Bun Shui

 It's happened again there's a rabbit in the kitchen.  Even with a sheet over his pen Daikon was too noisy for the DS who sleeps until the early afternoon hoping that there will be lunch leftovers. Daikon has taken up residence under the kitchen table, rendering it unless for anything that requires sitting at it using a chair.

Who needs a table when you can see this face looking at you?

When moving to a new location first own it!

Then be it!

Explore the extent of your known world.

Then go into the Great Unknown.

New Wheels

In my continued attempts to bond Harriet and Amelia so that I don't have so many fences to climb over, I invested in a pet stroller, it's made by Pet Gear and was discounted. Although there were cheaper ones, I felt I needed a sturdy one for two big girls. This one can stroll 30 pounds, even together they are under the legal limit; we could throw Tyler in if we wanted to live dangerously. I have taken them out twice. The first time just around the block,  the second time we parambulated for some 6 blocks. So far no one has commented, dared to comment. Although when the back seat passenger of a turning car looked into the stroller I swear she said "Those are some of the weirdest babies I've ever seen." Admittedly I am not a professional lip reader. What my exact plans are in terms of bonding, I don't know, but taking the two girl buns for a little walk is easy and requires only one piece of special equipment. So far they have been very good, no animosity at all.  It's a step by step process, and the steps can change at any time.

Top Bun

In the interest of creating more room in the Smart Pen, the house/lounges became a two story affair. Sydney was the first one to enjoy the top floor. Although not as brave as Tyler when it comes to interacting with humans or breaking into forbidden zones, Sydney is fearless with the vacuum, and   has a greater appreciation for a room with a better view.

Here you see, however, although Sydney is comfortably ensconced,

 she has a visitor and it's getting mighty crowded.

Tyler has his way and chins the edges of the doorway; 

this penthouse is mine.

Tyler installed.

Sydney reminds Tyler 

 she has more spots 

 and always will.

Daikon; The Movie Trailer

I made this little movie for our foster, Daikon. It's my first attempt at working with video in iMovie, but as you can see he is a super star!

Never Gone

You know that your blog has been neglected when you get Email solicitations from people wanting to write for it. The most recent offered to write for free, if she could put a link into the text. Get you own blog. And there are people wanting to advertise, or have me write something they suggest. Nope, nope, nope. The Qi Papers is a non-profit, free speaking blog.

Sydney concurs

The latest improvement here at the warren is the introduction of the Smart Pen, not my name for it, Paula from Pensicola called it that, and frankly it has a snappy sound. Since our move more than a year an half ago I have been unhappy, nay miserable, with the Xpen on a shower curtain, washable wool and sheet enclosures. They are fussy, the shower curtain moves in mysterious ways baring the rug to teeth and claws. Also the shower curtains are objects of rippage and potential GI blockages if consumed. Even the most careful placement of the pieces never insured full protection. They seemed to take forever to clean and set up.

A bird's eye view of The Spot's Smart Pen unit outfitted with all amenities. 

The Smart Pen is constructed with a Pure Bond Plywood floor with Marmoleum flooring. Purebond is a formaldehyde free plywood and is sold at Home Depot. It is a little more expensive than regular plywood, but a small piece to pay for safe product. Formaldehyde has been linked to cancer risk. Marmoleum is linoleum made from cork. It is a sustainable and non-toxic product and they use a rabbit in one of the banner headers on the website. Again an expensive product, but I got a good deal on  some over stock at a local store. All and all I paid less for materials than for some vet visits I could mention. The railings are pine scavenged, with permission, from a local construction site.
The railings hold the X Pen sides stable over a sheet that is pulled tight through corners left open. It takes less than ten minutes to clean a pen. The other system could take half an hour or more. Mind you that ten minutes does not include dumping and cleaning boxes or laundry. In addition to time savings the Smart Pen safe guards the landlord's carpet better than the previous system.

Corner of Smart Pen, just yank the corners of the sheets though,
drop and the fence and maid service is done.

I made two Smart Pens that are about 40 inches by 60 inches, any larger and moving them would difficult without help. The bunnies are NOT confined 24/7 to their pens, but rather it is home base for litter boxes, hay racks, food and water. Tyler and Sydney's has a couple of cardboard houses. They are confined to their pen at night as Sydney will box with Amelia at 2 a.m., if possible. The other pen is divided in half for Amelia and Harriet, I am hoping this is a prelude to being able to share without a fence between. In future  I plan to extend each unit with module porches and two story boxes.

