Controlled Co-Minglement

Like the locks of a canal or, more accurately the multiple gates of a cattle shoot, I can control where a bun goes, or more or less. This afternoon the opportunity presented itself to have Harriet and Sydney shut in their pen and Amelia and Tyler sharing the rest of the warren. All photos were taken today 03/30/2011

Amelia checked out the facilities on "The Other Side"

and moved on to more chinning.

After a good while I shut Amelia in her pen and let the other girls and Tyler have a go at her non-pen territory.

Sydney chinned the Buddha and used the willow tunnel.

Harriet enjoyed Amelia's under the desk fort/meditation area

and settled in for a nap.

Monday Bunday: Sketches II

Almost a week late I mailed in my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project. I cheated just a little and ripped out the last four pages. If that wasn't meant to be an option why were those pages perforated, might I ask? In fact, oddly enough, all the pages past the middle were perforated. Had I realized this before starting I would have used them to create double thick pages; next time. Noteworthy events have been the nail trimming of all 4 rabbits, they were all for some reason poorly behaved, with the exception of Harriet, but disapproval was universal. We have had some fenceless meals with varying degrees of success, at least now with trimmed nails the damage will be minimized. DS and Tyler have bonded successfully, and Harriet too. I think Amelia and Tyler could get along OK. Everybun and one loves Tyler.

Have a great week and get ready for THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT

Monday Bunday

Tyler settles in for his long winter's nap in

his apple box house while Harriet keeps guard.

Tyler's story; boy looses home; boy finds home and looses sister; boy finds sister; boy and sister meet a girl; boy, sister and girl becomes friends, it's a little complicated; boy,sister and girl meet another girl, it becomes more complicated; boy and sister become fast friends with second girl while first girl is away; boy meets first girl again........

Why can't dates be fun?

Amelia has gotten the OK from the vet to come off of restricted activity and social isolation. This required a completed reconfiguration of the pens and rabbit flow. I combined all the pens and set them up so that Harriet and Amelia could if need be, be separated by the Spots in the middle. I was unhappy with the lack of space. The Spots are used to roaming and really did a lot of running at BFs, I could see them becoming fat, lazy and complacent. To combat this trend I decided to divide the room more or less in half with fencing for exercise purposes. Tyler on discovering he could come out the pen went on an extended hop about of the territory. DS's room, the study/computer room, even the bathroom with it's cold tile floor did not go unexamined. A quick gnaw at a familiar bookcase in the study was, I imagine Tyler's

"Kilroy was here", better than peeing in the corner as far as I am concerned.

Amelia did plenty of hopping and chinning in her bigger space. You can see where she was shaved for her injury, it looks like her leg is falling off. Her other wound was on her shoulder.

Amelia on her side has been boxing with both Harriet and Sydney, bonding with them seems to have regressed to not quite square one, maybe square one and a half. Thinking I could easily re-bond Tyler and Amelia I popped them in a little pen in the kitchen. They squeezed themselves into the tiny littler box, but there was no grooming. I tried putting them both in Amelia's pen, but Tyler got snippy, he needs more time. Boy meets girl again on a speed date and doesn't like the pressure....

Amelia interprets the Eclipse.

Have a Great Week, don't miss acknowledging The Eclipse, there hasn't been a lunar eclipse on a Solstice for 372 years......

You Never Really Know

During the winter take some time off to rest in a cozy place.

Ever so much has happened. First just yesterday Amelia had to go to the vet for a big rip on her sweet little arm. Yes, Harriet was was perpetrator, but I'm quite sure she was provoked. I think it may have just been chance that she did what seemed to be a lot of damage. They seemed to working things out, they really did. At first the vet thought she'd have to stitch layers of tissue, but as it turned out once the wound was cleaned up the rip had mostly been a fat pad. Hooray for fat pads, I see now their place in evolution; fleshy decoys. Amelia had to spend most of the day at the vet's and during that time the Spots and Harriet became better acquainted. In fact they became so well acquainted that by the end of the day Tyler was grooming Harriet while Sydney supervised from inside a little house made from an apple box.

First Kiss; you just see a little bit of Sydney inside the apple box house.

Amelia must have her own private pen for 7 to 10 days. So you see it is all very interesting and unexpected. Although one would go bonkers trying to predict what will happen next some things are givens. For instance around this time many people will be buying gifts for others and themselves too. Self gifting is an activity I shamelessly support. Tee shirts, hoodies and totes are all simple yet effective presents and you can buy them with Qi Papers designs HERE at my Skreened shop. And there are always STAMPS from my Etsy Shop and PRINTS and CUSTOM ANIMAL PORTRAITS. I printed up some more of the Amelia in Her Dream print and they look pretty good. I'll be putting those up for sale at my Etsy shop soon.......

