Monday Bunday:Fennel

One of the many bonuses of going to the Farmer's Market is that you can get Fennel with the tops intact. These tops you can bring home to your rabbits, who like the Fennel very much.

Tyler: Fennel can be grabbed and pulled, pull as much as you can to get maximum harvest from the shopping bag.

Sydney: Fennel can be eaten while your brother grabs more and then you can take some from him. It's OK to do that because he is your brother and has taken food from you.

Tyler: Fennel has soft and crunchy parts, it is not just a food but a total mouth experience. If you have a rabbit get that rabbit some Fennel.

A Night at the Bunopera

Last night while Sydney was having first first crack the fresh Timothy hay, Tyler played the leading role as lovable, affectionate rogue. For 10 full minutes he groomed Amelia, I was concerned his tongue might wear out. Interesting to note is I had just spent a longish time petting him. The love you give will be passed on and on and on........Also of note this morning Tyler was quite uninterested in Amelia, in fact preferred to have his pellets in his room. However, I suspect, given the same set of conditions, tonight there will be an encore performance.

In Training

A Bunday At The Races

Rabbits3 were presented with equal lengths of Chicory. Amelia took her's under the chair, this did not seem to slow her progress, she was, doubtless eating while hopping. Tyler and Sydney proceeded at their usual rapid pace, if no more so because breakfast was at least half an hour late. Judges proclaimed a tie and all participants demanded an immediate, if not sooner, rematch.

Monday Bunday: Our Ears

Ears tell a lot about a rabbit. They convey emotions, intent, and state of health. The rigorous study of ears is much neglected field, but today, with the help of Rabbits3 it is the hope that the world will sit up and take notice. A simple "reading" of the ear markings can reveal much about a bun........

Here is Amelia's left ear, since she came to live here her ears have been constantly changing from dark to light and back again. For a few weeks now she has been sporting a chevron at the base of the her ear. This coupled with her grey ballet flats portrays of fashionable, but not over dressed bun; concerned with details, but not willing to take on any extraneously burdens. Her multiple ears positions, demonstrated here in the extreme, indicate flexibility and adaptability. Some good traits for a third bun.....

Comparing Sydney (left) and Tyler there is a distinct difference between these these siblings, in terms of color and markings.......

Sydney's black, black, black ears are softer than soft, if she'll let you near them. Dark all the way down to the base, this is a bun who lives life her way, she is the boss and chooses whom is allowed to be close. The line connecting her eye patches is quite straight, she has definite boundaries. Note though the white crevice between her ears, this indicates a vulnerability, a chink in her armor. She can be loving, but it's a careful path to her heart, like walking a tightrope......

Tyler's classy grey ear shade along with a more open design both between and on the ears are expressions of his personality. He is more open than Sydney and at the same time more vulnerable, this actually makes him friendlier because he is looking for protection (even though he thinks of himself as TOTALLY dominant). His eye patches are connected by a much more broken line than Sydney's, a sign that boundaries are flexible and subject to variance depending on circumstance.

Rabbits3 hope you have enjoyed this introduction to art of ear reading, remember trying this at home could lead to unexpected results........Have a good Bunday.

Emerging

Rabbit emerging from another unlabeled dimension.

Monday Bunday Breakfast Club;video special postponed;random photos instead

Rabbits3 express a shared interest in willow twig formations and their unique structure.

Rabbits3 get pellets and salad twice a day, along with unlimited hay and fresh filtered water. Morning pellets are served between 6 and 7 a.m. and between 9 and 10 a.m. it's time for another breakfast; fresh salad. Today's salad featured garden fresh Chicory and basil stalks and from the Farmer's Market Romaine lettuce, dill, radicchio, and fennel. Each salad is sprinkled with a teaspoon of dried Nettles for extra nutrition and served in individual containers, a bunbento, if you will.

Tyler framed in furniture; a spotted bun in a square hole.

The fresh herbs vary and include Parsley, Cilantro, Mint, Lemon Balm, Borage, Yarrow, and the aforementioned Dill. Seasonal flowers are included as well; Nasturtiums, Roses, Honeysuckle, and Borage. Garden "weeds" are often requested by the diners: Dandelion and Chickweed are served as supply allows. Sometimes Rabbits3 get chopped celery and occasionally grated carrot. A few oat groats might find their way to the salads, but these are usually reserved for training treats.