Nail Patrol

Although rabbits are categorized as self-cleaning mammals,

they do need help with their nails,

a nail that is too long can catch, break off and cause lots of bleeding,

or in extreme cases a broken toe.

For almost a couple months, twice a month, I've been volunteering at the Rabbit Haven adoption show trimming nails, cleaning scent glands and performing minor grooming. Free nails trims are one of the services that the Haven offers the rabbit community. Donations are welcome, but not required. Rabbit nails need to be trimmed every 6 to 8 weeks, though some rabbits need to have them done every month. It took me quite awhile to be able to trim nails on my own rabbits, they were good teachers. I have developed three possible holds for the procedure, depending on what the rabbit will let me do. My preferred hold is to have the rabbit on it's back on a towel, slightly cradled between my thighs. This is not trancing because the rabbit's head is not tilted back and it is not unconscious. The position is comfortable and calming for many rabbits. The hind legs of some rabbits shake. Holding the rabbits legs so they stop shaking will not make the rabbit less afraid. Shaking is not a bad thing, it is, in fact, a good thing. Shaking is a neurogenic reaction to stress or fear. It is the body's mechanism for releasing tension/trauma. In a stress and shaking study using chicks it was found that the chicks that were stressed and shook were more resilient to disease and subsequent stress than chicks that were not allowed to shake after stress AND chicks that were not stressed at all. Sometimes people shake too, you may have experienced this if you have had to do public speaking, given birth, or been in scary situation. It is possible to access our shaking abilities and shake out old traumas to our emotional and physical bodies, the system is call TRE and you can find out more by clicking HERE.

Harriet is comfortable and ready for her nails to be trimmed,

Amelia is also comfortable in this position,

Sydney likes to sit up like a baby in a lap,

and Tyler must be done with four feet on the lap,

this is tricky and takes much twisting on my part, but it can be done,

and he insists it is the only way for him.

When I clip nails I work more slowly than the other people who are on nails. Unlike others I cannot talk while I am working. In my case the rabbits can tell if my attention wanders and it's then they will squirm over. They are still teaching me, have no expectations, just sit in the moment and see what it brings, clip nail. This last week I worked on a rabbit for the second time, I've been doing it long enough that I get repeats! The first time I was warned that this rabbit was very bad for nail trims and had been just awful the last time. Her nails were very long, I presume her human had been avoiding the issue as long as possible. I introduced myself to the bun, and petted her for a bit, then turned her over on my legs. I tried to stay focused and calm, and let the bunny turn over when she wanted, which was after each foot, then turned her back over. When it was done I massaged her and told her she was good and beautiful and perfect. This time she over turned once, for the first paw, then was still and relaxed for the rest. Everyone was happy.

Amelia patrolling in the Blueberry Bunny Park.

Furry

Being an Angora, Bernadette is all about her fur. When she first came to visit for fur re-hab and to wait for her fur-evah home her facial fur was shortish. It was evident that the person who had her before, and who did quite a bit of de-matting, had had to cut her face fur. I am told, by those who know (TWK) that Angoras DO NOT LIKE to have their facial fur cut. They find it embarrassing, humiliating, and very depressing. When she first came Bernadette was skittish; to be expected, but as I observed her longer it became evident that part of the issue was vision. Her fur was just in the way and things had a way of sneaking up on her. Now that her fur is almost grown out it can be styled away from her eyes and she is more confident. TWK said that a simple barrette was fine, in fact a good thing. Actually the words used were "baby barrette", by which I was not sure whether a barrette for babies was meant or a small sized barrette. I looked for both. I went to three different stores looking for the perfect Bernadette barrette. I could not fine a small enough one with rhinestones so settled for a card of a variety of colors. I do her hair in the morning, removing the barrette each night.

Today was a blue barrette day.

I think she likes it.

Now I can tell when she is looking at me.

Rubbing Bunnies

Harriet and friend, waiting for a massage.

