Category Archives: bunnies bunnies everywhere

>Pass the Timothy Hay, please!

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>Come feeding time, pets let us know they’re hungry. Even bunnies have their own way of saying, “Feed me, Seymour!!”
Peanut, the tricky little fellow who convinced his lady friend Sadie to chew through our alarm clock cord, used to climb up on the back of the couch and stare at us at feeding time. If I tried to put it off too long, Peanut would gradually approach me until he was sitting almost on my shoulder. By that time I’d usually end up laughing at him, so I’d go get carrots and greens for my little furball.
The bigger furball, the one by the name of Buttercup, likes to hang out near me and chew on various and sundry toys like cardboard boxes and firewood. When she starts chewing on furniture or carpet, it means I’ve waited to long to get out the food. What now?
Butters, as we call her, doesn’t need a lot of food. In fact, we overfed her for a while. The vet told us to put her on a diet and encourage exercise. Exercise? How does a conscientious pet owner exercise a rabbit? If you find out, drop me an email. I’m still working on it.
Official feeding time isn’t the only time our bunnies show their feisty personalities. Peanut loves anything salty. He and Sadie will run into the room and harrass anyone who dares eat popcorn or chips. We’ve tried feeding them right before we bring in the popcorn, but it doesn’t work. It’s like chocolate to a woman with PMS. Yes, that bad.
Buttercup, the big friendly furry bunny that weighs almost double the other two put together, isn’t a popcorn and potato chip eater. However, Amigo has to guard anything fruity or sweet. The big bunny with the bovine appearance will attack and plunder a serving of fruit snacks or a fruit roll-up, and forget hoarding those gushers. Suddenly you’ll see what it’s like when the Beast like No Other attacks.
If we spoil our small (and not so small) furry creatures, it’s in their attention and their living quarters. We have an outdoor playpen for the pet rabbits to use in good weather. We brush them, make sure their nails get clipped regularly, and buy organic carrots (with greens attached!) at the farmers’ market. I have to admit, though, we feed them the garden cast offs, too, like the broccoli stalks and the old bean vines. It’s not all gourmet academy salads.
Feeding, changing the litter boxes, brushing their fur, or showering them with TLC, the bunnies are no effort at all compared to the unconditional love they give us all the time.
The iDog might not masquerade as the Easter Beagle, but it won’t cost much to feed, either. It won’t shed or chew on your shoelaces. Get one at Burger King (watch out for the guy in the tights and the creepy mask) until November 2. Maybe this critter can keep your child busy while you’re waiting in line at the polls on the 4th!
This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Burger King Corp. I’ll have a burger; you can keep the king. Seriously.

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>The Burrow, the Warren, call it what you will

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>PBN wants examples of why our houses resemble zoos. Ours resembles more of a hutch.

The first bunny in the house was Beast. His friend Cor (short for Coreopsis) soon joined him. When she died, Tiny Bunny came into the house to be a friend to the Big One. Peanut was a rescue; he was about to be adopted by someone La Petite considered unsuitable, so she stepped in. Sweet and friendly little Tiny Bunny and the feisty Peanut never really hit it off, so when Sadie came into the household and bonded with the Peanutty one, we nearly fell over. They are now inseparable. Then there’s Buttercup, the huge and lovely bunny that resembles a cow. Oh, she’s a beauty.

But all is not always lovely in the house of wascally wabbits. As cute and innocent as they may appear, rabbits chew on cords. We have all the important electrical connections and computer connections well hidden and/or wrapped up out of reach of the furballs we call pets. I mean we thought we had them all hidden…until the Black Clock of Death came up one morning.

Then there is the funny bunny who “makes her rounds” each morning when we let her out of the cage. She lopes more than hops around the house, checking to make sure everything is in order, stopping in each room to sniff and look around. She’ll come in the bathroom while I brush my teeth, hop around the table while we eat breakfast, look out the den window, and nudge Amigo’s feet while he tightens his shoelaces. It’s all in a bunny’s day’s work, I suppose.

Which reminds me — I’d better make a trip to the pet store to buy litter, hay, and pellets. At least someone in the house is getting enough fiber!

Parent Bloggers Network teamed with Generation Next and their new product iKnow Animals, Letters, and Sounds.

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>The Black Clock of Death

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>I woke to hear Husband’s exclamation of panic. I didn’t have my hearing aids in, so I didn’t hear his exact words, but it was probably something like “%*$^##!”

