Any one who knows me knows that I have a thing about names. For the most part, I believe they should be meaningful. My grandfather, a pony man, used to tell us to be careful what you name a pony or a horse because that is often what they become...and he had quite a number of them that he raised and actually proved that point. So, I have always just had a thing for knowing the meaning behind a name. With my pets and rabbits, I try to go for the unique and often foreign names also. Yesterday I decided to keep a junior doe from Starry Knight and Zinfandel, who was the smallest of the kindle. She is still on the small side for her age, but I love her depth, shoulders, and fur. I just have a feeling about her, that she may improve with age.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing in numbers throughout the world and particularly in the United States presently, I was searching for a name that had a special meaning to me and one that honored my Lord; the word "grace" kept...

While I have two kindles just a day apart right now, I am so excited about my newest kindle born Thurdsay, because this is my first one I have had with both parents of my own breeding. Tale of Tails Kieran (4 legs) and Ravyn (1 leg) produced six blacks and one blue, although the blue was DOA. At least now I know that Kieran also carries blue. Kieran is on the heavy side of silvering with longer fur and has amazing depth. Ravyn is very lightly silvered and lacks in quality of her fur and depth but has a well positioned peak and when coupled with the right buck, she throws some nice kits. Ravyn's first breeding was with High Rock's Starry Knight and they produced two very nice does: Porsche and Mercedes. Porsche as a junior won her first leg with 1st of 11 and then BOS in March at Dalton in Show C. Mercedes won 2 legs with 1st of 11 in Show B and 1/7 in the Meat Lovers Show. I am having a difficult time deciding which one I will be keeping. Both have good depth that neit...

I did not want to dare hope when Judge Donyelle Schultz took Astro Man out for a second look on the Best in Show table at the Dalton show, but then I heard her announce he was her pick for Reserved in Show. I screamed involuntarily. I cannot tell you how rare it is for a Silver Fox to be pulled out just to have a second look, but to be picked RIS! I will say that Astro just was in prime condition that day from nose to toes! He won first of senior bucks in four of the five shows that weekend. Of course, Astro would not stay still to pose for pictures at the show at all in hopes of looking for the does he could smell, no doubt for it was spring. The judge and I just gave up! Then he would not hold a proper pose for me when I tried to take a picture of him with his awards at home either. I think the "I don't have to because I am already a star" attitude has gone to his head! So, forgive the lousy lines and just trust that when he posed correctly, he looks more like...

After offering my help a few times, the National Silver Fox Rabbit Club (NSFRC) asked me to take over the sweepstakes entries, which were at the time six months behind. So, I became a member of the NSFRC Sweepstakes Committee, which also included the president, secretary, and webmaster of the club. It sounded simple enough to do because of how the webmaster had set up everything online with a database. It is a simple data entry process, but it is also easy to make mistakes. To explain how the sweepstakes work, the show must be sanctioned by the ARBA, which involves a fee payment, and a number will be assigned to each show. Exhibitors all talk about going to a show, but some shows actually are doubles or triples, which is two or three shows at the same venue on the same day hosted by the same club, but two clubs can have shows on the same day at the same venue as well.  Once the show secretary has the ARBA numbers, the requests for specialty sanctions can be made as well. ...

Just when you think you have about seen it all with rabbits, they show you something new. Zinfandel's kindle has been one of those experiences. It took some time to track down exactly what was going on, because it is rare to happen but not unknown to at the same time, but I finally found my answer. When I first looked in the nest box I found a couple, one worse than the other with this pinkish skin with dark areas on the heads. At first I thought they might be torts! And while I do have a desire to help with the Alaska Red Fox project (another breed that Walter Garland was developing after his Silver Fox), I have absolutely no space or desire to take on that project presently. However, when their fur began to grow in, it was black...well, sort of. The color was off but certainly not tort. All the fur was tipped with white more like a steel chinchilla would be, but they were not steels either (besides the fact that they just should not be) because the coats were too...

I went to a two-day show in Virginia at the end of September while it was still particularly hot, and my Silver Foxes still had poor fur because of it. We picked up two rabbits to be shown from a Tennessee breeder on the way, and there we met up with some of the best Silver Fox breeders in the country. I did not expect my rabbits to do as well with the competition that I believed would be there because some of the Mid-Atlantic breeders were also there, but I was pleased in general. My two senior bucks were in the top five out of six and seven, but GC Carrot Garden's Astro Man was the one who caught the eye of three judges, who placed him in first place, and one even awarded him with Best of Opposite Breed. This brings his leg count up to ten. There were many senior does at this show, and the breeders all commented on the higher numbers, which ranged from nine to twelve depending on the show, but it was because no one was able to breed due to the heat. Leona was the doe wi...