GHRS's 2012 BunnyFest!

Come celebrate bunnies!

Information can be found here.

Bunnies - teetotalers? ... or not?

Well, our bunnies are teetotalers, regardless if that's their choice.

Many humans are not teetotalers, and it seems, some have a fondness for bunnies ...
enough so that they either name their beer after rabbits or think that rabbits are good for marketing their alcoholic product. I love bunnies, but don't quite get the link myself.

Note the slogan "Hop to it!"

Wine ...
uh, in a box

So, whether you want a brewsky or a glass of vino, you can snuggle up with your liquid bunny and your fuzzy bunny.

Enjoy! (Responsibly!)

Domestic bunny meets wild bunny

Found this via GHRS and thought you would enjoy this interaction.

Domestic bunny inside the house.
Wild bunny on deck, peeking in and seeing a fellow traveler.




P.S. None of my videos are this long.
But if I had captured this, I would post the whole thing, too.

Bunny art at the Decatur Arts Festival

The artists below allowed me to take a picture or two of their art. This is a bunny blog, so that's what you will see here. However, the artists have lots more subjects and I encourage you to check out their websites or look them up at an art festival near you.

Lots of new bunnies by
Karen Fincannon

Their bunny made of shells, Paul
(Can't buy this)

The art of John Hung Ha
Artist (on left) and bunny art (on right)

Lots of unique little bunny dolls by
Sharon Franco Rothschild

One of the SFR bunnies,
removed from the crowd for a better view

Bunny art by Yvonne Miller
(another site of her art is here)

And this is Ms. Miller's business card;
her cards were little details of her art -
how cool is that!?

Bunny from the studio of Kathleen Taylor

Kathleen Taylor's blog is here

You can see the art from last year's stroll here.

Bundinis escape yet again

So, as I do every morning,  I am headed downstairs to the Bun-cave, turning on the lights as I go. On my way to the bunny pen, I say "Good morning, bunnies!" and I grab the jar of hay crumbles while still in stride. This usually sets them running around in excited circles ... well, at least two of them. Lucy or Ethel may decide they want a good stretch before they run to the breakfast bowl.

Not this morning! I stopped in mid-step and my mouth fell open.
Riddle: When is a door a jar?
Answer: When the bunnies have somehow opened it just a little bit so they can escape ("ajar").

It took me some time to regain a little composure
and grab the camera.

Lucy was already in the pen.
Bunya and Ethel were frolicking around the room.

Although Ethel initially froze when I entered,
they ran to the pen.
I think for breakfast, more than any
sense of wrongdoing or remorse.

Partially eaten hay cubes littered their room
like a frat house's empty crushed beer cans.
They must have had a grand old time.

Since the last time they pulled this stunt, I have been vigilant about making sure I shut the gate latch quite deliberately. At that time, when I noticed the open gate, I noted the little chew mat that is their door mat was under the gate. No clue if their chewing or tugging on it somehow lifts the gate but this morning I made sure I backed it away from the pen.

So, now I am at the office, checking the buncam a little more often than usual, focusing on the gate and making sure it is shut. A watched bunny never escapes.

This holiday weekend, I will have to ponder how to better secure their gate.
While they ponder how to escape and make mischief.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

Thank you to the members of the armed forces, past and present,

for your sacrifices and our freedoms.

Those self-cleaning bunnies...

... yeah, that includes Lucy, too.

She might not have been quite finished, but when Lucy sees she's on camera, she has to give you her "You lookin' at me!?" stare.

Bunnies are self-cleaning

As demonstrated by Ethel, here washing her face ...

Their little hands and arms move so fast!

Of course, those fast "cocky" movements are also a key component of the *THUMP* delivery system.

Is it just me or ...

Bunny version of "manna from heaven"

As said before, bunnies are smart. They learn patterns, cues, triggers...

When preparing the bunnies' greens, we give them a second washing (the first rinse is when we buy them and put them in the frig). This is to get any dirt or other residue off the food and also to leave their meal "moist", so they get more water in their system (keeps the flow going).

The sink has a faucet that can be set to a spray. As soon as the spray turns on - if it's at mealtime - Bunya bounds excitedly over to the counter and begins his stare. He used to look for any spare sprig that may have dropped to the floor.

Now, we will take a piece of the parsley or cilantro and toss it high in the air, targeted to land near him. He will pounce on it and devour it.

Bunya awaits his pre-meal "amuse-bouche".

Then he happily follows the server and dinner plates to the pen, often with waggling ears and a little binky (it's not a big binky ... he's happy, but doesn't want to take so much time as to make himself late to the plate).

The World's Softest TP

It must be!
What superlative could you possibly use to describe the epitome of softness?!?

Check this off the bucket list ... have already found the softest toilet paper in the universe.

I wonder if it has the Good Bunnykeeping Seal of Approval?

Ethel on the high ground, or table

Ethel seems to be the bunny most taken with "the high ground".
Maybe she has a complex since she's the smallest.

