Happy New Year! (and some bunny care and human care)

New Year's reminder from the humans:

Bunnies do NOT like fireworks.

It stresses them just like other sudden and/or loud noises.

If your bunny's neighborhood is firecracker noisy, keep the buns cool and quiet.
Close the windows and doors.

If needed to "cover" firecracker noise, play music - peaceful, easy listening (not loud).

Think elevator music. No hair bands or hare bands. Stay away from 1812 Overture.
Your TV service might even have a suitable channel in its lineup - you just never tune to those channels.

If you do not already have boxes for them to play on and in, get some plain cardboard boxes (not slick or a lot of ink/color; no staples, labels or tape). Cut at least two openings in each box big enough for your bunny to get in and out ... they can hide in them, to further mute the noise and feel a little safer.

Keep them company and reassure them that everything's okay. Pet them if they are the petting kind of bunnies. Have a couple of healthy treats handy (Bunya told me to say that).

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

Hi there. Bunya here.

First, Lucy & Ethel and I want to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Please be careful in your celebrations.
If you drink, don't drive.
We don't have anything against moderate imbibing ... the humans don't know it but we always ferment a little carrot juice to celebrate, too. But we are staying home to celebrate. We hate cars.

Even if you don't drink, be careful driving, because not everyone is as smart as you.
Don't text while driving either. Just concentrate.

Also, be kind to each other next year. And beyond.
Be kind to all pets and animals, too. (But especially bunnies.)

Have fun & be safe!

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

One of my favorite cartoons from one of my favorite cartoonists.

Bizarro by Piraro

Bunny doppelganger?

Jar Jar Binky .............................. Jar Jar Binks   

Bunny-human (and other) look-a-likes are here.

Wishing you a very bunny Christmas!!!

One of my all-time favorite bunny pictures, my standard Christmas bun - and it's not even our bunny!

*Sigh*  Okay, Mom, I'll pose because it makes you so happy
and, after all, I am so darn cute.

This is Mr Cookie, one of the cutest bunnies ever and my way of wishing everyone a joyous, happy and safe holiday! Hope Santa Paws bring you what you want and what you need.

[Mr Cookie passed over the Rainbow Bridge about the same time we lost our Lucy, August of 2015. Sincere condolences to Mr Cookie's humans. The internet allows our treasured pets to live on.]

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Funny bunny memes are accumulated here.

Bun Wars

"Darth - Come to the cute side!

Enjoy the movies!

Artist credit linked here.

Rabbit Ramblings is 5 years old!

Please "Like" Rabbit Ramblings on Facebook!

A few musings on our fifth anniversary ...

THANK YOU!

Thank you to all the fans of the Rabbit Ramblings Facebook page. It has become its own blog. While there may be a link to any new posts here, it has many, many more of its own cute bunny posts, alerts, news items and more. And as far as "reach", it seems to reach what took this blog five years (about 556,000 pageviews from 120 countries) -- around every couple of months or so.

Thanks to Bunya & Ethel for making our lives so entertaining.
Thanks to our daughter who smuggled Bunya into our basement.
Thanks to our son who suggested I start a blog.
Thanks to our other son, who mocks me as totally nuts and whose laugh as he's seen something that amuses him on the blog is a joy to hear as he says:
         Just to be clear, Dad, I am laughing at you, not with you.
         [He means it and he is not alone.]
Thanks to my sisters who, before this blog, probably never realized how many Bunny Things cross their paths almost every day.
Thank you to all you bunny fans out there who are members, followers, subscribers and, especially, the commenters.
Thanks to Dr. Mrs. Bunnymom, my partner in life, bunny crime and bunny care.

One very sad note from 2015 is that we lost Lucy.

Things Lucy did, the difference she made

Lucy passed over the Rainbow Bridge August 1, 2015

Thank you to all who expressed your comforting thoughts.

Wishes for the next New Year:

Healthy bunnies (or other rescued pets) for all of us
Greater capacity at HRS and all animal rescues - but not the need for it
Whirled peas - Tolerance among humankind, joint efforts to repair the world, good health and prosperity for all

We hope to see more of you next year!