Imagine the feeling of oversleeping, waking up with that sudden “Oh, no!” reaction. Adrenaline hits hard, and you’re awake with your heart racing. That was the feeling we had upon waking and seeing this.

The dreaded Black Clock of Death was present on our nightstand. The culprits? The small, adorable, cute, furry ones with Big Gnawing Teeth!


Peanut and Sadie had wedged themselves into a space much smaller than their tiny dwarf rabbit bodies and chewed through our radio cord, then followed up with the lamp for dessert. *burp*

Back to the story. Clad in the armor of the morning (a.k.a. pajamas), Husband dove out of bed and grabbed the travel clock out of the nightstand drawer. He then sprinted through his morning routine and was dressed before I came back upstairs with bunny food (not that they needed breakfast after their evening feast). That’s when I looked at the travel clock: 8:27.

“Honey, I think this is wrong. I think it’s still on Atlantic time.”
Husband freezes in place, zipping jeans. “What?”
“I said, I think this clock is still set to Atlantic time from our vacation. It’s two hours ahead.”
Husband sits down on bed, head in hands.
“I’ll check to make sure.” I went back downstairs, checked with three different clocks, and reset the travel clock for Six Twenty Seven. That’s 6:27, Central Daylight Time. Not, I repeat, not 8:27 Atlantic time.

Later, much later, after a full day of work in Central Daylight Time, Husband used his engineering expertise to fix the clock radio. The rabbits? They’re hanging out in the backyard for a while to give us time to hide any other bunny bait so they can’t get “wired” again.


And if you’ve had enough of bunny talk, check out MidCentury Modern Moms and their Back to School theme. No new little preschoolers or kindergarteners there; we’re dealing with teens, college kids, IEPs, ACTs, SATs, GPAs, and more! My post is up today.

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>You said what ate your homework?

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Making report cards a little more challenging….Buttercup jumped into this box of social studies projects and took over. She took the top off the box (!!) and made herself comfortable. Yes, my dear students, the rabbit ate your homework. Sorry, folks, there was enough left to grade. You’re not all getting an automatic A.

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>White Elephants and Rabbits

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>”Mom, Grandpa sent me a white elephant!” La Petite moaned one Christmas morning. Grandpa’s heart was in the right place. He knew she loved rabbits, and he had picked out a ceramic candlestick shaped like a rabbit. The rabbit was, I kid you not, this rabbit was scary. He meant well, and she kept it (at the back of a shelf somewhere), but thank goodness she was old enough to appreciate the thought behind the gift!

As kids get older, it’s harder to shop for them. La Petite is in college, so we let the grandparents know what she needs for her apartment and for school. They often pick up gift cards for her favorite online stores, too, knowing that clothes and Converse shoes make this girl happy. Most of the time we’re lucky that way.
Amigo is a little tougher. When he was young, his toys were easy to pick out; they were the ones that talked, sang, and made noise. The noisiest, of course, came from the grandparents. We think they were laughing all the way through the store knowing what they were plotting for their own offspring! Now he is interested in cooking, so they buy him Braille cookbooks and kitchen utensils. Kitchen utensils make great fidget tools for a fidgety kid, too.

Parent Bloggers Network suggests Grandkids Gift Guide, a resource for gift giving. This could be handy! It doesn’t have a specific area for teens or college kids (yet), but there are some unique and fun items in the 12 and over section. No candle holders. Darn.

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>You just can’t leave me home alone.

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>I bake bread when I’m home watching a sick teenager. Doesn’t everyone? Well, maybe not. I cheat, sort of, and use the breadmaker. My breadmaker has a timer, but I rarely use it. I’d rather be home to smell the odors, I mean the aroma of the rising and baking bread. Today I made Margalit’s Oatmeal Honey Wheat bread recipe. It’s delicious!
When I’m at home and I’m healthy, I pack my schoolbag with paperwork. I get some of that done without the pressure of watching the clock for the next bell.
Sometimes I spend money online. This worries Husband a little. Today I registered for a 3-credit graduate class. It’s a bargain, and I hope it’s not a “cheap” class in its quality. I’ve talked to other teachers who have taken classes from this source, and they all felt it had been worth their time. I certainly hope mine is.
I have a wishlist of books sitting by me, and an Amazon gift code waiting to be used. Hmmm. It’s really easy to overspend on books. That’s what’s stopping me. Before I buy any more, I’d like to talk to my coworkers about establishing a book exchange. We had one at my previous school, and I contributed and borrowed frequently. In fact, I think I bought more new books than I had in the past (rather than second hand) because I knew I’d be able to borrow several others, therefore saving money in the end. If enough teachers want it and the principal approves, it’ll be a great sharing opportunity for our staff.
I also read a lot more blogs than usual. In the evening, my normal “surfing” time, I’m often tired and sometimes moody from the day’s struggles. By day, with a little more coffee, er, energy, I can surf the political blogs and make reasonably intelligent comments.
Housework. Yes, I get a little more housework done while I’m caffeinated and have a bit of discretionary time. Bunny cage gets cleaned, wastebaskets emptied, and more.
No, you just can’t leave me home alone. I clean, I bake, I read, and if this keeps up, I might spend money — on books.

