Floofy kitteh looks all snuggly.
Well. The application is finished and will be taken over to the library to be faxed this morning. I feel like the rag wheels of heck.
I woke up at 0140 and decided it wasn’t worth staying in bed. The shower has been had.
Yesterday morning I called the pain clinic and it was nearing 1630 when they returned the call. They can’t see me until the 12th, so I just have to suffer with this inadequate med. What a strange body I have.
Two of my stranger nieces were all over me yesterday for something I posted and rather than try to argue or explain the post, I just made a new one:
“If you don’t like what I post,
“1. “Hide” it
“2. Scroll past it.”
No names, but they’ll read it. Both are liberals. SO insecure! LOL!
Today’s special animal friend is the Angora rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus. All domesticated rabbits share this taxonomy; they are further classified into breeds and sub-breeds, like dogs or cats. The origin of this breed is obscure, but it was introduced to France in 1725. It became a pet of royalty and nobility. Domestication of rabbits as a fur and food source was known in antiquity. Pliny the Elder, in the first century B.C., described rabbit farms in Rome.
Angora rabbits, of which there are several varieties, are often kept as pets. They are really cute and have marvelously soft fur (also called “wool”). A dwarf English Angora will weigh about three pounds, while a Giant Angora weighs over ten pounds. Angora rabbits can compete in rabbit shows – like cat shows, but less red in tooth and claw – and at county or state fairs.
Angora rabbits are raised commercially for their “wool,” which is similar in fineness and texture to cashmere (goat) fiber, with a diameter of 12 to 16 microns. This is just a little finer than the very finest Merino wool, for those who remember our tour of Australian animals. Like Merino sheep, Angora rabbits have been selectively bred for wool production, and they must be combed, trimmed, or sheared several times a year to prevent overheating, infection, hairballs, and other health problems.
Angora wool is very popular with hand-knitters and weavers. As yarn, it shows a “halo effect” of tiny fibers. It is inelastic and is often blended with sheep’s wool. The sheep fibers add strength and elasticity, while the angora wool contributes warmth and softness. Pure Angora yarn is used mainly as an accent in garments; even 10% of Angora yarn makes a shawl or scarf much warmer. Natural colors of Angora range from pure white to black, with many pretty intermediate shades of vanilla, brown, reddish, gray and blue-gray. The wool can also be colored with natural or synthetic dyes.
About 90% of the world’s Angora wool is produced in China, where more than 50 million rabbits produce up to 3,000 tonnes (which are heavier than tons) per year. The best quality wool is gathered by “plucking” or combing shed hairs from the rabbit, while “shearing” with clippers or scissors produces larger quantities of coarser hair that is more likely to contain bits of vegetable matter. In the last decade, customers have become aware of issues with cruelty in both Chinese and European Angora farms, and this has affected the demand, in the West, for Angora garments.
In the United States, most Angora wool is produced at the artisanal/family farm level and sold in small batches for the handicraft market. Angora rabbits are a popular 4-H project for families that don’t have the facilities to keep sheep, cows, or pigs. As with other breeds of rabbits, those who raise them claim they have personalities and are affectionate. (Certainly this is more likely than that snakes and lizards have personalities.)
Today’s animal friend was hopping about and nibbling clover in a wire enclosure yesterday afternoon, when I was sitting in the shade near the stable during Daughter D’s riding lesson. It was a dwarf variant in a beautiful shade of gray with a very clever face. Some varieties of Angora rabbits have flattened faces like a Persian cat’s and are not, in my opinion, very cute.