Please "Like" Rabbit Ramblings on Facebook! Thank you! 

Ethel lovin' on Bunya

Ethel was grooming Bunya - until she saw the human with the camera. Then she just settled in for the snuggle and glared at me for ruining the mood. She's shy.
Bunya doesn't move - just keeps hoping for more.
(~20 sec)

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

GHRS Holiday Party

The celebration included a pop up Hop Shop to buy bunny supplies and toys, bunny mani-pedis, bunny pictures with Santa, delicious desserts from The Cake Hag, and a Hoppy Hour. Oh, and lots and lots of bunnies. And bunny people.
Thank you to all the GHRS volunteers who made this another wonderful GHRS event.

Cookies and Cream impressed potential adopters with their cuteness.

Chance was hoping someone might take a chance on adopting him.
I got down and pet him for a while. Just a soft love sponge.

This cute couple "strolled" in.

Just for the "Squee" factor

Winston has a human. Picture just for cuteness.
(Made me miss our Dutch, Lucy)

The Hoppy Hour area. Orange shirts were referees, in case needed.
This tunnel was popular. One big bunny went in
and a bunch of bunnies came out. It was like a circus clown car.

This little guy loved this tunnel. Like a little submarine commander.
I contend that it is near impossible to get an in-focus
picture of a lionhead. And this bunny was nonstop movement,
popping in and out and looking all around.

One of the bigger (if not biggest) bunny there.

Celebrity appearance by Bree the Bunny!
(Very soft and loving bunny. Sorry - already taken!)

One of the funnier looking bunnies there. 

"Come on in - the hay is fine!"
Always a popular bunny magnet.
May be the bunny equivalent of a singles bar.

They loved this little log A frame.
Everybunny had to come by and chin it.

A little Hoppy Hour lovin'... making friends.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Bunya's ecstacy

Bunya is always ready to hunker down for a good head skritch. Humans may be tolerable because of opposable thumbs and the ability to rub both bunny ears at the same time.

About 23 seconds in, Bunya savors one of his favorite place places to be rubbed - along his jaw line. His teeth chatter happily and he starts his automatic licking response (also triggered by rubbing his tushy right over his tail).

Bunnies are very social creatures. If your bunny does not have a bonded mate, you are the buddy. Interact with your bunny every day - and do it on his or her level - the floor, where he feels safest.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Oh, yeah, seen that face.

Treat-seeking bunnies

Bunya & Ethel seeking treats in all the hidden places (~60 sec).
They know what's coming and anxiously await until the treats are loaded and their Einstein toy is put on the floor. The actual treat enjoyment seems comparatively leisurely. When there were three bunnies, with Lucy, this activity was significantly more frenzied. Greater competition, I guess... and Lucy was VERY good at this. (For an example and a link to where we got the toy, see this video.)

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*Day

www.rabbit.org is a tremendous resource for anyone considering adopting a bunny or owning a bunny. House Rabbit Society chapters are listed and linked in the left hand column. The top right corner of the HRS site has a search box that will lead you to a library of expert articles on bunny care, health, diet and more.

That perfect piece of hay

We have often wondered here what makes that perfect little piece of hay, the one the bunny has to dig for and paw through the rest to find.

Well, apparently, it is possible for a human to identify it for the bunny. Sometimes. Our daughter seems to have the touch and found Bunya a hay treat, that perfect stem with the little hay flower on top.

Veterans Day

To our veterans on Veterans Day:

Thank you for your service.

Wishing you peace and good health.

For another Veterans Day post, see My Army Bunny Family.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Not quite that bad...

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Tales of Two Rabbits

Absolutely!
So far, boarding only at the local House Rabbit Society shelter, where they board bunnies (as a fund raiser) and they know bunnies

Treat or Treat

Bunya and Ethel enjoying their favorite treat. Bunnies chewing amuses me, so I'm sharing. (~40s). The treat is a Probios, apple flavor. It's really a horse biscuit that aids digestion, so they share and each get half of one cookie every evening. If I am not on time, Bunya stares at me until I look at the clock - really! Proof bunnies can tell time (see this post). When Bunya finishes, he runs to check if Ethel has any crumbs left he can Hoover.

