They call it HOT-lanta for a reason

Summertime ... and the living is - HOT!

(not a Porgy and Bess reference, unless you want it to be)

It's "only" 95 degrees in Atlanta. There are places in the country much hotter.

My friend in Texas has been suffering through 105 degree heat.

And sometimes, he has to leave that shade.

Lucy has her favorite spots to cool down -
the fireplace bricks ... a frequent rest stop.
Bunya and Ethel agree.

Lucy doing her hen imitation on the fireplace

The "fireplace bunny" -
Lucy's favorite place to stretch out and cool down



Sometimes, it's so hot, the air conditioning just needs a little help keeping you cool.

How do your pets stay cool?

Back yard "bunny gone wild" sighting - hot off the presses

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog for a special post.
[Insert obnoxious TV-radio interruption alert noise here.]
Just sighted by Bunya, Lucy & Ethel's kitten cousins (see kitties here) in their backyard...

Wild bunny sighted just minutes ago...
appears it could be related to Bunya,
although this has not been confirmed.

Rabbit Ramblings ... bringing you all the up-to-the-minute bunny news fit to print.
Stay tuned for further lagomorph stories...
This is the end of this alert ... we now return to your regularly scheduled blog.

Ethel - Maximum Snuggle Bunny

Ethel: Have Bun - Will Snuggle
(not a Paladin reference, unless you want it to be)

Looking down on the donut face (aka, the glazed look)...
being cradled in the same position as in the picture above.

Once again proving, she's the snuggliest bunny in the bunch.

One day at the dentist office...

Added to the "Bunny Things" page,
of course!

My dentist always has interesting and fun stuff at her checkout desk. This time, you could buy a little animal head that holds your toothbrush (in its mouth) when you travel. It has a suction cup and so sticks on the mirror of the hotel bathroom, or wherever you are staying, so you don't have to lay it down on whatever yucky countertop germs happen to be there.

Well, I had to dump the box to find it, but found the one bunny head. It is stuck to the inside of my car windshield and serves as a random smile generator when it reminds me of my bunnies.

Vanity Plate - LATE4WRK

I don't think major interpretive skills are required for this one.
Maybe the driver doesn't get pulled over - the excuse for speeding is preprinted on the car.
I wonder if LATE2WRK is still available?

Ethel: Do I have to hurry breakfast so we won't be late for work?
Bunya: No! We work from home -
and we are doing our jobs right now.
But Lucy's late.

Ethel's binky revisited

Well, seems that Ethel's binky was a popular post. Repeated Regular Rabbit Ramblings Readers Requested a Revision - to see it in slow motion. So, with my primitive tools and even more primitive skills, I gave it a shot using the binky repeated three times at the end of the clip:

To me, it is still startlingly fast, so I tried to slow it down again.

The "film speed" (or digital equivalent thereof) was not sufficient, so it appears as a blur, which is pretty much what she really looks like when she is zooming around her basement domain.

Lucy - Up close & personal

Lucy decided to venture outside the pen ... for a few seconds.

I guess everyone is biased when it comes to his or her own bunnies, but I think she is soooo cute.
As are Bunya and Ethel (and I am not just saying that in case they read this post).

Ethel's Binky

Ethel was being her usual cute, cuckoo self. So I decided to video her Speedy Gonzales type action in the new hay box and caught a binky right in the middle of it (about 12 seconds in). It looks like she's jumping in place and kicking her heels together ... the bunny version of River Dance.

I thought it was so cute, I spliced the binky again at the end of the clip. Three times.

HEY, YOU OUT THERE - LISTEN UP -- AGAIN!

You remember the holiday message right?
Don't drink and drive.
Don't text and drive.
Don't drink and text.
When boating, wear a big orange life vest (you humans look so funny in those).
Play with your bunnies and give them lots of treats!

Be grateful to be in the land of the free and the home of the buns.

Well, here's another one: Bunnies don't 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.

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) that they can hide in, 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).

Have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July holiday!

Field of Greens

If you build it, they will nom...
(Not a movie reference, unless you want it to be.)

Come on in - the hay is fine!

One idea to help meet the bunnies need to dig was suggested: a big container of just hay. I looked for a small hard plastic child's wading pool (harder to find than you'd think, especially during summer and as hot as it is here); most seem to be blow up pools. Couldn't find any sandboxes I was especially excited about either.

So the picture above is what the bunnies now have as their "hay pool". No floaties needed.

It is the bottom part of an "under-the-bed" storage container. The side is see-through and not too high, so they have no problem jumping in and out. There's room for everyone, if I don't try to climb in. It has an assortment of fresh hay in it. They seem happy to have someplace else to explore, dig and eat.

For more on this bunny care topic of chewing and digging, see:
Bunny care - Chew-Chew (not a train)
Bunny care - The Cardboard Jungle
Bunny care - The Cardboard Jungle, Part 2
Cardboard Playground - The Skylight Project
Bunny care - The Litter Box

Can you share any suggestions for things that will occupy bunny recreation time ... things that they like to chew, dig in or play with? (That they are allowed to - no comments suggesting electric cords; we all know they love those.)

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.