She will hop on boxes and look around. Here, she hopped onto the fireplace and then the coffee table. She peeks over the edges and looks down for what might be an acceptable landing spot. At one point near the beginning, she looks like she's contemplating hopping over to the sofa, but decides that the coffee table surface is too slick for good traction (good call -- she's right). Before she jumps off at the end, she freezes and concentrates like an Olympic diver - then takes the plunge.

Bunny nap time

Remember when you were in kindergarten or nursery school, and you would all lay on the floor and take a nap?

Bunnies do that, too.
A lot.

More people should.

GHRS bunny boarding stay-cation

While we were away at UNC - Chapel Hill attending graduation, we boarded the bunnies at GHRS.

Can you see our daughter?
She's right there, in the lower right hand corner
of that sea of Tar Heel blue.
Ummmm ... maybe about 8 rows back and 3 or 4 in.
Yeah, that's her!

Of course, the bunnies hate the car ride to GHRS.
For some reason, Ethel jammed her head
in the corner of the carrier. Her chin, really.
Lucy buried herself in Ethel's cheek and
Bunya tried to squeeze between the sisters.

Their room was ready upon arrival at GHRS.
Screen on the left allows them to visit with neighbors.
Window on the right allows Bunya to find a sunbeam.

I was thinking: Oh, boy, a table tent. I used to love those
when I was a kid (and when I had little kids to do it with).
Lucy bolted underneath and Bunya followed.

Ethel was the last one to get out of the carrier.
Ethel: Hey, where is everybody?!?
Don't leave me alone!

All three under the tent/shelf/fort.

Bunya: Whatchu' lookin' at?

While there, got to check in on Zazzle and her babies.

And check out Zazzle and family's mondo condo!

From the airport, we went to GHRS to pick up the bunnies. They seemed to be doing fine and, again, did not want to get in the carrier. Especially Lucy, again.

Let them out at home but their behavior was off. Ethel was practically catatonic. Fortunately, it seems they readjusted by this morning and were all behaving like their normal selves ... in other words, they all 3 came running when I opened the treat jar.

Thank you GHRS for taking such wonderful care of our bunnies when we travel. It's nice knowing they are surrounded by people who know how to care for them.

And congrats to all the graduates, too!

Not only is it Mother's Day, but there are graduations all over the country.

We would like to give a shout out to two:
The middle child, our son who's graduating from Naropa University in Boulder, CO
and
The youngest, our daughter who is graduating from UNC - Chapel Hill.

Ethel in a whisper:
When are they going to play "Pomp & Circumstance"?
It so gives me the chills!

Thanks to Kat who does the RR special effects.
Check out Kat's photography here (of course it includes bunnies).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: Ethel's picture is on The Daily Bunny! (05-15-2012). This is a really funny bunny site (and is listed on our About Us/Links page). Check it out!

Happy Bunny Mother's Day?

Ethel: Where can we find a Mother's Day card with a bunny on it???
Lucy: I don't know! I've looked and found them with
dogs, cats, butterflies, chimps, giraffes, birds, donkeys,
really weird looking humans and cartoon characters. But no bunnies.
Ethel: Someone needs to contact the card companies -
They are missing a whole market segment.
Lucy: Yes, they do. Yes, they are.

~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Mother's Day!

Bun appétit

Happy to see the three bunmigos breaking greens together.

Frisée - one of Bunya's favorites.
Then again, there's not much he doesn't like.

Post title inspired by one of my wife's jillions of cooking magazines.
And, oh, yes, she's a good cook. VERY good.

Nurse Ethel Buningale

Ethel may not only be the cutest, snuggliest and sweetest bunny we have, she may also have a nursing degree and be the most care-giving(est).

After the re-bonding, we noticed a new behavior: Ethel was grooming Bunya's side. She would shut her eyes and dig her little face in licking and massaging him in the one spot.

Later, we got Bunya aside for a quick physical inspection. Sure enough, it looks like the site she was doctoring was the site of one of the re-bonding hair pulls. It must have been a chunk of hair, too.

But the site was very clean and was not bleeding or oozing.
Nurse Ethel kept up her care for days.
And he's doing just fine, thank you, Ethel.

Ethel and her "high ground" (Revisited)

Ethel loves to climb the heights. Here, she gets on the sofa and then atop the cushion back. She's so light, she barely makes a dent in it.

I just love the look of satisfaction she's projecting, like she's just crested Everest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read the comments to follow the evolution of this revised picture of Princess Ethel ...

<< Trumpets sound >>

She looks like she just tasted that margarine (old TV commercial reference).

Kat, thank you for the special effects!
Check out Kat's photography here (including bunnies!).

Snuggle Bunnies!

Glanced at the Buncam while at work and was so happy to see a little pile of bunnies snuggling in their pen.

Buncam screen shot of snuggle bunnies

The re-bonding seems successful.
Maybe now I can relax...

What a well-stocked bunny kitchen looks like...

Yeah, that's what we're talkin' about...