A Halloween Bunny Tale

(Another Rabbit Ramblings "traditional" seasonal post)

Found at: http://www.larping.net/bunny/SFR.html

In the mythical land of Trigiorria there is the legend of The Spirit Festival of the Rabbits.

At the end of the month of Octobré, when the veil between the worlds of the spirit and the real would thin, those who had lost family during the previous year would make a journey to the Spirit Woods. The recently departed would inhabit this forest during the year, awaiting the veil to be thin enough to cross over and thereby give their loved ones one last chance to say goodbye.

The family would sit and camp outside of the woods, sometimes as long as a week, awaiting for a messenger to arrive. That messenger - a white rabbit. As it approached, the family would gather and sit, patiently and quietly. The rabbit would find a spot near the family and sit down, regarding them with its ruby eyes and large ears turned towards them. At that point, the family would tell the rabbit the name of their recently deceased and give a final message to their loved one. Upon finishing, the family would offer the rabbit a token of their thanks, usually in the form of some sweet greens such as the tops of carrots or radishes. The rabbit would stand on its hind legs, taking the offering and, at the same time, folding its ears back, thereby trapping the family's message within them.

Turning around, the rabbit would sprint back into the forest, carrying the message for the spirit. Their ruby eyes able to see the other worldly spirits and their twitching noses able to find the scent of the family even upon the ghosts. Once they found the family member, they'd open their ears once again, imparting the whispers of the message still resounding within them and allow the family member to pass over with their family's love.

However, not all ghosts within the Spirit Woods are benevolent. As the noises that come from the forest are often eerie and vicious, it is the reason the families remain outside of the woods and uses the messengers. On a few occasions, dark shadows were seen lumbering forth from the tree line, but they never made it far for nipping at their heels were the guardians - the black rabbits of the forest. Whereas the inky claws of the spirits could rake furrows into the ground, they would simply meld into the rabbit's own obsidian fur. Wherever the black rabbits touched these creatures, there would be nothing but emptiness left behind. And when dozens of the guardians attacked a shadow, it dissolves so quickly that many people weren't sure they saw a shadow at all - only the frolicking of the rabbits was left behind.

Today, many families keep such rabbits in their homes as family members themselves. In fact, adopting one after the passing of their loved ones is seen as a blessing upon the house. When a white rabbit would stand on its hind legs and stare towards nothing, it is often thought that the animal is welcoming a friendly spirit into the house. The black rabbit would keep the family safe from any spirits that were not welcomed.

[Mark Mensch is a published author and volunteer at SaveABunny rabbit rescue - www.saveabunny.org]

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Now that I have bunnies, I wish this comic was still around (syndicated by United Feature Syndicate, 01-25-1988 to 08-18-1991).

Bun o' lanterns -- Bunny pumpkins for Halloween

Rabbit Ramblings traditional pre-Halloween post. If you carve a bunny pumpkin, please post a picture on the RR Facebook page so it can be added to the "library".
Have fun! Be careful carving pumpkins and have a safe celebration!

Happy Halloween!

Carving a "bunkin" (bunny pumpkin) for Halloween?

Here are a few "Boo! Bunnies" to inspire your creative carving...

A classic lop image

Another approach to bunny pumpkin carving

Was this bunny in "Lord of the Rings" or something?

Don't forget "EB" - the Energizer Bunny

Bunny from Prickly City?

Bonded duo

                                                         Models for bonded duo pumpkin

Bunny Butt!
Talk to the butt, 'cause the ears ain't listening!
(Bernie Bunny from Annie's)

Additions (submitted through the Rabbit Ramblings Facebook page)

Bunny model: Pinki Larue

Model for pumpkin above

From Licorice Bun