Too much time has gone by!  I have been remiss in updating this blog.  So much has happened in the last five weeks.

First of all, Margaret Truman went to a delightful new home to be a house bunny.  Her owner fell in love with her at first sight, and we knew they would be a good pair.  We are thrilled with the placement.  And we continue to have good reports on Kits Nos. 2 & 3, who are now named Lyndon and McKinley.  McKinley has additionally gained the nickname of James Bond 007 for his facility in escaping from any restraint or restriction.

Earlier this month we attended the Baltimore and Howard County Rabbit Show at the Howard County fairgrounds.  We took Sam, Guenther, and Eleanor Roosevelt and Samantha but not Andrew Jackson and Barack Obunny because at that point we still had only four carriers.  (One of the reasons for going to the show was to pick up the two additional carriers we had ordered from Martin's Cages.)   We also took Dorcas along as a "companion rabbit" so that Ginger Daniels could enjoy seeing her and so that she could enjoy the stimulation of a new environment with plenty of other rabbits in it.  She did not have as good a time as I had anticipated, however.  Still, I think she enjoyed getting out of the house and riding in the car for a while on my lap.

That was Samantha's first show and, surprisingly, she beat her larger sister Eleanor Roosevelt to take a first place ribbon in her class.  We were entirely thrilled.  Guenther took a third place ribbon, and Eleanor Roosevelt also won a third place ribbon so we were quite thrilled with the results.  Samantha's win went to her head a little bit.  After the show she seemed to taunt Eleanor with acts that seemed to state, "I'm better than you." 

This past weekend, we took all six show rabbits up to Cortland, NY for our Eastern States Flemish Giant Rabbit Breeders club Cortland Carousel show, a double Flemish Giant specialty show.  The competition at Cortland is always just phenomenal, especially as many experienced breeders specifically time their litters so that they will have Juniors at their peak for this show.  We were thrilled with the judges -- Bob Shafta, an Englishman from Canada who formerly owned a defunct cheese factory which he had converted into a barn for some 200 Flemish Giants, and who really knew the breed well, and Eric Stewart, who is our District Rep with ARBA.  We were particularly pleased with Samantha's results from the Sunday show.  Although she is only 4 1/2 months and was the tiniest Junior on the table by far, she managed to stay on the table an amazingly long time, taking third out of ten in her class.  Other breeders noticed what a fine but young rabbit she was and complimented us on her.  We were thrilled, absolutely thrilled.

When we got home from the show, we finished off Eleanor Roosevelt and Samantha's hutches and moved them into the barn with Guenther, the boys, and our newly adopted barn cat, Kitten.  It is now very cozy in there, and we enjoy spending time out there.  Hopefully, soon we will cordon off the former cattle run and use that as an exercise area for the rabbits.  I am really looking forward to letting them hop a bit more even though their hutches are quite spacious.

Next stop is the Flemish Giant National show at the home of the Bolyards in Reading, MI, less than three weeks away.  Again, we will take all six show rabbits with us.  We are really looking forward to the trip and will report on that later.