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Category: House Rabbits

Make Mine Chocolate

Easter

Make Mine Chocolate is a campaign to educate and deter folks from purchasing bunnies for Easter. Often those bunnies end up in shelters after a few months or worse, released to fend for themselves.

Rabbits should not be an impulse buy. When properly cared for a domestic rabbit can live over 10 years. That is a commitment.

There are loads of stuffed plush bunnies that can be left alone in a room, do not require food, or veterinary care.

Or stick to purchasing chocolate bunnies.

Bob, the lovebird in the photo was rescued. He was found flying in my garden on a Sunday afternoon in June of 2016. We attempted to catch him with no luck. The next afternoon he returned. I wrote a post about how we were able to capture him.

We were unable to locate his family. So, he has found a forever home with us, two bunnies, and a cockatiel.

Recently, a family member mentioned seeing a flock of lovebirds in a nearby park. We haven’t yet visited the park. Someday we might check it out.

Updated Bunny Ornament and Elliot

In September I noticed a little bunny ornament was being crushed by a tree. This is the way it looked before I removed it.

Bunny Ornament

It actually took some digging. When I freed the little bunny, I discovered that part of its head was missing.

What do you do with a rabbit ornament that has a broken head and missing ear?

I gave it a quick spray with black paint, nothing fussy. Then filled the opening with a succulent.

I now know why resin garden ornaments are so heavy? This little guy was filled with small pebbles.

Bunny Ornament

Before Elliot came to live with us, I would never have thought about black for a bunny.

ElliotIMG_0454.jpg

I am so glad she came to live with us. She is a delightful furry one.

Easter is Coming–Make Mine Chocolate

Easter is coming and House Rabbit organizations have a campaign–Make Mine Chocolate. The purpose is to inform and the hope to prevent people from purchasing a bunny for Easter. The majority of Easter bunnies end up released or sent to shelters or worse. People need to be aware that a rabbit is at least a 10 year commitment.

If you are thinking about purchasing a cute bunny for your child, choose a plush, stuffed rabbit. Real rabbits are sensitive and fragile creatures. They do not live on carrots or cabbage or ice cream that some authors put in children’s books. Rabbits need an appropriate diet of hay and greens, not crackers and chips.

Rabbits are never to be picked up by their ears. They can startle and be harmed easily. And without proper care and veterinary check ups, rabbits can die.

It should go without saying, Never, Never, Ever release a rabbit. They can be killed by predators, hit by cars, or worse. They can starve or become wounded, and die a painful death.

This is a photo of Nora. She lived for nearly 14 years.

Nora

She had surgery after she was attacked. She had several bouts of gastrointestinal stasis that required veterinary care. Later in life she had problems with her teeth which required treatment that included anesthesia. Anytime a rabbit is given anesthesia, complications can occur. And finding a good veterinarian can be difficult.

How cute is all of that???

Buy a plush bunny. They are cute and make great companions. They do not need to be feed. Litter boxes do not need to be cleaned. They do not need to see a veterinarian. And they will not die from neglect.

Plush Bunny

Or buy a chocolate bunny. Make bunny cupcakes or cookies. But don’t buy a Real Live Rabbit. They are not toys. They are lovely sensitive creatures who should be treated with love, care, and respect.

Make Mine Chocolate!

Make Mine Chocolate, UK Rabbit Welfare

House Rabbit Society

The best rabbit veterinarian on the California Central Coast is Dr. Susan Choy at Bear Valley Animal Clinic.

Sticks and Stones Work in Progress

Sketch

Layout for Sticks and Stones.

Sticks and Stones Detail 2

Before addition of stones.

Sticks and Stones Detail 1

Sticks bound with nettle, stones bound with hemp.
Placed on layer of coco fiber.
An additional layer of metal mesh will be attached to the back to support the weight of the stones.

Elliot selecting stones.

Elliot, my studio assistant selecting stones.

Coco fiber roll purchased from the Kinsman Company.

Beware of Ticks

While grooming Bailey, my house bunny I found a tick. It was dead, but it was a tick. This is the third tick that I have recently found on him.

Baby

Here’s the thing—Bailey never spends time outside, so the tick had to have been brought into the house by one of his human friends.

Our vet has stated that there isn’t a tick treatment for bunnies. Preventive measures is the only solution.

In the future any time that we spend outside working in the garden or hiking, all clothing worn must be changed before coming in contact with Bailey.

A couple of sites with good information about ticks.

TickEncounter Resource Center University of Rhode Island

Larisa Vredevoe, Ph.D, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis
Ticks Commonly Encountered In California

This is the tick in a sink full of water. They totally creep me out.
Tick

Things Change–Grape Salad

When I was a girl we had grape salad on special Sundays. The salad consisted of head lettuce (that would be iceberg), chopped apples and grapes, topped with a mayo sweet and sour dressing.

Tonight I modified a Poppyseed Salad Recipe and realized it is very much like the special salad of my childhood. The salad has lettuce, quartered black grapes, chopped apples, sliced almonds, topped with a poppyseed dressing.

Grape Salad

Why was the grape salad a special salad? Grapes were not commonly found throughout the year in an Ohio village during the 1960s.

Living on the California Central Coast produce is abundant at the Farmers’ Markets and even in the grocery stores. Actually, when I have visited Ohio in the past few years I was pleasantly surprised to find produce looking quite nice. Well, except for the neighborhood market near the village where I spent the first 20 years of my life.

For folks with house bunny companions–it is a good idea to cut grapes into pieces when offering them to your bunnies, and watching the bunnies eat them before leaving the room.

I had a bunny, Baby Cornell who very nearly swallowed a whole grape. Yep, that is very nearly. The grape became lodged in his throat and it wasn’t an experience that I care to repeat. He also had a problem with celery. So, now I always chop celery for my current bunnies. It could have been that Baby Cornell was simply eating too fast, but he changed how I have fed all of the bunnies since.

Yes, I named my bunny Cornell after Joseph Cornell, one of my favorite artists.

Baby Cornell in Garden

Baby Cornell Foraging In Our New Jersey Garden In Progress

Baby Cornell on Sofa

Baby Cornell Hanging Out On The Sofa In Washington
He was such a beautiful boy and a delight to live with.

My “Real” First Comment

I received my first real comment on one of my blog posts from Dinah at Discardia.

Yesterday I spent the better part of the day cleaning my studio space because of the moth scare. I decided to clear out the truly unneccesary “potential” art materials. Throughout the day I kept asking myself, “What would Dinah do?” At the end of the day, there was her comment.

Serendipitous.

Uncertainty about my choices faded; I felt validated.

I did have a weak moment, one in which I felt a bit overwhelmed with the task at hand. To calm my mind I typically do one of two things–read or bake. I opted for baking chocolate chocolate-chip cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

Vegan of course.

The recipes are based on Jennifer McCann’s book, Vegan Lunch Box–Triple Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Vegan Buttercream.

After a cupcake I went back to my studio refreshed and ready for the task. I needed to stop addressing the cleaning and clearing in a random, willy nilly way. I needed to be methodical.

I started with the first set of shelves where loads of small open containers of bits are stored. Interesting that the boxes of jars that I was keeping for someday came in handy.

Box of Jars

Yeah, I am pretty sure that I am not going to make snow globes.

And lids will keep out unwanted critters.

Stuff in Jars

Nathanael “Big Baby” and “Queen” Nora appreciated your comments too.

Big BabyNora