on a site should remain updated - but that site, like my main site, was designed with HTML pages using tables also.   All changes had to be done manually on each page, and since each breeder listing was on multiple pages, this quickly grew into an unmanageable fiasco!

My redo of my main site will be done using CSS.  As with the HTML sites I had before, I am learning (CSS) as I go.  Sometimes it takes me a while to tackle a specific fix or problem because I’ve got to learn as I go (the hard way….) but how satisfying when I figure out how to make something and it finally turns out the way I want it!

Of course it took me a week to make my first page, but I had to experiment with different looks, styles and layouts before I could decide on one: Now I can use this one page as a template to quickly grow my site!

Once I get my main site finished and working the way I want - I’ll begin working on the new rabbitbreeder.net site - my replacement for The Rabbit & Cavy Directory.  Hopefully I’ll make that entire site using CSS, and also incorporate a database so changes to information can be made in one place and will update on all pages - and of course, I know nothing about databases.

I can’t close until I mention a special thanks to Robert up in Alaska - I could not do all this without your help (and your cool graphics)  If anyone is looking to spice up a page or website with some cool graphics, be sure to visit Light Speed Web Graphics!

My rabbits are doing well - they haven’t even noticed all the dang snow we’ve gotten around here!  I’ve got a couple does due tomorrow and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

All for now

Cathy

My, how time is flying by so fast!  Already the end of October and I feel as though it should still be summer. 

I’ve got only one Holland litter this fall so far, and my August Polish litters are doing great -I’ll have several nice broken Polish to show come spring!  I’ve got one more Polish doe due this week, but I don’t think she’s bred - she surely didn’t act to concerned when I put her nest box in yesterday (usually a sign of an unbred doe)

In two weeks I’ll be taking a stretch of time off work, during which I hope to be able to redo my main website.  This site is horribly out of date and doesn’t reflect the direction I am taking in open. 

I’ll be unable to answer any emails from November 13, through about November 20.  I will answer everyone once I am back on my feet. 

Happy Halloween!

Cathy

I am hoping to go to the Misty Hill’s Fall Frolic rabbit show tomorrow.  Everything will depend upon whether or not I get all my other chores done today or not - you know…the fun stuff like laundry, cleaning and food shopping…aaarrgghhh.

My small show string of only one Holland and three Polish are all molting, of course, so I can’t expect to be there for any reason other than to increase class sizes so others can win legs. 

It will be good for my Holland doe - she acted so crazy at her first show despite me working with her a lot at home.  I am hoping she gets used to the show routine so I can send her to convention this October. 

This show is held in Dodgeville, WI at the Harris Pavilion (name?); the drive is less than an hour long, making it one of the closest rabbit shows for me.  At less than 5 years old, this building is very large and offers exhibitors a lot of room to spread out and get comfy- I don’t have to rush there just to get a spot, like at some croweded shows. 

What crazy weather around here!  Frost warnings last night, very windy and chilly - reminicent of late fall, and the weather forcast for next week jumps us back into the +80’s.  Only in Wisconsin - heat and air conditioning within a day’s span!  Impossible to expect good rabbit fur right now.

Hope to see you there, signing off to start all the fun stuff……

Cathy

Since I still can’t update or change my website, I guess I’ll post a little bit about convention here at my blog:

What a fun time!  This was the first time I’d ever been to the Eau Claire County Fairgrounds - what a great place - large buildings and lots of green space surrounded by woods. 

The open building was large enough to easily house us all plus two vendors, and the youth building seemed roomy enough also. 

Because I had procrastinated early in the week, getting ready on Friday afternoon was a rushed event, filled with frustration, but I did manage to leave home around 3:30 pm, only a little later than I originally planned on leaving.

The interstate drive was easy and I had no problems finding the fairgrounds when I arrived in Eau Claire around 6:30 pm.

Nice fairgrounds!  Newer, roomy buildings, nice grounds, and best of all, wonderful cooler weather and no mosquitos!

After I set up my few rabbits, I spent some time visiting with other breeders and checking out the facilities.  How nice to see everyone again, but I have to mention how strange it felt to be in the OPEN building, when for the past several years I had been with the YOUTH group! 

Despite all my efforts to become a proficient camper, I always fail miserably………  Again, as at previous rabbit shows, I slept in my van.  I was grateful that my air mattress stayed inflated this time; but Mother Nature still got me good when she dropped the thermostat close to the 50 degree mark.  I woke up around 1:30 that night shivering and remained frozen until about 5 am when I decided to scrap the crazy idea of getting any meaningful sleep. 

Saturday 4-class showing in Open was exciting - first I showed my Polish.  I only had three to show and I was pleased when one of my bucks placed 2nd out of the five black junior bucks.  My other buck placed 4/5, and my black junior doe placed 4/8.  I learned a lot from watching the other rabbits get judged and from talking to all the nice Polish breeders!

