Can you ear me now?

Okay, granted, I am nuts about bunnies. I find bunny behavior and abilities funny, fascinating and amazing.

Lucy demonstrates one example in this video. Focus on her ears.

The independent control they display is ... well, all the things I said above. The black (left) ear, closest to the wall stays pretty stationary. Nothing going on there ... safe turf.

But the white (right) ear - that's another story! It has a mind of its own. That's the side the humans are on - the humans move around, enter and leave the room, take pictures, turn the TV on and off, sit and tap at the computer, or raise and lower the recliner.

Must be ever alert! The ear moves forward, backward - it rotates in place, turning to check out what's going on behind her.

This early warning system lets Lucy be all the skittish she can be.

What bunny behavior amazes you?

Ethel got legs! NASBunny

Here, Ethel is practicing for the Buntona 500...

In the right-hand column of this blog, under the Definitions heading, check out NASBunny.
This video is a brief example.

Even More Rabbits Everywhere

Another submission from Bunya, Lucy and Ethel was accepted ...

It reminded me of a lop-eared bun.

Check out BunSpace's Rabbits Everywhere to see many others.
Send your submissions to admin@bunspace.com.

Bunya - the world's LUCKIEST bunny

He should be - he carries around 4 rabbit's feet with him at all times.

The clip is a little jerky at first, but Mrs. Marlin Perkins (or Mrs. Jim Fowler - he's the one that always did all the really dangerous dirty work) belly crawled through the underbrush to try to capture this clip of the wild kingdom, all without disturbing the action - and I think she did a darn good job.

You may have to kiss a few frogs (or Alices) to find your princesses, but when you do, it's a bunderful thing to behold.

Can HRS make a match or what!?!
See your bunny matchmakers at your local HRS - if you have a single bunny (like we did), then find it a lifelong companion. If you do not have bunnies yet but want one - adopt a rescued bonded pair (it's the easiest way).

P.S. The gate's open but, as usual, they like to hang out in their pen anyway.
(Hence
the fence
in the picture.)

Ethel's Falop

Okay, a new word for the bunny lexicon:
falop (noun) - a failed flop

Ethel's heart just wasn't into this flop effort. It was more like:
A one...
A two...
Oh, heck, I'll just lie down and roll over.

Bunya has tunnel vision

What is up with the Bunya?

The time before last that the bunnies boarded at HRS, we took this stick tunnel that they love for them to have a little piece of home, something familiar. Well, when we picked them up, we forgot it; but HRS kept it for us and we brought it home this time.

At home, Bunya did something we hadn't seen before: he laid his head on/in it, like it was a comfy pillow. (It's not -- it's sticks.)

Bunya, do you hear an echo?

 In fact, he got so comfortable, that he flopped over and stayed there.

Ethel: Don't care - I am still going to chew it and
if you get stick in your ear, it's your own fault.

They have just been little Bizarro Bunnies since they got home.
(Not a comic book reference, unless you want it to be.)

Lucy with a long memory and a short fuse

Check out the last couple of days' posts. Lucy is still extremely wary of humans bearing treats. Here she is peeking out of one of their play boxes:

Just step away from the box, Human!

Getting Lucy into the carrier requires a new strategy each time. It seems she has quite a memory. She's always had a sixth sense about when someone wanted to pick her up to snuggle; now she just won't let you in her vicinity. Who knows what will be required next time we have to get her to the vet or GHRS. One thing is for sure ... we'd better start waaaaaay before our appointment time.

Maybe we can set up some camouflaged pit-in-the-floor or net-in-a-tree trap like the bad guys used in the old Tarzan movies (or Predator, if you want a more recent reference ... they must work, they still use them). Maybe a bunny-sized butterfly net.

This morning, I called and whistled to give them their favorite treat. Bunya and Ethel responded speedily, as usual, like they had been shot out of a cannon.

Lucy was conflicted. She was excited, she knew there was good stuff to be had, but she stayed in the pen, "pacing" anxiously back and forth along the fence wall. She would not run over or follow the others for her treat. When I went to hand it to her through the fence, she first scurried away, then came back and tentatively took it from me ... and then scurried away again to eat it.

Can you say "paranoid"?
Sure, I knew you could.
(Not a Mr. Rogers reference, unless you want it to be.)

