Bunnies Need Boundaries

When I first came to this burrow I was very sick so I didn't go on reconnaissance missions. As I felt better I ventured further from this large room where we watch TVevery night. No one paid much attention as I quickly sneaked past legs and into other rooms. If you hear a door latch, you must always run in that direction and try to sneak in unnoticed. I've been able to spend nights locked away in various rooms. There is always so much to do! As time went by some of my investigations of air mattresses, baseboards, bed slats (the absolute best, especially if old) and electrical wiring became noticed. Next thing I know we have a foldable wire fence that can be rearranged to keep me in or out of just about anything. Pfffft. That will not do! I will not tolerate it. Once a free-range bunny, always a free-range bunny. So now we have a game: "Let's Get Sweeeeeet Bunny in Her Bed Tonight."

It's best to start a bunny out with boundaries so that we can feel the sweet taste of freedom each day; I get used to it and then I have to find something else to entertain me. I recently found this room especially fun - and just when I'm in the midst of bliss they come in to play our other game: "BunNY! GET OUT!" That game always gets a tail wag.

Cabin Getaway

I rather enjoy going to the cabin. Everything is different there, but I especially like the dry and grassy smell. It took a lot for me to get comfortable here. My favorite place is my camper that I'm sitting in below. My camper is the large-medium version (there are 2 mediums) of the Petmate line of campers. This one is just perfect for me. I can stretch all the way out and when I sit up my ears don't touch the top. It has a moat around the bottom - so with litter in the back, all of that stuff stays back there and doesn't get into my hay or on my fleece blanket.

We worked long and hard on the perfect camper for me: we tried little litterboxes, towels, smaller campers, but this is the best! Just scoop the litter each day or twice a day on long rides and it's clean as a whisker. When I go to the doc, the top comes off and there I am, ready to see what's going on. I do *not* like it when people stick their fingers in my cage and I will nip at them at best, but with the top off, I'm perfectly at ease. The docs see my cute face and they forget to do anything else but pet me! Kim says that it's a very expensive petting session.

You can see my litterbox in the corner - a dishpan makes a terrific litterbox! There's natural grass pellets (litter) in the back side (I like to back up to corners to pee) and there's hay in the front; eating and peeing sort of go together because if I pee on the hay it grows better. And my droppings help too!

It's very bright in this room in the daytime so I have a shelter over my litterbox and another shelter that's a tent made out of unpeeled willow sticks. You can see a couple of peeled willow balls over there - I don't like the peeled ones nearly as well as unpeeled. I have a tube of willow sticks and behind that my new favorite plush house (they bought it for Kitty, but she's too fat for it).

There's my bowl of pellets on my blanket. I have blankets all around and a chair so that I can watch TV and look out the window. I like to have a pillow below the chair for jumping off - my little legs are so frail and easily broken; I feel much more secure jumping onto a pillow. (I once lived with a bunny that broke its leg; of course, I had nothing at all to do with it.) Here's what I see from my chair:


Fleece blankets are safer than terry towels because fleece doesn't have any strings that I could choke on if I accidentally swallowed some of the blanket. However, if I'm happy and content I don't chew up my things! I know exactly which things are for chewing and I only chew them. Many bunnies of lesser intelligence chew up their cardboard rooms and castles - I only chew my sticks and hay!

Vacation!

We're off to the Methow Valley! I love to ride in the car.

In fact, I met a bunny named Sapper at the vet the other day. She said that another bunny moved into her home and they didn't like each other much. But one day they both went for a ride in a box in a car together and they had the time of their lives! At first they clung to each other in fear, but then they learned to enjoy it and now they're best friends. What a great way to become friends!

This is me in my camper - I can camp for weeks in it. It has litter (Country Critter plant fiber pellets) in the back, hay on one side, and a soft, fleece blanket on the other. I always pee in the back. I've got my fleece a little messed up here, but Kim will straighten it out in a bit. There is also a food and water dish in the top of my camper and I get water at stops.



We headed out a little late in the season so we had a lot of rain most of the way. Washington Pass looked particularly spooky. It's 51 here at the pass in August:



But as we crossed the pass and headed down the other side it was beautiful! After 5 hours of driving in the rain, the Methow Valley looks like heaven. I have a field of Timothy Hay over there that I love to play in.



The last part of the trip is on a very rough dirt road and it kinda makes me queasy:



What a relief to arrive and get in my easy chair with a big salad. I like to ride in the car, but 5 hours is about the limit!

My Kitty

Kitty behaves pretty well now and I'll agree to let her on the floor and sometimes on the bed, but it's taken three years to teach her where her place is! And that she has her own hay and is not to eat mine! (She loves to eat hay.)

Another Birthday

I'm the official present-opener around here. I just do it best!

Well that was a GPS. BORING! I know my routes! The one I really like is the new bathrobe... it's so very soft...


I love it when it squishes me. It makes me drool.

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Grandpa Bud

Grandpa Bud came to visit me in June. We went to the cabin and watched TV and ate salad on the couch.


Back home Mac often takes Grandpa outside...

Birdwatching

I'm pretending I don't see Kitty watching me. What is it that she likes about this birdbath? I see nothing interesting at all! Yet she will watch it for hours... her brain is so small.

I wish I had my topcoat on today - it's quite chilly. I think we reached 64! Oh the dog days of summer!

Did you make your bed today?

Electrified

Lightning struck a tree very close to our house the other day. BOOOM!! It was the loudest sound I'd ever heard! I was terrified! Stuff fell off the walls. I thought the sky was falling! I ran up the stairs and under the bed. I thumped and thumped for about half an hour before I would believe my staff's reassuring "It's OK, Bunny."

