Morning Is Broken

The light chill of the morning is chased playfully from the fur by the emergence of the suns rays. Like magical shiny waves they roll and tumble over the line of trees on the horizon before surging across the fields warming everything they touch. Shadows move and stretch as the day wakes and shakes the sleepiness of the night from its every part.

A lone lagomorph leans forwards with curious interest as the boundary of his home is crossed - a familiar visitor with a familiar and nourishing bounty. He fixes the visitor with a steely glare. The visitor bows their head to the height of this beautiful and majestic rabbit, leaning in, and in response the small furry resident seems to communicate something back...

"Will you quit with the commentary and get with the breakfast already? Yes, it's sunny, but while you're chatting this bunny's gettin' hungry over here!"

Runabout Buns

I don't know what's so special over there...

...that everybun's gotta race over to take a look...

...maybe it's something bunderful...

...or maybe bunnies just like racing about!

Archimedes Scares Us All

We had a bit of a scare on Saturday at the Rescue. I arrived to find Archimedes acting very much out of character. For a start, rather than racing to meet me as he usually does, he instead wandered off and showed no interest in the armfuls of food I was carrying.

After treating him for stasis, the photo above was the moment in the afternoon when we he finally started to eat again and the volunteers all let out a collective sigh of relief. And then, of course, a few hours later he was leading a raid on the snackbarrow.

It turns out Archimedes has been losing weight, so we suspect something unpleasant is going on somewhere in that big fluffy lump of bunny, he is booked in to see the vet tomorrow. Fingers and paws crossed it is nothing serious.

Wee Bobbit

Today I spent the afternoon at the Rescue, trying to fill out the set of photos I plan to present to Amy for her to choose the best ones for our next calendar. When I left the house, all the bunnies were in good moods and smiled as they waved their paws goodbye, happy in the knowledge that I was leaving them to their afternoon naps and even happier that I'd given them all a bonus treat on the way out. All was good in the house, so off I went.

Fast forward to this evening, when I arrived home to find foster bunny Bobbit in an uncomfortable looking position wedged with his butt pushed into the corner by the door, hyperventilating, wouldn't move, no interest in food and lying in a big patch of (presumably his) wee. We have had this before with him, despite lots of very expensive tests and scans we don't know what causes it but as usually happens thankfully, as I write this it seems to be passing. I am sure my feelings of stress and anxiety will too at some point...

So with all that stress and with being at the Rescue today, I'm afraid I didn't get any new photos of Whisky today for his regular Sunday spot. Instead, here is one from last month of the stress-inducing foster bunny in a healthier (if somewhat chubbier) moment...

"Don't look at me like I ate all the carrots. Even if I did, in fact, ate all the carrots. Erm...allegedly."

Premiere Treatment

"Red carpet? Photographer? Do I have a movie coming out I don't know about?"

Sorry Connor, it's just photo day! We want a good picture to show you off to the world!

"So there's not even a buffet??!! TAKE ME BACK TO MY HOUSE!!!"

OK fine, I'll go get you some snacks...

"Putting me out here with no buffet, pfftt, silly human, you'd think they were the ones in charge. AND HOW ABOUT A TALL DRINK TO GO WITH MY SALAD??!!"

Smells Like Second Place

Brushing Up

"Oi! This hay is spread across the floor for a nommably good reason, if you want to sweep it you're gonna have to sweep me with it. And believe me, you do NOT want to sweep the bunny..."

Old Soldier's Eyes

We don't usually have posts about the same bunnies so close together, but Old Soldier is receiving special treatment today as he is not having the best week.

Last month there was a period when it looked like Old Soldier's time had come and he would leave us imminently, he wasn't moving about very much, often looked uncomfortable, his pain relief wasn't helping and his weight was dropping. But then he seemed to bounce right back. I'm not sure we know for sure what caused the dip, but his weight started to edge back up and he became livelier again (naps aside). However, soon after that he started having trouble with one of his eyes, it started weeping and changing colour. Despite treatment it quickly turned into a pretty severe infection inside his eyeball and at yesterdays follow up at the vets we were told he might need have it removed.