Arrival at home from the HRS stay-cation

The bunnies seemed happy to be home, even though they did not eat their greens right away. They tentatively ran around the basement a little to see that stuff was where they had left it and then all settled in their pen, in different locations:

Ethel flopped under the "bridge" box.

Lucy went to her favorite hidey box, as usual.
You can read about this box here

Bunya, usually in a corner of the pen,
took to the box that supports the left side
of the bridge that Ethel went under.

The next morning, they all burst out of the pen and ran/jumped around. They descended upon their greens and pellets as usual, convinced that the car ride (to HRS) was a bad-batch-of-parsley induced dream and that they had never left home.

Lucy is still a little skittish about accepting treats, though (see what happened last time here).

Bunny Stay-cation at HRS

The bunnies had another brief stay-cation at GHRS. I know they are well taken care of, but it takes something out of me to take them there. In general, bunnies do not like car rides ... very true of Lucy & Ethel.

Lucy has to be tricked into the carrier, so it's left out and open a few days ahead of time. They get some of their treats through the top opening, to get them comfortable with it.

Departure day: Shut the door on Lucy - she knew immediately she'd made a boo-boo and got that petrified look in her eyes. Bunya and Ethel - just pick them up and plop them in with her, through the top. Bunya has now started to spread his back legs to span the top opening and keep himself from being added, but that's not a problem. Catching them is the problem. And really, just snagging Lucy.

Huddled in the carrier as close as can be,
with Ethel resting her chin on Bunya.

Here are Lucy and Ethel in the carrier, ears shaking like leaves in a hurricane. The car was at a complete stop. It's hard to see Lucy's black ear in the shadow, but you get the idea from the three white ears...

Once at HRS, they adjust quickly and are fine. The trio greet their keeper,
just in case they get lucky and are going to score some treats.

Score - yes, it is treats!
Bunya, ever treat aggressive (thanks, "Alice")
stands up so he can be closest and get his first.

Oh - and the buns got pedicures and manicures while there, in addition to a good grooming. Sort of a spa-cation. And I was able to again stock up on the healthy bunny treats offered in the HRS store - we were out and that makes for unhappy bunnies.

As always, a huge thank you to the staff and volunteers at HRS for taking such wonderful care of our bunnies. See their site for services they offer: Georgia House Rabbit Society

Coming soon - the welcome home.

Cardboard Playground - The Skylight Project

There's one particular box that all the bunnies have worked on. They'd jump on top and start chewing away at what they were standing on.

This is like the cartoons we used to watch as kids. Some poor character would be on the branch of a tree, sawing away at the branch at a point between him and the tree trunk.

If it was Yosemite Sam, the branch would fall. If it was Bugs Bunny, the tree would fall; Bugs and the branch would hang suspended in air.

So, we have been waiting to see what happens. The box used to be outside their pen (as in the video below). Now it is inside their pen and they have continued with their construction project.



In the video, Bunya is working on the skylight and Ethel is tearing apart the back wall. Lucy comes by to check out their progress near the end. We would hold our breath when Lucy jumped on what became a paper thin "roof" - she's the heaviest bunny - but we never saw anyone drop through.

Well, after months of group bunny activity, the box has a new look - split apart. When we clean the cage, we kind of push it all back together, because they still like to chew on it, get inside it and - amazingly - still jump on top of it.

The skylight project, as it stands today (but just barely).

If the box is still around, you can check it out on the BunCam (tab at top of page, under banner).

We don't know if we should get them a new one or leave that box in there for them.
They've worked so hard on it...

One day in the cardboard playground

My daughter made a cardboard construct that the bunnies LOVE (house rules - no tape, no staples).
It has chambers and multiple levels. They crawl in and through, and stop to nibble and tear cardboard.
Very often, they peek through the top and remind us of tank commanders.

Tank commander Bunya Patton

One of these days, I will have to install a turret for a more authentic looking picture. It's certainly not like we are lacking for paper towel cardboard tubes.


No, Ethel, inside. Inside!



Vroooom! Ethel likes to play, too.




In memoriam

Cinnamon, the original Disapproving Rabbit has passed.
No joke here. Sincere condolences to Sharon and Bill.
You can share comments on their site.
Please honor their sentiment with a donation to your local HRS or animal shelter. As they said: If you feel like donating, please give your money, resources, or time to a local animal shelter, which is where we found Cinnamon.

I know there's a treat in here!