When we go to our HRS Hop Shop, we stock up (it's kind of a shlep).

The bunnies are excited because they get different flavors of hay.
(But not alfalfa - they are too old for much of that.)

Bags of Probios on that bottom shelf, too.
They LOVE those, as previously mentioned ... once or twice.

Bonded bunnies are back!!!

This is what we have been waiting to see!

Okay, you will probably find it too long, but we were over-joyed that, first, they formed their little Bun-muda Triangle ... that all three were hanging out together. Second, they were grooming each other.

Well, more like the girls were grooming Bunya, but it still beats hair pulling any day. Bunya flattens himself into a bunny pancake (hey, Two Bunny Blog - could that be another position? The Pancake?). Lucy and Ethel take turns or simultaneously groom Bunya, once again making him one of the luckiest bunnies in the world.

I actually cut some parts, like when I jiggled the camera (to get a better hold on it) and when the girls froze like statues (so there were 15-20 seconds where it didn't need video because they weren't moving).

At one point, Ethel must tickle Bunya's ear, because he gives a hearty head shake but immediately scrunches back down for more, which he gets. Their vet once said these three must really love each other because their ears were the cleanest bunny ears he'd ever seen. This video shows why.

Yay! We've got our bunnies back!

Good signs of bunny re-bonding

Less hair tugs. That's good.

So, they're all together again, but not sharing activities quite like before. Hopefully, that will evolve to what it was before Bunya's illness/separation.

We have an extra litter box in the pen at the moment and are thinking about removing it now that they are all together again. As you can see here, they do enjoy the convenience of a 3 bathroom pen.

We were happy to see the "Bun-muda Triangle" trying to re-form.

They are all back together but Bunya happened to be running around the den and Ethel was in the pen (yes, the gate was open). Here, she smushes her little head through the fence to try to give Bunya licks and maybe get a few in return.

Another time, another Bun-muda Triangle.
*Sigh*
This is what we want to see more of...


The Buncam lets us peek in on them from work once in a while. It's nice to see the detente.

Happy Birthday, Bunny Great Grandma

93 years old today!!!

So, family is in town and we are all celebrating all weekend.

Cake, flowers, Wii bowling tournament, dinner in, dinner out, marathon of baking our family's traditional specialties, so... 

More bunny stuff next week!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Re-bonding bunnies, Chapter IV

[Have you caught on ... read prior posts.]

Woke up really, really, REALLY early, worried about the bunnies.
The sleep over in their pen did not go as well as it could have...

Sampling of "morning hair" (hare hair?) -
Everyone contributed.

On the other hand, it could have been a lot worse and it has been in the past. Everyone got a physical exam. No one was bleeding or had any apparent cuts or scars.

Stayed with the bunnies all morning watching them. Lucy pulled a NASbunny (check the definitions at the bottom of the Bunny Care page) which got everybody nervous for a couple of seconds, until all realized she was just expending a little pent-up energy and checking out the paths in the rearranged pen and den.

Oh yes, more of the re-bonding efforts ... a lot of the boxes they were used to (even the ones around the den) went into the recycle bin and were replaced. There were a couple of exceptions: the "warren" (just have not been able to find another box like that one, big and low) and their tunnel, added back to the pen the morning after the first reunited night. But any stray poops and cardboard shavings they had chewed were gathered up and tossed. Everything was thoroughly vacuumed.

And then we allowed them to run around their usual area.

There are two bunnies in this picture.
It's funny how Lucy most always plops against the black frame
and Bunya against the bricks.
It's like they're trying to blend in to their surroundings.

Bunya was "loafing" and
Ethel settled next to him, just to be close.

We are breathing a little easier.
And hoping everyone stays healthy and that there are no separations in their future.
But still keeping a watchful eye...

Thank you, everyone, for your well wishes and good thoughts for the bunnies!!!
Couldn't have done it without you!

Re-bonding bunnies, Part C

[Read the prior couple of posts, if you have not already.
Or just tune in, in the middle of the story.
Maybe that's how you read books, too.]

Carrier ride.
Small exercise pen with clean litter box and new cardboard box, on strange turf.

Next step:
To a small, restricted part of hallway they usually roam but do not usually park themselves in. More of a bunny run, for exercise, an extension of their basement den.

Bunya started off talking on his ear phone.

This was too important and so we removed everyone's electronics (except me and my Kindle ... I was standing guard with a broom to break up any altercations. But I had to move the broom when Bunya started chewing on the straw. I think he's got ADHD.)

With fewer distractions, Bunya and Ethel tried to make nice...

Reasonable behavior so far, for another hour or so.
They tried their group bunny triangle and got some head-rubbing assistance, so no one has to be first or last - everybody got some good loving.

The next move - back to their primary pen.
The same as we started this process:
All litter boxes clean and fresh.
Fresh hays.
New cardboard boxes.
Familiar toys, but just purchased new at the GHRS store, so no prior ownership smells attached to anything.

Insert bunnies, mix and pray...

To be continued.