Of all the operations our bunnies go in for, this is the one that makes me the most nervous. So please spare a thought today for Old Soldier and wish him well. I will update you when we know more, but for now here is a photo of him in one of his livelier moments over the weekend:- he suddenly leapt in front of Cindy to intercept the piece of parsley I was about to give her in return for a photo!

The Illusory Passing of Parsley

"If you think about it, the very nature of parsley is transient. From seed to growth to harvest to bowl to litter tray, all in such a short space of time. The impermanence is almost built in, it whisks through existence right into nothingness so quickly, so quickly in fact that you may as well have nothing in that bag. It appears to us so fleeting that one can barely grasp it before it is gone. Yeah, give that some thought."

"Oh, and by the way? While you were thinking about it I ate all your parsley."

A Good Old Nom

As you have possibly guessed, this month I'm having another phase of using parsley to pay my photography models.

The idea is to take the photo the second after it disappears from view, so there is no parsley obscuring the face but the subject is still looking alert and interested.

Our dear Old Soldier loves his sleep, it's sometimes hard to catch him doing anything else during the daytime. If I waited another second he'd probably be taking another nap already, so if you want to see him looking lively, you're pretty much gonna have to look at him through the green leaves...

Bun-In-A-Box

Nebulising is part of our daily routine, most days Whisky accepts it as long as there are extra snacks after. But that doesn't mean I don't get the odd accusing glare...

"And that's me all nebulised for today is it? We're done? Only I was just wondering exactly when it will be YOUR turn to go in the box while I gawp at YOU from the comfort of the outside?"

A Flash And A Grump

You'd be excused for thinking there was nothing that could move this lump when he is in your way.

You can cajole, you can yell (not that you would), you can prod, that fluffy speed-bump just won't budge. But there are two things that make him shift so fast he becomes a grey blur. One is pointing a camera at him close up, which causes a very grumpy "Leave me ALONE!" lunge (I don't know what happened in his life to make him hate cameras, but he does). The other, you will not be surprised to hear, is this:

See? Now he's out of the way. And I'm out of parsley. And while I was checking if I had any more parsley, he went and laid back down in an even less convenient place. Ho hum, just another day then...

Looking Down The Barrel Of A Bun

Dancing Mean

"Gotta kiss myself I'm so pretty[woo], Uptown buns gonna binky yeah [woo], Uptown buns..."

"Uh oh."

"OK, you didn't just see that. In fact, tell anyone you saw me sing or dance and you'd better hope you can pull off summer wear in September cos I will chomp your shoes into sandals and your trousers into shorts."

The Sting

"You see, my guess is, you like stinging nettles about as much as I like taking that medicine you're holding there. So what say we both just turn around, walk away and all have ourselves a nice day?"

Tuesday Tail #52

The proportion of my recent Pea/Pod/Cosmos photos that are of them hoofing off in the opposite direction probably has something to do with my involvement in moving them out of their old setup and also being the one who picked them up for health checks and vet visits several weeks in a row. At breakfast I am now generally glared at, even if it is through begrudgingly grateful parsley nommage.

I am hoping it will pass in a few more weeks of no handling, but in the meantime, during outdoor playtime I am getting no shortage of photos for our Tuesday Tail feature...

"See ya!"

Disappearing Fact

It is not always easy to see all of our bunnies actually eating their food. For a few it is because they are too nervous to eat when humans are very near, for some of the others it is because the snacks barely make it into the bowl. In fact I could swear some of our jumbo bunsters have some sort of vacuum cleaners for moufs...

"Hey Jubilee - did we get missed us out? I'm certain I heard the breakfast coming just a few seconds ago but our bowl is still empty..."

Sofa So Good

I don't know what it is about fabric-covered foam that reminds Whisky of litter trays, but whenever he jumps up on a sofa I always keep a close eye on him. I think he's now made the association in his brain that this generates instant attention and since my attention often leads to snacks, deliberately uses it to make me come running...