Young buns (not a movie title reference, unless you want it to be)...
From the Bunya archives, here he is flattening out his formerly svelte self (hey, me, too) to try to get the little treat he hears rattling around at the bottom of this cereal box. (No, not the cereal - it was a bunny treat.)
If we tried this today, he (and Lucy) might need a Costco-size cereal box.
Ethel, on the other hand, could set up housekeeping in this one.

(Wish we had this picture with Bunya's feet sticking out of a Trix box. "Silly...")

Square Rabbit bunny sighting

Spotted in NC (by my daughter) ...

Whatever they serve, we have to like the name.

Not forever - but when she was walking by.
Just wanted to show you the cute "Closed" sign.

Lucy: It's a balery?!?
Ethel: Oh, boy, they make bales of hay?
Bunya: No, it's a bakery. A b-a-k-e-r-y. You need to get spell check when you text.

Actually, it seems to be a balery and more. You can check out the menus and offerings here.

Snuggle bunnies

The gate is open.

They could be running around.
They could be chewing stuff they are not supposed to.
They could be hopping in and out and on the cardboard playground.
Bunya could be giving me one of his patented "give me treats" stare-downs.

But when I looked over to see what they were up to, this is what I found.

Sweet. Very sweet.

(Although later posts explain why the pen arrangement has changed, you can read about why the picture is taken "through the pen", in the paragraph above the picture here).

Hold that pose - it reminds me of something...

Is it just me, or does this melding of butts remind you of something?



Dr. Dolittle's Push Me Pull You

Bunya and Ethel give new meaning to the phrase "cheek to cheek"...
(Not an Irving Berlin reference, unless you want it to be.)

The name "Bunya"

When people ask the brown bunny's name, the answer is "Bunya".

And then we are asked, "What does it mean? Where did it come from?"

Well, to us, it didn't mean anything except for that sweet, incredibly soft, frequently shedding, cinnamon bunny that appeared in our basement one afternoon (our daughter bought him "on sale" at a pet store).

The name was the result of some errant spark of electricity across a brain synapse that was attempting to make a nonsense name of the word "bunny". Mangle that in some fashion and you get our "Bunya".

Since then, we have discovered Bunya elsewhere...

In Australia, there is a Bunya tree, also called a Bunya Pine. This tree has some SERIOUS pine cones.

Pineapple dwarfed by a Bunya pine cone

Yeah, you don't want to be bonked on the head by a Bunya pine cone,
and it won't send you a postcard or beep before it hits you
(according to the sign - there's no notice)

Well, anyway, Bunya is not named after this tree. Nor is he named after ...
... the Bunya Mountains,
... the Bunya suburb northwest of Brisbane,
... the Bunyaville Forest Preserve,
... the Bunya corporation,
or the Bunya spa in NY.

He is named Bunya,
after himself.

Ethel, the snuggle bunny

Ethel is the original snuggle bunny. My wife can pick her up and sit down at the computer to work ... Ethel will tuck her head into the crook of my wife's arm and stay there for a half hour, getting her tushy scratched and her head and back pet.

The arm as chin rest

The arm as pillow - a one-eyed view of things

But if treats are being passed out, she's gone like lightening.

Bunny money

Once again, my son that mocks my bunny slave status the most comes up with a great bunny thing sighting:

Bunny bucks!

This would make great currency.
Who wouldn't smile when they got their change?
It would make pay day extra special and happy.
It's so cute, when bank robbers were mesmerized looking at it and going "Awwwwww", the police could snap on the handcuffs.

It's all about the Bunjamins (not a Puff Daddy reference, unless you want it to be).

Lucy makes herself comfy

From the early days, before Lucy grew into the gargantuan 5 pound lapin she has become...

Lucy curls into the curve of this corner piece and nods off.

Still one of my favorite pictures of her.

Suspicious behavior

To put this in a physical context, I opened the door to the long hallway that leads to the bunnies' den. There they were, all huddled together, frozen in a "ready to flee" position, legs cocked, all eyes on me.

It's the human! Act nonchalant!
(at which they failed)



Close-up of the curious threesome...
bulging eyes focused on me like laser beams,
all ears forward, legs ready to spring.

Well, they never moved.

They looked at me, and I looked at them.

It was like I had interrupted a game of Rabbit "Red Light".

I took a couple of pictures with my phone. They didn't budge.

Slowly, I closed the door and went upstairs.

I don't know how long they were like that before they finally moved.