Presenting

Bonding has been coming along in it's own way, one cannot expect the moods of four rabbits to take the straight and narrow. Be present, they advise, and be open to the possibilities. So often being present becomes being closed to options and outcomes other than the "goal". The following series of photos were taken all in one morning (9/16/10) and are shown in chronological order. Although there has been no grooming, except what appeared to be a single lick from Sydney to Harriet, they getting much more comfortable with each other and with sharing territory. I think Tyler would have groomed Harriet if his other GFs weren't there. When he caved in to Amelia it was when Sydney was not present. There have been no more fights, though I had to stop Amelia from charging at one point. She is pretty easy to read; she gets a bit stiff, her neck goes out a bit and her eyes narrow.

Dandelion Breakfast

Harriet presents to Sydney and visa versa.....

Harriet presents to Tyler as he hops in to re-chin everything in her zone,

which used to be his zone......

Amelia always wants somebun to groom her,

she tries Sydney, but with no luck...

Harriet presents to Amelia and is presented back...

Tyler beaming up....

2 Movies

This is an un-touched photo expressing the enigma that is Harriet or,

possibly, Harriet channeling a Francis Bacon painting.

Bonding has taken a predictable and rhythmic turn in hopes of instilling trust in all the rabbits. It is apparent that the other rabbits, especially Amelia, and I might add for good reason, don't seem to trust Harriet. They are just not sure when she will nip and when she will present for a kiss. Not knowing anything about Harriet's past is a handicap. What kind of animals, people, rabbits was she around? She was obviously around people and a lot, they appear to have taught her to beg for food. She is so used to getting food this way sometimes she doesn't realize it is right in front of her on the floor. I feel she wasn't around rabbits. Although she is attracted them she doesn't know how to maintain relationships. I hope I'm not anthropomorphizing too much here or indulging in revealing self parody.

Peek-a-boo, who am I?

She is very territorial and if I have her up front and I open the back for a communal feed she will first go back and chin a few corners before tucking into her basket. I tell her often that sharing doesn't mean loosing. Sometimes she won't come up front unless I reassure her. At first I would get on the floor with the rabbits, now I sit back, letting them interact without the enormous 5th (non)rabbit. I've also been ringing the tuning forks and am ready with a quick foot should intervention be called for. We've made two very primitive movies, not very exciting, using the newly acquired and already partially broken tripod. Just click on the title to see them.

DANDY PARTY PART ONE

DANDY PARTY PART TWO

Bunday is Everyday

cha cha cha.....

As you can imagine the bonding dance continues with one hop forward and two hops back, or maybe that's two hops forward and one hop back, I'll let you be the judge. For a few days I fed Harriet with the Spots and that worked out pretty much OK, but Amelia was feeling too isolated so I swapped her back to the front and had all four eating together. This mostly involved Harriet coming into the front because it seemed like she was more likely to get upset if another rabbit went into the back zone.

Breakfast all at once without a fence.

Last Sunday, notice there is always trouble on the weekends, I returned from teaching Tai Chi to find Sydney in her pen in the living room, not out of the ordinary, but something in her furry face told me to check on the back room double quick. Tyler was standing in the doorway looking out and I swear he looked relieved to see me. Amelia had gotten in the back zone. My arrival found she and Harriet both with heads down in the dominance pose, there was fur of both colors on the floor and on the bed. I stepped over the fence and sat down with them, petting both their heads and checking as well as I could for wounds. Both rabbits were breathing hard. After they calmed down a bit I decided to just let them be and see if maybe they had worked out their differences in my absence. But no, Amelia tried to get into "her" willow tent and another fight ensued. This time I DID NOT stick my hand in between them, in fact a properly inserted foot did the trick and I was even able to securely sandwich Harriet between my feet. I fed them all after about half an hour and Harriet was still so upset she wouldn't eat much, Amelia on the other hand was chowing down like football player at an all you can eat joint.

Amelia sniffs Harriet under my heavy hand.

In Chinese Medicine there is a condition called "Liver Attacking Stomach" one of the ways this can present is not being hungry after getting upset, specifically upset by being angry. I am now treating both gurlz for "liver issues". I decided to treat Amelia as well just to be on the safe side. I am using a set of points called "Four Gates" and my nifty tres moderne laser. Some years ago I had a small windfall and purchased a couple of "machines" for my practice that would allow me to address conditions in people who didn't like needles. A laser with a special acupoint attachment was one of them. It's not a cure all miracle machine but as far as using it on points goes it can sometimes be quite effective. I've just treated the gurlz once at this writing, so it's a bit early to tell if behavior has changed.

