August is the time to start shearing angora goats.... those summer fleeces are growing so beautifully! Clean of vegetation and strong color are the hallmarks of the fall clip. I try to start with shearing the kids and yearlings, so look for the first of the fabulous fall clip at my ebay store this month!

Ms Daisiest (see photo above) made an appearance along with a display of "Geraldine" props: the book, a fleece, a navajo weaver-at-her-loom model, mohair yarns, etc. She was quite a hit! If you have never read The Goat in the Rug, you must get ahold of a copy!

2. Charmed Knits-Projects for Fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel. I picked this up at Estes Park and was thrilled to find Molly Weasleys technicolor housecoat among the other other delights such as Dobby's socks and Ron Weasley's animal cracker hat. If you have watched the Harry Potter movies you know what a knitters delight they are... full of fanciful knit and crocheted items!

I will be going up to Bethel with rabbits and guinea pigs on Saturday and can deliver prepaid rabbits for pickup at the WSF. For more info on the WSF see www.worldsheepfest.com They have a special rabbit tent with lots of rabbits and Saturday is the best day for shopping for bunnies.

I am offering several bunny specials on the rabbit page this month including two Bethel Specials and two Summer Specials An updated list of available rabbits is also posted this month. The guinea pigs are also on special this month at 1/3 the price of GPs in pet stores!

Meet the Housemilkers

this month HMFF Charlotte is featured along with her buck kid who is available for sale this month. See the goat page for more details.

Angora Goats

With angora goat shearing time again upon us, this might be a good time to share some collected wisdom on treating for LICE on Angoras. See goat page for options for managing this pesty problem.

Also on the goat page, I have two angora goats for sale.

CAGBA Nationals It has been announced that the CAGBA Nationals will be returning to Estes Park in 2008! Start planning now to attend this terrific location and festival. Phil Sponenberg will be a special guest speaker/workshop presenter at the Nationals. Judge is TBA.

Kittens for the barn?

I still have a couple pretty spotted kittens available. So useful in the feed room. First shots and wormed. Kid tame. Used to dogs. Free to friends of the farm!

Koi for your Garden Pond?

My Koi fish have had babies! $5 each for small, but colorful young Koi. Will be $10 size by next spring. I leave my Koi and Goldfish out in a stocktank all winter. They are given supplemental feeding throughout the summer and into the fall. In late fall, I set the potted water lilies down on the bottom of the tank and with the cold weather, the plants die back and the fish go dormant. The water freezes over; but all is well come spring!

White Chinese Geese

A mated pair of 3 year old White Chinese with two young goslings , "the poor man's swan", also known as Weeder Geese. Calm and elegant, easy to get along with most of the year... (they are a bit protective of their new goslings) $50 for the family of 4

for more info or to reserve Koi or Chinese geese, contact me at hmffarm@fidnet.com

Thanks to Toni for sharing two wonderful ideas for the farm! She suggests this quick fix for those splits in plastic garden carts / wheelbarrows: " if you have a cracked tub on your cart/wheelbarrel (plastic ones) all you have to do is drill holes on each side of the crack and run zip ties through them and "stitch" it up! " Her dad also had an idea to add to it: silicon the crack afterwords if you needed it to be water tight.

I have not tried these, but recently learned of a company in Texas that is recycling used tires and plastics to make livestock feeders and such. You can view their products at www.rubberlineinc.com . They also have a cool lid that fits plastic or metal 55 gal drums. I might have to try one of these.