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>There must be a punch line here somewhere.

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> Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Canoe.
Canoe who?
Canoe tell me a good knock knock joke?

I could rename this post “When Canoes go Wild.” This one is tired of hanging on the garage, so it’s creating a stream for a getaway. Or maybe it’ll use the ladder to elope with the fishing boat behind the shed. It’s my neighbor’s canoe. Should I warn him? Or do you think he’d be happy not to have to pay for the big wedding?

Sorry, a bit punchy. It’s been a week. Let’s leave it at that. And it’s only Wednesday!

I’ll just go feed the rabbit.

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>Waterfront property, with wildlife

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After the melting of a record winter’s snows and a few heavy April Showers, our backyard is a swamp. The lot behind ours? I’m looking for fish. Ducks, at least.

Neither family, ours or theirs, can get out and unwrap the grill or the camper or set up the picnic table. If you enjoy a squish, squish sound as you walk, you’ll love this!
Until the fish and waterfowl find the place, you’ll have to settle for bunnies. Can you see Friendly, our neighborhood rabbit? He was born in a tiny hole in our backyard, lived through the winter under our deck and our bushes, and now has a lady friend. He’s tolerating the wetness rather well. Can you find the bunny in the picture above?


Okay, I give in, here’s a close-up. I wasn’t really that close to him; I used the zoom. I didn’t want to disturb him, although how he could get cozy in the midst of this wetness I will never know.

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>spring fever

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>I want to plant my garden. Unfortunately, it’s still snow-covered. After that stage, it’ll be a mud puddle for several weeks before I can even set foot in it to spread the compost and convince husband to run a rototiller through the ground.
That doesn’t stop me from thinking, though. Husband came home from the grocery store with a small squash, reminding me of his personal goal to eat more vegetables, and also reminding me that if he likes squash, we could plant more than zucchini this year.
I also found a great recipe for the crockpot that includes spinach — lots of spinach. I could grow that, too. There’s a nice little connection between the pet rabbits and my garden: if I grow too much, they’ll eat it. If I don’t grow enough for the humans to enjoy, the rabbits will still eat it. It’s a win-win. The parsley and the lettuce I grow primarily for them, even though I enjoy adding it to my own salads.
So I hinted to the Husband that he and the kids could make me happy on Mother’s Day by getting everything I need for the garden. I suppose I need to make a list, then. Lists R Us, here goes.
Tomatoes. Always. Big ones and little ones.
Peppers. Green bell peppers, red chili peppers. I wouldn’t turn down red or yellow peppers, either, if they’ll grow in our rather dense soil.
Broccoli or cauliflower. We’ll eat the “fruits” and the rabbits will eat the leaves and the stems.
Lettuce. Parsley. Spinach.
Stringless Pole Beans, green! And how about yellow bush beans to provide ground cover and give us the pleasure of Packer beans when the pre-season starts?
Zucchini. It seems like I either have feast or famine with this squash. We gave them away at our rummage sale in August, free with any purchase. People thought we were kidding until we handed them a squash on their way down the driveway.
Carrots. They don’t grow well in our thick soil, but the rabbits love the greens. Every time I thin them, the bunnybuns get a treat. To them, it’s like candy.
The green onions and chives will come up on their own. So will the rhubarb around the corner. The wild raspberries? The birds beat me to them last summer. Maybe I’ll have better luck this year.
All this makes it sound like we live in the country and have a huge yard. Nope. City house, less than a mile from downtown in our lovely small metropolis, with a small but decent backyard. Right now that backyard is covered with melting snow, and lots of it. I can glimpse the mud and brown grass at the edges, which means there is a growing season on the way.
I love our Wisconsin winters, but I’m really looking forward to spring.

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