With the baskets I can manipulate space between buns.

On another note curiously through Facebook I have been commissioned to paint a rabbit portrait. The lagomorph in question is one Baby Porkchop, who is sadly At The Bridge. His mum, Thea Smith is active in rabbit rescue in her home town of Glendale AZ. Here is the OK'd sketch, I'll start painting soon..........

Baby Porkchop was a big (9.5 lb) happy bunny who knew that he was the boss.

Soon to be announced and available to the public: Qi Stamps........

Wednesday Bunday

Dating Update: I've swapped Harriet over to the front BunZone and she is having friendly and heavily supervised meals with the Spots. Everybun has their portion of salad measured out into what I imagine is usually a french fry basket. I got 6 at Cost Plus World Market for $5.99. Last time, when Amelia was joining, I also got salad containers but they have since found a useful life containing supplies and gadgets in my Acupuncture to-go bag. The baskets are nice because they are light and encourage tossing and tipping, which increases the entertainment value for all.

Another piece of bonding equipage has been a splatter screen. One of the bonders at Rabbit Haven had mentioned this and it seemed to me like it's time had come. Easier to use than a sphaghetti strainer for potentially aggressive bun meetings, it also has a handle for safe extension. You can see it in use in the picture.

After the popularity of Harriet and Quan Yin I thought I'd try to get some shots of Amelia and Quan Yin, but she was having nothing to do with an arranged photo shot. Instead she would rather show you around the mint pit, a little dip with earth and plant just off the deck....

Monday Bunday

Sydney

It is Monday. On Saturday Sydney did not want to get her nails done, but she was tricked into the carrier. Tyler did not want to get his nails done either, but he was trapped, his words not mine, and thrust unceremoniously and without dignity into the carrier after being apologised to, petted and kissed. After all this Harriet and Amelia seemed like civilised and well trained bunnies, but maybe they just wanted to get their nails done. At Rabbit Haven's bunny spa nails were trimmed, glands cleaned and all rabbits groomed. I helped with the latter. Harriet in particular did a spectacular shed, just a few days before she had had nothing to offer the brush. With high hopes I put them one by one into the bonding pen; first Tyler, then Amelia, Sydney and finally Harriet.

Sydney

Everybun was pretty peaceful except Sydney, who was acting, from my experiences with her, very strange indeed. She immediately gravitated to a cushion in the pen and loafed herself down on it. I was concerned that maybe she had gotten injured going in or coming out of the carrier

and couldn't hop properly. I was sitting nearby, everywhere is nearby in the bonding pen, and she put her head down to be groomed. I obliged and she allowed me to pet her continuously for many minutes. In the three years that I've had her she has never been interested in being petted by me, though I offer that service everyday only to be summarily dismissed. Now imagine my continued surprise when she started to tooth purr......

Tyler (back end)

During this bonding session the only rabbit to snap was Tyler at Harriet. For some reason he was in a snit and remained sulky and aloof even when all the girls were having a voluntary three way snuggle, yes, you read that right; A VOLUNTARY THREE WAY SNUGGLE. Sydney was in many ways the star of the show befriending Harriet and even giving Amelia a token grooming. There were many wonderful togetherness type moments and I really felt like this could work. I could have four happily bonded buns, there was light at the end of the bunnel. Given our(my) ecstatic mood from the bonding once home I took down the fence convinced this was the day of the new beginnings and from hence force we could all mingle and commingle without frontiers; friends to the end. One for all and for bun. Everything went quite well for an hour or two. The Spots, exhausted from disapproving and approving both, scurried under their chairs upon release from the moving torture chamber. Harriet and Amelia settled down in the back room, doing a little mutual territorial testing and discovery, but mostly being quite well behaved.

Harriet and Quan Yin

Later there was a little fight. Later still I was out of the room and heard a huge commotion. Tangling like wild predators the gurls were really going at each other, yelling unprofessionally I pulled them apart and Amelia clamped her jaws, strong from constant use, to the base of my thumb and she would not let go. I had to shake her off. Once again I am deeply impressed by primal animal instinct that still abides in these domestic creatures. The BF was completely traumatised by the whole escapade and while I tended my dripping wound I was rebuffed for not being prepared with gauntlets, fire hose and mace. Both the girl buns were OK, the blood that I thought was oozing from Harriet's side turned out to have been my own. Are we back at the beginning or someplace unknown but still advancing toward a fence free buniverse? Within ten minutes of the incident both bunnies were stretched out by the fence happily munching hay. The next day, Sunday, there was much boxing and rattling of the fence. I switched them up and most of this stopped. Over night observations possibly conclude this may a happier Feng Shui solution for the gurlz. The down side of this arrangement is the Spots can't come in and visit because I have the kitchen door fenced off so Harriet doesn't go walk-about in the rest of the house, I'm not really ready for that yet. OTOH maybe it's time to introduce Harriet to the Spots on a daily basis.....