Some time ago I won, I won, I won!! through The Rabbit House blog a DVD called The Relaxed Rabbit massage techniques for your companion rabbit authored by Chandra Moira Beal, who is a professional bodyworker for humans in addition to being a dedicated bunny slave. If the title sounds familiar you may have seen the book by the same name, or like myself may have the book, but misplaced it during moving. If you already have the book you should get the DVD too, you really should. Although I had absorbed many of the techniques from reading, the DVD cleared up questions and provided excellent visual clarification. If you have neither the book nor the DVD you may be wondering why you should learn rabbit massage and isn't petting just the same thing? Massage is close to petting, but more specific and complex. Rest assured if you can pet your bunny you can learn to massage your bunny. The benefits of rabbit massage are extensive both physically and emotionally; effecting all the systems of the body. Ms. Beal does a thourough job of explaining the various aspects of rabbit massage from contraindications and endangerment zones, to feedback signs, as well as the techniques and how to put it all together in a complete treatment.

Because of her fur type Bernadette enjoys

the massage technique called "compression"

I waited so long to write about The Relaxed Rabbit because I wanted to be able to report on observed results. When I do nail trims at the Rabbit Haven adoption shows I do just a little massage on the rabbit before clipping. It's a nice "how do you do, I am not going to hurt you, you sweet little lagomorph". A few times owners have told me they have never seen their rabbit so well behaved and relaxed during a trim. Last week an apologetic human warned me that the rabbit was really bad for nail trims. Some massage and some Happy Pet spray did the trick, the rabbit was really quite good. The next time she will be even better because of the positive experience.

Daikon, formerly known as Radish, has issues to being picked up.

The massage technique called "tapotement", gently applied,

helps his muscles relax and he is easier to pick up

At home I have been pleasantly surprised. Sydney, who does not like to be touched, and I recently found out never has, does not object to massage and afterwards seems more inclined to be friendly. Harriet asks to be picked up since I incorporated some massage into our lap sits. Tyler is much more amenable to being picked up, not skittering away when he realizes what I am going to do. And, as you all suspect, Amelia wants it all the time. We give The Relaxed Rabbit DVD four paws up. You find out more about Chandra Beal and purchase a copy of the DVD HERE.

Adara, a red satin Angora, is staying next door,

she comes over for grooming and massage.

She will be available for adoption through

The Rabbit Haven after

she is spayed.

Hermes and His Bunwife

The happy couple,

I don't even know her name!

Over Due and New

First and foremost I have been having fun with ANALOG filters and frames.

This is the first photo I Analogged, I was feeling nostalgic for Hermes. At long last I received a photo of Hermes with his new bunwife, unfortunately is was a poor print out so I can't share it. Well, I guess I could, maybe in my next post.

And here is an Analogged Harriet, this photo was, in sense, saved by the filter with brought out the darks, before the whole thing was very monochromatic. Harriet has been living on her own between main pens. Sydney has always chased her, but recently Harriet has been thumping out it. I am hoping it is somehow a step to combining her with Amelia.

And here she is, I love what happened to this photo. Already a strange one now it looks like a Victorian portraits.

And Sydney, we almost lost Sydney on Friday. Thursday evening she skipped her greens but seemed fine otherwise, it is something she sometimes does with no ill effect. Friday morning she still seemed to not be eating, but I had to go to work. By the afternoon she was getting cold and lethargic. I made an appointment with a rabbit vet I did not know. Her temp was 92, rabbits should be over 100 up to 105. There were no blocks in her stomach, but it is dangerous to feed a cold rabbit. Towels warmed on the heater did the trick, she perked up, had some assist feeding and by midnight was boxing with Amelia through the fence.

Tyler as art bun and ladies man.

Our second foster, did I not say no more fosters? this is Bernadette. She is full of piss and vinegar. The most vocal rabbit I have met, honking, grunting, whimpering. The vet could find anything wrong with her lungs, which I wondered might explain some of her noises, and thought it most likely "behavioral". She'll be appearing on Disapproving Rabbits sometime this week, and that will probably be the only thing she approves off.

And finally Radish, he is getting more friendly and decided he loves to be petted, we are working on being picked up and carried...

Next time: Rabbit Massage, Hermes and His Bunwife and whatever happened to the Water Dragon?

