Seasons Bleatings! Its September , the beginning of breeding season for HMFF... so an exciting time anticipating next years crop! In this issue you can "meet "the boys" : the sires that will be producing next years crop. The colorful young buck in the above photo is getting his chance at the Boer girls this fall.

I just got back from the World Sheep Fest at Bethel , Mo where the rabbit tent had a record 96 rabbits to display and sell! There was French, English and Satin Angoras in every color imaginable! I came home with a beautiful deep dark chocolate doe named Latte from my friend Toni at Little Flower Farm. Bethel unfortunately downsized our tent this year, so it was pretty crowded. There were rabbits everywhere! At least the weather was cooler than the norm. HMFF contributed a house plant in a carrot motif mug (for those who wished to bid on an item they did not have to feed) to the silent auction. Other breeders donated raffle rabbits ... proceeds went towards the tent cost . Maybe they will give us our bigger tent back next year.

I took a couple of special fleeces up to Bethel, to show this year , but was disappointed to learn that they had cancelled the fleece competition. So onto ebay they go! Feanaro's fleece is one of them. It is a perfect fleece for rainbow dyeing/designer yarn projects. The other is a rare blackbelly patterned Hybrid Leicester ram fleece. Check out my ebay store HerbalMaid Gallery if you think you might be interested.

HerbalMaid Gallery had bunny-related items on sale in August in honor of the Bethel Bunny Bunch. Septembers sale is craft tools, kits & supplies.... and October's sale will be the Fall Rhinebeck Special in honor of the CAGBA Nationals at the festival at Rhinebeck, NY. I am going to create a new sale each month for the rest of the year!

Looking back, it was a brutal August with two weeks of 100+ degree weather that burned up all the pastures and tested the endurance of the animals and their keeper. Keeping water tanks full was a constant occupation.The sheep and the goats just laid low in the day and grazed at night. The pastures turned crispy (check out the pasture in the photo above!) with no rain for over a month. The rabbitry was hit hardest by the temps. In all my years of rabbit raising, I have never lost so many rabbits to the heat. Extended shade and many fans were of little value when it is 100 degrees in the shade with high humidity. I was very thankful for the gravity water system (at least I did not have to worry about them running out of water). Too many to bring in the house, so how was I to help them to survive until the weather would break? My own mother came up with a great idea for beating the heat. She told me of the days before air conditioning, in a third floor apartment with a flat asphalt roof, they used to hang sheets in the doorways with the lower ends immersed in a bucket of water. The water would wick up the sheets and a fan blowing past the sheet would make it seem so much cooler. I tried this out in the rabbitry and it did help! I also went out on the hottest days and wet down their ears (the rabbits natural radiator) every 2-3 hours... they actually seemed to appreciate this to my surprise... and on the days that I did this, there were no losses. Frozen water bottles are also appreciated by the bunnies in the super hot weather.

Black Tents of Afghanistan This is the last installment from my summer vacation at Estes Park, Colorado. Resting at mid day under the shade of the Black Tent at Estes Park made me feel like a queen! I have got to make me one of these!!! In fact, I took a few lessons from the black tent as I revamped my rabbitry for the roasting weather... with vaulted high ceilings and breeze space along the lower edge of the shade tarps.

On the goat page this month you will find Featured Housemilker: HNF Suzette and her spectacular buck kid (not for sale this fall). Her kid is going to have his chance at a few of the dairy does this year. Also listed are a few assorted bucks and does for sale

Check out the sheep page for two free on-line courses of interest to sheep producers and for the fall sale list of rams.

I am always pleased to feature photos sent to me from happy customers... and this month on the rabbit page you will find Miss Sarrah from Nebraska with her Grand Champion bunny from HMFF. You will also find the latest rabbit list including a couple new additions that were born this summer; plus a great deal on some bred Guinea Pig females (and unrelated weaned males and female) .

Upcoming Events

Ladies in Ag Field Tour 5:30 pm Sept 6 Owensville , Mo Touring the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program, the Intensive Grazing System, Vineyard and Glade Restoration at the Schlottach Farm. Speakers on Agricultural issues include Charlie Schlottach, the new Missouri state Director of Agriculture Katie Smith, and Lt Charles Howard from the Gasconade Co Sheriffs office. Dinner provided by the district. Bring a lawn chair. Call 573-437-3478

Mid Mo Horse & Mule and Historical Craft Day October 6-7,2007 Gerald MO A fantastic event for the whole family with the setting on a local farm. Spinning, natural dyeing, weaving for the fiber folks... plus chuckwagon food, local teams of horses, mules, and oxen demonstrate all manner of "horsepowered" equipment. Sorghum making. Music. Small farm livestock and produce...Its like an old fashioned market day. ..contact Gail at tenacity@fidnet.com

National Small Farm Trade Show & Conference November 1-3 at Boone Co Fairgrounds, Columbia MO A huge trade show sure to inspire and delight! Various short courses and demonstrations , stock dog clinic, and more. For more information: 800-633-2535 or email smallfarm@socket.net Sponsored by the magazine Small Farm Today