Today I am grateful for air conditioning. I am grateful that I have power to my house to run the air conditioning. I am grateful that I have the money to pay for air conditioning. I am grateful that I have a house to air condition. Today I have friends who, due to weather conditions and out-of-control fires, don't have many of these things. I am praying for them and those who are working to help them.
In order to cheer us up a little today, I will tell the story of my first fiber-producing animal. Many years ago when my children were small, my husband was in the US Army. Consequently we moved frequently. I had decreed that we would have no pets because they were harder to move than children and children were hard enough. The children were not happy about this.
One day in Spin-Off Magazine I read an article about angora rabbits. The pictures were amazing - fluffy balls of fur that looked liked stuffed animals. They were said to be very tame and friendly, easy to take care of, and came in lots of beautiful colors. And the fiber was so very, very soft. I was smitten. As I looked at the pictures over and over, I told the children that if we ever got a pet, it would be an angora rabbit. I had never seen an angora rabbit, so I wasn't in fear of running into one any time soon.
As happens in so many of my stories, my mother came to visit. While she was there, we went to the Culpepper Sheep Show. I was part of a sheep to shawl competition with my weaving guild, so while I was spinning, my mother and husband were taking the children around to see the animals and exhibits. After about an hour, the children came running back to me with the amazing news that grandma was buying them a rabbit. They were so excited. I was not pleased with grandma.
When grandma arrived she told me that they had come upon a woman selling angora rabbits in a variety of colors. The children had explained that they were the only pets that I would allow. So, what could she do but buy them one. To humor me, I could pick out the color. I did like the idea of having a rabbit, but I hadn't planned on getting one right that day. But what could I do? I couldn't say no to either my mother or my happy children.
I took a break from spinning to see the rabbits. It was love at first sight. They were more enchanting in person than in the pictures. It was hard to pick out the best one. I finally selected a soft gray 4-month-old which we named Smoky. The woman put a Sold sign on his cage and kept him for us until the end of the day.
When the contest was over (We won. My mother bought the shawl at the auction.), we went back and literally picked up our rabbit. He was so snuggly. We had nothing to put him in for the 2 hour drive home, so I held him on my lap. He was a good little bunny and didn't try to move around much, but this is not the ideal way to transport a new pet.
At home we put him in a cardboard box for the night, along with a bowl of water. The lady we bought him from had given us some food until we could find a place to buy the right kind. And that started our adventure with angora rabbits.
Next - are they really that easy to take care of?
In order to cheer us up a little today, I will tell the story of my first fiber-producing animal. Many years ago when my children were small, my husband was in the US Army. Consequently we moved frequently. I had decreed that we would have no pets because they were harder to move than children and children were hard enough. The children were not happy about this.
One day in Spin-Off Magazine I read an article about angora rabbits. The pictures were amazing - fluffy balls of fur that looked liked stuffed animals. They were said to be very tame and friendly, easy to take care of, and came in lots of beautiful colors. And the fiber was so very, very soft. I was smitten. As I looked at the pictures over and over, I told the children that if we ever got a pet, it would be an angora rabbit. I had never seen an angora rabbit, so I wasn't in fear of running into one any time soon.
As happens in so many of my stories, my mother came to visit. While she was there, we went to the Culpepper Sheep Show. I was part of a sheep to shawl competition with my weaving guild, so while I was spinning, my mother and husband were taking the children around to see the animals and exhibits. After about an hour, the children came running back to me with the amazing news that grandma was buying them a rabbit. They were so excited. I was not pleased with grandma.
When grandma arrived she told me that they had come upon a woman selling angora rabbits in a variety of colors. The children had explained that they were the only pets that I would allow. So, what could she do but buy them one. To humor me, I could pick out the color. I did like the idea of having a rabbit, but I hadn't planned on getting one right that day. But what could I do? I couldn't say no to either my mother or my happy children.
I took a break from spinning to see the rabbits. It was love at first sight. They were more enchanting in person than in the pictures. It was hard to pick out the best one. I finally selected a soft gray 4-month-old which we named Smoky. The woman put a Sold sign on his cage and kept him for us until the end of the day.
When the contest was over (We won. My mother bought the shawl at the auction.), we went back and literally picked up our rabbit. He was so snuggly. We had nothing to put him in for the 2 hour drive home, so I held him on my lap. He was a good little bunny and didn't try to move around much, but this is not the ideal way to transport a new pet.
At home we put him in a cardboard box for the night, along with a bowl of water. The lady we bought him from had given us some food until we could find a place to buy the right kind. And that started our adventure with angora rabbits.
Next - are they really that easy to take care of?
Was his name Smoky or Smokey? It doesn't matter because he was the best pet ever! We all loved him!
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