They Might Be Dragons

Dragon card from the year 2000 (watercolor and colored pencil)

For a several years I have done a card or print of the Chinese Zodiac animal representing that particular year. It's been 13 years now, with a few gaps. My very first was a year of the rabbit card. That design can still be had, the original cards having undergone surgery to remove their year and get a strong and artistically enhanced backing. The second year was a Dragon year. I never was very happy with the outcome. Dragons are tricky, partly because they're been done and done and done. Which is not to say there are not some very nice dragons to seen and had, but it's hard not to feel inhibited by everyone else's vision of this mythical and magical beast. It should be noted that there are two sorts of dragons, Western or European, and Asian. Western dragons are usually bad tempered hoarders, grumpy because they've ruined the Feng Shui of their caverns with too much treasure, and gotten a quantity of the stuff stuck between their belly scales. Asian dragons, which are the ones I am concerned with, are good and wonderful, if a bit showy and occasionally full of themselves, but then who can blame them; they've got it going on more than any other creature, probably because they are made of bits and bobs of other creatures. Dragons have the body of snake, scales of a carp, head of camel, mane of the lion, horns of a deer, eyes of a demon or rabbit, paws of a tiger, talons of an eagle, whiskers of a catfish, and the ears of a cow. Twelve years ago I tried very hard to be correct as to the ingredients of the dragon, but it felt contrived. This year, feeling blank and already defeated, I went out into nature to look for a dragon or two. Since the element of this year's dragon is water, the sea beckoned. There is a fine seaside walk at Wilder Ranch State Park. Since there is little or no supervision one can get quite close to the edge of the overlooking cliffs. It seems a very long way down to the water, especially, if, like me, you are afraid of heights. It's not a mental thing at all, being a afraid of heights, it's just plain physical. A feeling grabs you in the tailbone and tells you you are about to die. Although I knew I was not close to falling I felt like I was. I wondered if there was not something about the combination of water and height that might induce a person to jump, an irresistible siren call to the sea. Edging as close to the edge as I dared, much closer than I was comfortable with, I peered out and watched, watched the water, swishing, splashing, pulling back, diving under and leaping up again. I took many photos, hoping for any sort of dragonish breakthrough. My fear never receded, but I was at least not seized by the uncontrollable desire to jump to my death.

Pacific Ocean at Wilder Ranch State Park, Santa Cruz, CA

I returned home, exhilarated by my outdoor near death experience. Because I had a deadline, I hastily got to work and flung ink at paper resulting in some crazy inky dragons. They had some interesting bits, so in the spirit of dragon construction I took a brush stroke here and blob there, pasted, re-drew, cut and pasted again, until something Dragon happened.

Crazy Inky Dragon

Another Crazy Inky Dragon

Water Dragon is unlike my usual work, if placed in a continuum it would seem out of place. Perhaps future art historians will declare it a forgery, or evidence of mental decline. Since I started printing I've wanted to show more paper, I wanted to get looser and simpler, but somehow I couldn't let go of color, of trying to be complex, until now. It is ironic, and therefore perhaps fitting, that the most complex and changeable of the animals, should turn out to be the simplest.

Water Dragon for 2012

If you go looking for a Water Dragon at my ETSY SHOP remember they are all a little different and there are three kinds of paper, so take your time. If your walls are too crowded to add a full sized dragon (his paper size is 13 x 10 inches in most cases), buy some little dragon postcards and send them out to seek their fortunes. If you want to wear a Water Dragon you can do that too by going HERE. To find out more about what the Dragon year may have in store for you, click HERE.

MAY YOUR YEAR OF THE DRAGON

BE TRULY AUSPICIOUS.

It's CrAzY

CLICK

HERE

to find out more about

SOPA/PIPA

which

goes

too

far

CLICK

HERE

to

sign

a

petition

to

stop

it.

Independent

Artists

Selling

work

on-line

thank

you.

Changes

I am trying again to make my bunnies happier than they are. Sydney has been chasing Harriet frequently, and pulling her fur, and chasing her away from food. Harriet has been completely good natured about it, but in general she is the bun odd out, except for the occasional grooming session by Tyler; she is alone in a group of three. For months Amelia and Sydney have been the only ones boxing through the fence, Harriet has given up violence for a more spiritual path, it would seem. If Harriet and Amelia could bond there would be less lonely buns about. Three bathtub dates were uneventful and I graduated them to a 4 x 4 pen in computer/gamer den.

Amelia tries to get some attention, maybe she try the other end?

Ah, that's better, they are both requesting grooming, who will be the groomer?