With intentions of buying a new Holland Lop breeding doe or two, I looked at several from the Open breeders.  I saw many nice does of which any/all would of probably worked well for me, but I settled on one from Laini’s Lovables - a nice brood doe with Swandt’s, Sarah’s, Swade’s and others in the background.  I really like this doe - she’s got a nice body and bone, and a good crown with should help with my herd.  I forgot to look at some breeders’ rabbits because I was kind of a zombie from lack of sleep……

I felt kind of strange bringing only one Holland Lop of my own to show but this spring I just didn’t breed much - then when my daughter decided to sell out of her French Lops in June, that threw a wrench of uncertainty into my rabbitry plans so I didn’t breed for summer litters either.  This one solid junior doe is out of a litter of two - and her brother turned out to be a normal sized rabbit.

I was pretty happy to hear that Allan Ormond was going to judge Hollands - he’s an excellent, high quality Holland judge and you can take to the bank any comments he makes about your Holland Lops………

Despite my doe acting like a psycho on the show table, judge Ormond did get some good poses from her and she showed off a bit.  She won her large class, then Best of Variety- and with some awesome comments from the judge!   I guess she’ll go to ARBA Convention even if I don’t go.

Patrick Reilly won BOB with his broken black buck, and I didn’t see who won BOS - but it was one of the broken does.  Congrats!!  Really nice Hollands everyone has! 

After the Holland judging was over, I left for home - I debated on whether or not to stick around and visit longer, but knew I had so much to still do at home so I ended up leaving at about 3:30.     

Of course I went home and bred some does…….   next show is Dodgeville  - one of my favorites because of the short drive, large building and homemade pie! 

Cathy

Well last weekend I did get the new computer installed and everything transferred over……rather seemlessly in fact. The only exception was my two main websites - I must not of copied the files correctly because only my old, old websites transferred to the new computer - eeekkkss…..

Until I figure out what I did wrong, and fix it of course, no updates for my main website.

Off to school to register my last two high-schoolers!

cathy

Well I got a different computer and will begin the process of switching over to this this weekend.  Since it is a different operating system I will be lacking some software for it, plus it will take me some time to get it all networked correctly.  I suspect I will be unable to check email or even get online while this is going on.  I’ll post here when I am back online. 

Cathy

This may be the last post I can make for a few weeks or so - the computer I have some of my website stuff on is on the fritz and I need to replace it, or at least replace my hard drive.  I am in the process of transfering all my files over the the newer computer we have…I should of finished doing that when I got the newer computer this past winter, but never had the time.

During July, Reilly’s loaned me a broken chocolate Polish buck to breed to two of my does - so I could get some brokens.  Last week my chocolate doe had a litter of 5; four are broken chocolate, plus one solid chocolate!  She is an attentive mom too - I keep pulling fur off her litter (it is still quite hot around these parts!) and she covers them back up with more pulled fur! 

My black Polish doe finally had her litter - she had only two kits on the 33 day.  One kit is quite large and had more fur than a newborn normally has, so I suspect this was delaying the birth-luckily both came out ok.  The other kit is a normal sized solid chocolate. 

One young Holland from our last litter is looking pretty nice - she poses quite naturally and her timidness actually causes her to ‘freeze’ into a pose when manipulated gently.  Her head is just starting to pop out too - so we’ll have to wait to see how she developes. 

Her brother is appearing to be a ‘normal’ Hollands, but does he have a nice body, nice bone and his head is going to be huge!  Jody named him ‘Big Friendly Guy’, of all things, because he pulls a lot of antics to get attention!  Actually…….if his ears were not so large (they are shaped nicely, just simply large) he’d probably show well given that the standard took out the smaller ideal Holland weight……..

This thick, humid weather has everyone suffering lately - usually our Wisconsin summers don’t get this brutal until August, but this heat spell started at the beginning of July without a let up, and I don’t see any relief anytime soon either. 

All my rabbits are beginning to molt now - so I am constantly battling flying fur in my rabbitry - what a challenge to keep all the fans cleaned and running smootly!  I am sick and tired of inhaling fur, pulling it out of my eye sockets and, by gosh, I can’t even bring a soda out in the rabbitry (unless it is in a capped bottle) or I’d be drinking fur also!

I have to admit, I am getting more and more excited about the start of the fall rabbit show season!  I can’t wait to get back into it all - and see rabbit people again!  I am hoping to not have too many weekend conflicts so I can attend several area rabbit shows, and since Jody and Kelly will not be showing, I will be able to count on them to take care of my bunnies at home while I am gone! 

Off to rabbit chores, stay cool!

Cathy

The other day I learned that Gary Smith of Creek Haven Lops decided to sell out of his entire rabbitry.  Gary has been raising French Lops for 20 some years and has developed a successful line of colorful French Lops here in southern Wisconsin.

Although I will greatly miss seeing Gary at our area Wisconsin shows, I can understand why he’s decided to hang it up; with retirement looming he’s decided to take on some new interests.

If you are looking to add some quality rabbits to your herd, just starting out in French Lops or you are interested in cages, carriers or other equipment, contact Gary directly:

Gary Smith

Wisconsin: Cottage Grove

email

phone:  (60 837-8250

French Lops