Amelia demonstrates the Basil Tango.

Bonding is still an issue. Sydney will still chase Amelia and has been caught with fur in her mouth. When this happens she is politely escorted from the room. Still, Amelia seems to prefer having the gate down. This morning Tyler was seen grooming Amelia, though not with a lot of enthusiasm, he may have been cautious about being busted by Sydney, who was sorting the hay nearby.

Have an excellent week and remember to eat plenty of greens.

Amelia; her looks

Who is looking at me while I'm looking for treats?

Amelia looking like Bandit, how does she do that?

Her tail looking very big and fat.

Looks like nap time.

Rabbits3 in Disguise

Always full of fun, Rabbits3 put on disguises for Halloween.

Tyler as Cotton Ball salesbun.

Sydney IS Cleopatra.

Amelia chose to be an airplane in honor of her namesake, Amelia Bunhart.

Halloween

Halloween

Halloween

is a a good reminder

that everything

may not be

as it seems.

Monday Bunday

When you are rabbit person things are different than for the rest of the populace. Our well being, no matter how mature we may try to be, is affected by these funny, charming, beautiful, long eared mammals. A sick bunny can cause the bottom to drop out of your own stomach, just as a friendly flop on the feet can bring a human in tune with universal goodness. We can be misunderstood. The other day I was talking on the phone with a friend who is not a rabbit person. but who I felt was simpatico. I was telling her the story of Amelia's origin, flight and rescue, before I had reached the exciting conclusion she launched into a story of the perfect weekend she had spent with her boyfriend!

It is a hard thing to leave at home, this being a rabbit person, and this can lead to the unexpected. On Sunday I attended a class, "Long's Spine Meridian", hoping to pick up a few pearls to use in clinic as well as 8 CEU hours. The class, which was held at Stanford University Medical School, was in one of those vibrating rooms. This is not some new therapy, but rather the result of some huge machinery elsewhere in the building. It feels like the mother ship is getting ready to take-off. But I felt I could over look that strange discomfort in my quest for useful information.

As the class proceeded I began to get the feeling I was attending an infomercial, not a class for professionals, since Dr. Long was not due to arrive until the afternoon, I hoped for improvement. After lunch the long awaited Dr. Long appeared, 84, she has been practicing for 50 years! Prepared to forgive the morning presenter I settled in to learn something I could bring home to my patients. Alas, Dr. Long, who spoke through an interpreter, felt to need to explain her work from the very beginning of time. I was more successful in staying awake then others, who snorted and jerked awake, only to be pulled back into the arms of Morpheus. Dear Dr. Long, who looked the quintessential Chinese grandmother in her quilted jacket and black head band, told with great enthusiasm about the animal studies she had done. These involved creating a misalignment either with manipulation or surgically in the animals spine then seeing what sort of internal pathology ensued.

She was working mainly with the thoracic vertebrae and using EKGs as the tracking data. There were 6 rabbits and 8 dogs who gave their lives to her work. She went over the fate of each animal one by one. And then she did it again to summarize. And then she showed slides of the spine. And then she showed a photo of a rabbit with it's spine exposed and I had to leave. It could have been any of our white bunny friends, Amelia, Pink, Norbert, Hugo (ATB), Gus, Tidbit (ATB) (not Nuage because he is an angora, or Wesley 'cause he's a lop)....... tears welling up I dashed into the courtyard.

Unsure what to do next, I wrote a scathing evaluation, we have to submit these on a form as part of the class. I felt a little better and realized I'd left my favorite sweatshirt inside. Tentatively I stood at the back of the class and tried to figure out what the current topic was, if she was still on the animal studies or what. I found I just couldn't stay, I felt nauseous and weepy, so I fled........fled back to my own rabbit centered universe, so you see there is a happy ending!

HAPPY BUNDAY ONE AND ALL

The Bunny and The Pumpkin

Amelia demonstrates how to eat a pumpkin. If you'd like to see a bunny in the wind, go here.

Bunnesday

Tyler in the Furniture Forest.

Sydney refusing to kiss Tyler.

Fresh hay eat it all night long.

Amelia's salad dish catches blue Autumn light.

Monday Bunday

Random scenes from around here.

Rabbit with dreaming eyes.

