My spinning wheel arrived yesterday. I bought a basic Ashford traditional wheel, based upon Nancy #2’s recommendation. She told me this is a wheel that will grow w me as a spinner, as well as her own favorite wheel, for just that precise reason. Paradise Fibers, from whom I ordered the wheel, sent 40 ounces of this beautiful ecru wool (sheep) roving. All the roving I have now…I have to actually say…sheep’s wool, alpaca’s wool…soon it will be angora wool. Yeah, the roving box I opened, immediately. Gorgeous stuff. I love the smell. I refrained from opening the bag—yet. I have not yet cracked open the wheel box though.
First of all, I was in the middle of things yesterday and had to finish them before I could even open the fiber box. I must say, I am very glad UPS delivered earlier in the day, before 1p. Usually they don’t come til after 5p or so. I didn’t want to leave the house until the wheel came in. Three boxes arrived. The box w the wheel. The box w the roving. And a box of books I had ordered from amazon. The books included a rabbit book, a trail book, and a spinning book. The spinning book is by Carol Kroll, “The Whole Craft of Spinning”. Although it is packed with information, I was surprised when I first put hands on it that it was so very thin. I was nearly disappointed. Although I have not read it all the way through yet, it is chock o block full of information. Every page seems to have two columns of text. There are not a great deal of photos or pictures, but from the few stops I made to read a bit more as I skimmed, there doesn’t seem to be a need for tons of pictures. If this were my only resource for spinning, I might freak as I need the visual input…but as a companion volume…it is wonderful. So much information…I am eager to dig into it.
Yesterday, however, was not the day. N was sick this past week-end, and although I now have what he had, I of course an assimilating it differently. Things will speed through his little system in 24 hrs. Normally for me, it takes 2, 3, sometimes even 4 days to kick things off that I get from him. Luckily, w me, it doesn’t hit quite as hard as it hits him. So, I am not moving as fast as I could be. Not that I would, even if I could…but still.
I got that urge yesterday. That I cannot sit still, I have things to do, I have to do something kind of urge. Yes, it was all about rabbits. More or less. For some reason, I needed to take concrete steps towards the whole rabbiting process. I did not start to read the rabbit book that arrived yesterday until after we got home. (Storey’s Guide To Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett—yes, I was aware this was not just a pet bunny book when I bought it—I did expect it to have a great deal of rabbit information—which is does—I will talk more about this book later on—as it has triggered some other issues here, good ones, but still.)
We have the worst Petco locally. Right up the street. It is always understocked, no matter what animal you run in there for…they have plenty of ‘stuff’, but when you are looking for the basics…that’s what they lack. Cats. Reptiles. Fish. I won’t buy aquatic plants from them because I don’t like the look of their plants or their set-up for their plants. However, they do have some things that the Petsmart farther up the road does not have. Plus, when you catch a deal in Petco, it can be a really good one (like our 40 gal fish tank and stand). I go there because it is the pet store closest to our house…and because if I go there, I get to go into Michael’s (craft store) as well, since they are right beside each other.
My original intent yesterday was to buy a couple basic rabbit supplies to make myself feel better, keeping the tags on everything and keeping the receipts so that I can take any and everything back at any point if it isn’t the right stuff…and this is what I did. I got nail clippers—but no brushes or combs. Because I am not finding the kind of angora-specific information I want or need, I am not buying anything until after I talk to the local rabbit rescue people. (which will be as soon as they get in touch w me). I bought two litter boxes…mostly because I wanted the larger one, but the smaller one came w ‘stuff’, like the poop scooper. I did not buy litter, because I wanted to see what sort of litter the rabbits are already used to using. I did not buy bedding, or woven mats, or anything useful like that, because I do not know how our bunnies will feel about that stuff. For my daughter’s sake, I bought rabbit leashes…although I can see us taking them back. But it made her happy to have them. We also bought Rabbits USA magazine.
Keep in mind, we went to both Petco and Petsmart, because they have different stuff, and Petsmart is normally less expensive on the stuff the two stores have in common. We bought both water bottles and water crocks. See, I am planning to take back what we don’t need. I just had that overwhelming urge to do … something. It’s this weird form of nesting instinct I have. Before we brought Kendall home, as in, long before we even started looking for a dog, I bought puppy chow and a leash and a collar, food dishes, water dishes. Before we walked into that Petsmart where we adopted Ken, I already had everything, except for toys and a pet carrier. I didn’t buy the pet carrier before because I wasn’t sure what sort of dog or what size dog we’d be getting. Kinda the same thing here…except yesterday I bought what I call a yappy dog carrier…but made sure it was big enough for 2 ten pound bunnies. I was roughly estimated what 2 angoras may weigh—and it is better to err on the side of way too big than way too small. I also bought containers…one to keep litter in and one to keep hay in. The food is going into the freezer to retain moisture, to keep it fresher longer. Not that I plan to buy tons and tons of food all at once.
The Rabbits USA magazine was the best thing I bought. I read it cover to cover. I went to darn near every website in the magazine. I requested catalogs. I signed up for newsletters. Whatever it takes to connect w other rabbit people. We even joined the American Rabbit Breeders Association, mostly to be able to receive the Domestic Rabbits magazine, but also to be able to connect to other rabbit people. The Storey’s Guide book suggested that magazine as a way to finder breeders, local clubs and associations. I am not having the best of luck w that myself, so any help I can find elsewhere, I am more than willing to reach out and take.
At least I am feeling way too much better where the bunnies are concerned. Now that I am reading the Storey’s guide…I am sort of thinking breeding rabbits may be more than just a possibility. I want to work w angoras on a more daily basis before I consider breeding them. Fluff balls require lots of work. I can see us raising other types of rabbits though…but that is a post all of its own, best kept for later on.
My friend has been teasing me. Not that R hasn’t. She says we need a bunny intervention w me, so focused am I on them. That’s how I get. Totally laser focused on something. Oblivious to a great many other things during that time. Resistance is futile, however. Assimilation to my insidious bunny plan is the only logical response. Mwahahaha.
I must admit, the whole rabbit thing is sparking something within me. I rarely remember my dreams, for very specific reasons, but when things come back from my dreams with me, when memories are pulled to the surface because of said dreams, when I can hear the voices so clearly…but I cannot catch the freeze frame of the picture…it’s different for me. I do know this bunny thing is a good thing. I know this is a path towards…my farm, my ranch, whatever form this is going to take. I am roughly 120 pages into Storey’s guide…and I started to read it last night after R got home, before he left for soccer. I have four other books on the way to me right now, about pet rabbit keeping. I see the levers and mechanisms moving and jostling for position…I see tumblers clicking, locking, falling into place. I know I am on the right track. I am simply not all that certain which way that track is taking me right now.
