Its July! The hay is up and it is time to sort the herd again. All the babies are weaned and on full feed... and the bucks and rams are being taken to their bachelor paddock. The does and ewes are moved to a fresh pasture and will need the next few months to recondition themselves in preparation for breeding season. EVERYONE gets wormed and feet trimmed up. The angora kids are beginning to show their stuff! See the angora goat page for the first listing of available buck kids!

Summer is also a time for building and repairs including fences , interior paint jobs, the roof on the house, and my latest quest: the truly BUCK PROOF pen (if there is such a thing) . The "Hellmann Buck Pen" will be getting its test this fall. Designed and executed by my good friend, Gary Hellmann, it is made from telephone poles at the corners and gates... steel t-posts inbetween... sandwiching 16 ft livestock panels with 2x4 inch holes (these special panels are taller than cattle panels, with smaller holes to contain a wide variety of livestock) . The entire 16 x 20 ft pen will be roofed as well. This versatile containment building/pen could hold anything from chickens to camels. It could be enclosed for hay storage, and then later used as a lambing shed with room for two pens within .It adjoins one of the paddocks, so it can also be used as a catch-pen. It will be shade in the summer and shelter in the winter.... and hopefully will contain that pesky, but all so necessary dairy buck during a couple of crucial months this fall!

I am trying to go through my wool storage room. Some fleeces will be posted to ebay, but I do like to offer them to you first. Other fleeces will be washed, dyed, and sent off for processing. As I go through the inventory, I will set aside some choice ones which you will find on the sheep and wool page . A list of available rams for sale this year is also found on this page. It is not too early to be thinking about ram-power. I have two choice yearling rams that are ready to work this fall!

In the rabbitry, the fans run all day and into the night, keeping the bunnies cool. The gravity water system is working great and I am so glad to know that they never run out of water. Look to the rabbit page for a number of great management ideas that were in the Mid America Angora Club newsletter plus the latest list of available bunnies. I now have four different litters of rabbits available so those of you that were waiting for a larger selection, this is your big chance. Bunnywool is in high demand and easily sold. You don't have to have a big farm to raise Angora rabbits. In fact, you don't even have to have a yard! I hope to have a pictorial on harvesting bunnywool in the August issue of this newsletter, so stay tuned!

Summer storms pop up quickly, giving much needed relief from the hot muggy weather and water to keep the pastures green... and sometimes they leave us with something so beautiful that we just have to stop and marvel at the beauty of Mother Nature. This double rainbow appeared as a downpour moved eastward and the late day sun reappeared at the western horizon.

So sit yourself down with a glass of iced tea ... you need a break... and enjoy this months issue of Season's Bleatings!