Tyler chinning Mint lest anybun think it is theirs,

moments later, just to be sure of ownership, he ate the same stalk

.

Busy Rabbit.

Amelia simultaneously grooming

and re-calibrating the Earometer.

Sticky Buns.

This would appear to not be such a special picture, the Spots snuggle all the time, what you don't know is that a split second before they were in opposite ends of the room and suddenly flew together like highly magnetized furry jigsaw pieces. And now you do know.

Dusk rabbit.

Amelia loves to go out at night, the outdoor bunnex is part of her patrol. On the night of the big rain she insisted on being let out though she seemed surprised by the rainwater rinse that she got.

Monday Bunupdateday

Amelia again shows her expertise with the 

Earometer method of measurement.

It has been a rather hectic week between trying to be a good daughter and the hard drive going south, bundates have been somewhat limited. I got tired of Sydney always chasing Amelia and so have had to give her a little talking to about playing nicely and how there is enough love to go around and all that. I've also been supervising more closely and  creating  diversions when Sydney starts taking a run at Amelia. I've seen no more Amelia/Tyler grooming, though I have seen her asking oh so very nicely.

Tyler takes a taste to be sure the produce 

is up to his high bunstandards.

It is expected that California's Central Coast will be rained on to the tune of 3-6 inches on Tuesday so I harvested the rest of our red pumpkins. Of course these had to be inspected by the Rabbits3. As you can see Amelia measured with her Earometer, Tyler tasted and Sydney hopped over to record  the findings on the chalkboard.

This looked like a lot of fun and I don't really mind a few chews here and there, 

so I let them be rabbits, bundiscipline is not my strong suit.

 It seems to be in the Spots nature to rampage and pillage, so I wasn't a bit surprised when I heard a small crash and found Tyler and Sydney in the middle of a box of papers. Although Tyler was the one to make his way onto the plant shelf and eat part of an Orchid (toxic plant, but it didn't bother him a bit), I'm not sure if it was Sydney or Tyler who ate part of a silicon muffin cup, but I am sure it is Sydney who has it in for BF's couch, now covered with throw rugs, cardboard and a couple wooden boards. The resulting curious structure is functional only from the standpoint of keeping Sydney from her apparently appointed mission in life, but not from that of human usage. Ah, well, a lose/lose situation, maybe we should just let her have the couch, at least somebun would be happy.

We send Rabbits Guy and Fats wishes for healing and wellness. 

PS Interview with me here. Sorry it's a treasure hunt to find the interview, go to link, click on the offered Printsy link, page to the bottom, click on older posts and voila`.......

Bunupdate

When I was first considering adding a third rabbit to the mix my greatest fear was that somehow Sydney would be left out with a broken heart. She has not yet really chose to bond with me, and if Tyler left her for another bun, certainly I, for one would not be able to hold back the tears. However, the Spots remain tight, napping, eating and rampaging through Amelia's quarters like marauding bandits. What else can one expect from masked bunnies?

Here the Spots share their passion for hay tubes. These are an in-house item made by stuffing toilet paper tubes with Timothy hay. You can buy a similar item for very much more money if you so desire. Hay in a tube always seems to be be a more exciting form of hay then an au naturale presentation. A close examination of the photo reveals Amelia peaking out of the valley formed by Sydney and Tyler's backs.

An activity that Tyler and Amelia share is going outside. Although Sydney very ocassionally will barely, bravely, venture out, the other two exhibit no qualms when it comes to the greater outdoors. The above picture shows Amelia in one of several attempts to get Tyler to groom her, it is a bit hard to see but she is in the "mandolin" pose and he has just turned away having been closer.

Less than a minute later Amelia is still asking, but Tyler has decided he must impress her by showing how tall he is, maybe next time he asks her for a groom, she will comply.

This morning I stepped out to check on the rabbits and found Amelia asking for dominance grooming, while Tyler was more concerned with the freshly served orchard hay.

Her patience, persistence and positioning paid off and Amelia got a little ear lick from Tyler, not much, mind you, just a little taste.

Monday Picture Bunday

Amelia measures a Chicory leaf using the earometer method.

The Spots inspect this years pumpkin harvest, we hope to get a few good winter meals from these nutritious globe-like vegetables.

Sydney imitates the frog.

Amelia looking in from the other side.