In an effort to create more bonding through safe stress, I pulled both big girls into my lap. They stayed for quite a while, Amelia popping up and out first for a snack. Harriet stayed for many more minutes, a warm pool of soft agouti fur.

Parsley is an excellent dating snack.

Advanced Techniques

Amelia would like to use this post to demonstrate astral projection using a rock. There has been much conjecture about the rabbits an their rocks. It has become quite evident the uses are multiple. Astral projection using a rock is fairly advanced and should only be attempted in the safety of your own home.

Amelia: First find a rock that wants to be your friend. After asking permission, place your front paws on your rock. Clear your mind and imagine your body is perfectly clear. I like to do alternate nostril breathing, but it's not critically important. Visualize your destination.

Amelia: Once you feel very certain in your mind regarding your destination, once you can almost feel it, taste it, smell it; lean forward until your ears are parallel with the ground. If you have prepared correctly you'll fly through the astral dimension to your destination.

Amelia: You can stay at your original destination or tour around. When you are ready to come home, just touch your back feet to the rock. It's easy and fun, once you get the hang of it.

Shadowy Bunny

I sent this in to Disapproving Rabbits, but I guess it was not disapproving enough. Readers might need to see it, so here is Tyler looking like, well, looking like this.

Tyler

Hermes Finds a Home

Early on Hermes proved an interesting

photography subject.

Six months ago I took in a rabbit for Rabbit Haven with the understanding it would only be for a day or two, maybe three. The little half grown Rex had just been neutered and was sore and scared. He had been caught pilfering some one's garden. That was the story, why such a scoundrel would be given over to the Haven with a special towel and a name is odd. His name was Torrie. We re-named him Hermes, his gold ears looked like the wings on Hermes' helmet and his white slender athletic limbs lent him the air of Greek statue.

He began to enjoy being held and tooth purred

soon after being picked up

His first adoption show was a disaster, he cowered in the corner entire time and if someone did pick him up he stiffened up and tried to crawl away over their shoulder. It was clear that socialization was called for. I moved him into the kitchen and picked him up and held him two or three times a day. Often we would watch Hell's Kitchen or Master Chef on my laptop, excellent for desensitization and I picked up cooking tips from time to time. He was consulted often, healthy treats and pets abounded. My son also took to picking Hermes up and sitting with him. He knew his name and his nicknames, Little Guy, The Hermermermers, and if he was in his box house, on hearing his name shot out like a cartoon clock cuckoo.

Hermes enjoyed his time outside

in the Blueberry Bunny Park.

He saw the household through the deaths of my father and then my brother, through memorials and reunions. We considered him family. Whenever he went to adoptions shows something happened that threw him off his game. I took extra measures to keep him happy at shows. I brought him to the show myself, rather than accepting a ride for him with other bunnies, and held him until he was relaxed. I outfitted his pen with his little mat from home. Improvement was evident. Still the right person was not showing up. I learned of a product called Happy Pet from a woman who boarded her rabbit with us. Formulated from flower and gemstone essences it helps animals feel calm and uplifted. I put drops in Hermes' water dish and sprayed him with it. I sprayed his pen at the adoption shows too. He responded well to it and his shows improved more. Still he was dogged by bad luck. Even if he was calm and beautiful, no one wanted a white rabbit or the rabbit next door to him was very showy, so everyone was fixated on that rabbit. One time the rabbit next door, a Dutchie female, jumped into his pen and attacked him; not a good time for him. During the big Aptos rescue those rabbits were given priority and Hermes stayed home. I had bad ideas about keeping him and trying to bond him in with my four, wicked day dreams of an impractical person.

He knew his destiny lay beyond the fence.

Far away in a county called Marin a Dutch female pined, saddened by the death of her mate three months prior. Using her not insignificant powers of persuasion she got her human to drive to the Rabbit Haven adoption show in Santa Cruz, she knew her prince was there. She had heard via the Daily Dutch News that there was a handsome white Rex who wasn't not much of a fighter, but had the golden ears of enumerable rabbit legends. At the show her human brought her boy bun after boy bun, she rejected each one. Couldn't the fool see that these were not the golden eared one? finally there was but one male rabbit left, Hermes. He saw her in all her black and white glory and immediately feel in love. Once the Dutchie was convinced that he was indeed her destiny, she too was happier than happy. Of course, I cried my eyes out, silly impractical heart will miss him, even if the brain says it is better this way.