"What? I'm just up here to get a better view of the birds in the garden! But since you're here, you can open the back door for me then go start on dinner."

First Impressions

Full of surprises this one, it turns out that our Mrs Tubby-Fatbottom here can do quite a convincing impression of Mr Tubby-Fatbottom (aka Speedbump).

"Tubby whatnow?! Cheeky human! Well I ain't movin' so you'd better shift yourself over here for a good chompin'!"

Cheeky Boy!

Banana Fan

"Time to get up? That's disappointing - I was just in the middle of a dream about being accidentally shut in a banana crate and having to nom my way out. Here, bring me a crate of 'nanas and I'll show you how it went..."

The Correction Interception

"[...nom.nom.nom...]"

"Oh Rosetta, you can't eat parsley like that, you'll hurt your neck! Move out of the way, I'll show you."

"See? Straight back, that's the key. Oh, you didn't want me to leave you any did you...?"

Tuesday Tail #51

Snacky Patty

Due to the complicated balance of bacteria in a rabbits gut, you need to be very careful treating bad bacteria with antibiotics that might upset the good bacteria. Some antibiotics used with other animals are fatal to rabbits as a result, but even the safer ones come with risks.

Our Patty is a good example of this - after a few days of antibiotics a few weeks ago to treat one issue, her digestive system has seemed like it is in meltdown since. She suffered bad diarrhea and crashing weight loss, her condition went from good to almost terminal in a very short space of time. As a result, while fighting to keep her going we have needed to be very careful about what goes in that mouf of hers to make sure her condition doesn't further deteriorate. She is on a carefully controlled and monitored regime trying to bring her system back into balance, which so far has included syringe foods/supplements, wild plants and dried herbs - crucially (much to Benson's annoyance, since this generally means he gets lumbered with the same restrictions by association), our vet has warned against giving Patty vegetables. The one exception we are allowed to give her is an occasional and small amount of fresh herbs.

With all the attention, her strict diet and daily bottom washes, it is a difficult and stressful time for Patty (and Caroline of course, being the one who has to clean that messy tail!), we are all really hoping she starts to improve soon and gets through this. In the meantime, I can say this for sure - she really does love those occasional parsley treats!

All In A Day

I had a week away from work and the Rescue this week, my annual 'holiday', but having an awkward little fluff who can't be left or taken anywhere I never go far.

It was a wet miserable week so my loosely planned day trips were cancelled, along with plans of spending time in the garden repainting and fixing up the outdoor bunny accommodation while little ones played and snacked on the grass.

Today finally looks like being sunny so we might actually get outside, but the fosters and Whisky can't go out at the same time, so now I have the problem of trying to fit everybun's needs into one day...

"Let me out NOW. I NEED my BINKY space..."

"Oo, oo, can I go out and nom all the grass? And do some digging??!! And I want to race around as well!"

"Bring me some treats. Then get out of my sight so I can have a nap."

On second thoughts, maybe it will be easier to keep them all happy than I thought...

Orange Is The New Green

"Got any carrots?"

"Parsley?! Bleurgh! We don't want that!"

"You told him WHAT??!!"

Ear Eye Stand

The Bunny Box

Last month, the people over at Bunny Box sent us one of their products to look at. They offer a one-off or monthly box of bunny snacks and toys delivered to your door. Here is the August box:

Unfortunately our designated tester mysteriously got stage fright in front of the camera and we had to abandon the original review. Well sorry hunny, you lost the gig, which I have passed to my own little fluff-monster below. If you want to know more about their product, it is all explained on their website.

But let's see what Whisky makes of it all...

"What's this?"

"Is it a box of toys? You remembered I've got no front teeth to pick them up with, right?!"

"And also, what does 'review' mean?"

"Oh wait, I think I've just figured it out!"

"OK, you can leave now. I think I'm gonna review these dried dandelions right into my tummy..."