Anyhow, the stereo was fried. I absolutely love music! I especially love classical, but my tastes vary quite a bit. (If I don't like the music I turn my ears away from the speaker.) So I set about tinkering for most of the day until I got it fixed. I love to tinker! And I especially love the feel of the rubber handles in my teeth. Mmmm. You can pretty much tell how much I like the handles if you get a close look at them. I'm not sure my skills are totally appreciated around here.

Braised Rabbit?

I love roasting by the fire. The more I lie by the fire, the more I shed, and the more I need to lie by the fire!

Sledding Fun

At Christmas I went sledding in the Methow Valley. Weeeeee!

It was a blast until...

I'm glad I wasn't on that ride!

Bedtime

A quick snack and then under the bed to sleep.

Living Room Hang

Cuddle Bug

Today we both got to eat our hay at the table:

Adventure Paper

Yesterday this big box arrived from the Amazon. It was filled with lots and lots of Amazon Adventure Paper! Kitty and I immediately knew it was for us to hide in, chew on, and make lots of noise with.

Here she comes... If I'm really still she might not see me.
I think I've been spotted, but I'll pretend I don't notice.
At night it gets really exciting! Is that Kitty waiting for me?...

"Mom! Kitty's looking all evil at me!"

Kitchen Monitor

What are y'all eating?? I want some too!

Were you eating salad?? Let me check your breath.

(I don't go in the kitchen because I really really don't like slippery floors... have you watched any cartoons lately?)

Today was the day to harvest my Timothy hay at the cabin. Here's Bill baling it.

And here they are hauling the bales back to the barn. We go out and pick up the leftovers - so nice and fresh!

I kept a close eye on the whole operation...

It takes me about 1:36 to finish off a fresh piece of Timothy (this is a video - click to play it):



Relaxing in front of the TV after a long day of watching hard work.

And off to bed. (I sleep where I can keep an eye on everyone.)

That was one great salad! I didn't even have time to wash my face after eating.

Happy 82, Grandpa Bud! I think I over-celebrated...

Bath Time

Most bunnies don't like to bathe with water. Our skin is very sensitive and it can change our body temperature too much. Once we get wet we can get too cold and get hypothermia. A hair dryer is too hot for us unless used on its lowest setting and not too close. If we get really soiled, it's best to use baby cornstarch - rub it in and then brush it out. Mostly, I just keep myself clean. After I get petted, I have to wash and wash and wash. I wash my ears a lot. First I lick my hands...

And then I rub my ears and face. It looks like I pull my ears down with my hands, but I can just point my ear downward if I want to.

Yesterday evening I was sleeping under the bed when I heard the sweet sound of Kitty howling. I dashed to the top of the stairs. There she was in the middle of the living room – pinned to the ground, yelling and howling. I leaped down the stairs and charged. “I’ll help! I’ll help! Let’s git her!” I pulled my lips back so that my sharp teeth would be the first thing to meet her soft flesh. To my surprise my teeth didn’t meet soft Kitty flesh, but the hard rubber of a tennis shoe. I circled and attacked again. More rubber. (They are wise to not expose flesh when I am trying to help torture Kitty.) I darted one way and then quickly back the other way to try to get around the shoe. I leaped in the air and then ran at her again. There seems to be no way around the shoe. Why can’t I help?

“No Miss Bunny, we’re not torturing Kitty – we’re cleaning her ears.”

Sheesh. This place is no fun at all. Some days I wish I’d never been rescued.

We don't have snow much here, but back on March 1st we had an inch or so. Kitty hates the snow. It was a great day. Kitty wouldn't even walk out on the roof like usual, but just sat next to the house, looking out, wishing it would go away.

Before Kitty came to live inside with us she would come up on the roof here and look in at us. She still comes and goes this way. It's a little spooky when she asks in at night... there's just a little "scraaatch, scraaaaatch" and barely perceptible green eyes.

Begging at the Table

C'mon - throw me a bone... something... anything...
I check this spot regularly for scraps of food when no one is looking. Sometimes there are veges on the table too! They keep them in a "vase" and I have to stand on my hind legs to eat them, but it's so worth it. One time I made the mistake of carrying a rosebud back to my chair - later I heard, "so that's where they've been going" - and then the vase was even higher. I can pretty much always get to it though. I love roses.

The Monster Under the Bed

There is a monster under the bed at our house. Often, you will hear it scratching, grunting, or chewing. If you hold a piece of hay under the bed, it will get yanked from your fingers - a very convenient way to clean! Be careful not to stick your toes too far under the bed.

That monster would be me. When I first took up residence in this burrough I quickly found that is where we sleep. It's nice and dark under here and I can sleep here most of the day too. I'm crepuscular, which means I sleep at night and day and come out at dawn and dusk (which works out well because that's when my staff is around too!). Today I set up the tripod so you could see me coming out of my sleeping spot. I keep the bottom of my travel carrier here with litter and hay in it so that I remember to eat lots of hay all of the time. I like it clean and fresh every day. My staff say that it's very relaxing to go to sleep and wake up to the sound of me chewing hay. And it completely masks the sounds of rats in the attic!

All of the wires around here are covered with paper towel tubes. I don't like to chew paper towel tubes (even though I can quite easily) so I leave them alone... unless I want attention... they make a loud, hollow sound when I chew them and I will immediately get attention. Then I wag my tail and run!
I received a comment that I should not use my tripod so much and take pictures of the other critters that I live with. Fortunately, the laundry basket was at the foot of the bed so I hopped up and got a picture of Kitty. She usually sleeps on top of the bed - usually on top of Dad. She is very curious about my camera, but way too stupid to understand it.

This is my most relaxed pose.