FAQ

Q: did you have to get stitches for your wound?

A: no, it is not as deep or as flappy as the other, now I'll have a rabbit scar on my left hand too.

Q: has Sydney continued to allowed you to pet her?

A: no, I even got out a pillow for her and she was uninterested.

Q: was Sydney injured?

A: no, not that I could tell, her hopping seems fine and appetite and everything was normal. She is bunny of many mysteries.....

Q: the writing style of this post seems stranger than usual, are you taking some sort of medication?

A: no, I have been listening to Moby Dick.....

Have a great week and be good to rabbits everywhere.

Bond? James Bond?

No rabbits were harmed in the making of this video and the little fight where the Not Very Bright Rabboratory Assistant got bit and had to have stitches,well, that happened after filming. We have had a couple of little luncheon dates without the fence and with a chaperon. You can see that there are some nerves firing and although everybun is eating, it is a bit tense. Since Sydney has taken to chasing Amelia more, Miss Girl (Amelia's alternate name) is a bit hesitant to join in. You can see the second video by clicking here. Harriet is quite territorial as regards her little part of the world and would like to plant her flag in the rest of the house as well.

After these were "filmed" Tyler wisely left and Sydney followed a bit later. Amelia went outside and Harriet followed, there was a chase and a scuffle and then an actual fight where both rabbits seemed to be two feet in the air and writhing around and kicking each other. I stuck my hands in, got bit and captured Harriet. After checking her, I deposited her in her pen and checked Amelia. Two minutes after that they were both by the fence eating together as if nothing had happened. All the rabbits are keyed up now, even when not actually on a BunBonding mission. Amelia and Harriet seem to be vying for my attention, indeed Amelia bit my butt while I was cleaning a box. Luckily no skin was broken as a result of that dental venture. Sydney is skittering and thumping and Tyler left his vegie dinner a tad early to have some quiet time. He can be a very emotional little fellow.

Next time: gloves and a smaller neutral space.

Just a few words about Urgent Care. I barely had to wait 5 minutes and the waiting room was not filled with a bunch of coughers. I told my story to the nurse and added that rabbit bites were not as likely to get infected as cat or dog bites. She took my vitals and said my blood pressure was perfect. She asked when my last Tetanus shot was and I said a very long time ago and she said she'd order one up for me. I inquired what sort of preservative the Tetanus used was it Thimerisal (Mercury) and she immediately said no one used that any more. I quietly countered that I had read otherwise. She met with the Dr. outside the door and I could hear them talking about rabbit bites, then they started whispering, then I heard the Dr. say "Let's give her the insert." Whereupon the Dr. ( a woman) presented me with and insert saying "it's all in really small print." I was undaunted and started reading right away as she had gone to get something or other. I think she thought I was a real weirdo. She explained that they usually don't stitch animal bites, but she could tack it in a few places to keep the skin stretched out over the wound which is slightly bigger than a nickel and the flap is about as thick. I was moved to the "Procedure Room" where I finished reading the insert and found that the booster was not just tetanus but also Pertussis (Whooping Cough) and Diphtheria. I declined the jab having an aversion to being vaccinated extraneous conditions. By this time I think the Doc thought I was definitely a weirdo, I'm sure they get plenty, I didn't really care since all I wanted was to get my hand tacked up. I even let her numb out the wound so she'd feel better about the needle bit. I told her I get all my dental work done without anesthetic, then she thought really was a dangerous weirdo. She started talking about horses, she was getting nervous, but I can talk about horses and pretty soon we had a good conversation going. Then she said she had rabbits, that her son had found a pair of white rabbits with black noses in Scotts Valley. Ha, ha I had her now "Is your husband J___ S___?" I asked "Yes! I'm getting chills, how could you know?" I explained that my Facebook avatar is California rabbit face and a friend of a friend had commented on it saying he had two similar rabbits etc, etc, etc.....Then she remembered that he had indeed shown her the picture. It is a small world and with a little luck you can pull just about anyone down the rabbit hole.