2 new nicknames added

I added "The Fuzzy Duo" for both buns (since I used it in the "I'm outnumbered!" posting) and Needle Nails for Jess.

Mama

I'm outnumbered!

The Fuzzy Duo have become a little more aggressive when wanting treats. I'll be on the couch, reading or watching TV, and one jumps up either beside me or on me. Calvin will look at me with his head cocked to one side and then stick his tongue out, licking his lips in anticipation of getting a treat. Jess, though, will jump up and get in my face, sniffing excitedly. Since I can't reach for the bag or can of treats with a bunny sitting on my chest (nor can I rollerskate in a buffalo herd), I try to nudge him or her down so I can reach over and get the treats. Well, then of course, the other one has to jump up, since I'm reaching for something that must be treats, so now I have both buns crawling all over me and interfering with me grabbing the goodies.

I guess I should have treats on me at all times, close enough to not have to reach for them, so I can quickly and painlessly appease my Bunny Overlords. :-)

Mama

Jess a cannibal?

Jessica and Calvin often have little tussles, with one mounting the other in a display of dominance. And, being bunnies, they also consume a fair amount of fur when they groom themselves.

Well this morning, Jess gets mad at Calvin for something and starts mounting his head. I was standing right there and, thinking that Calvin didn't do anything to deserve the treatment, I pull Jess off of him. I noticed that Jess had a hunk of Calvin's fur hanging from her mouth. I tried to blow it off of her (rabbits are very touchy about someone touching them on the chins, so I didn't feel like risking my fingers to pull it off by hand), but it didn't work. And then she starts eating the fur!

I've always kidded Calvin that he was Jess's chew toy. I didn't know that I was so accurate! :-)

Mama

PS Calvin was none the worse for the encounter. While I can see the spot where the fur came from, it's only because of the pattern in Calvin's coat - it's a darker spot because the dark undercoat is more visible. He takes chunks of fur out of Jessica, too, which leaves bare spots on her (usually on the back of her neck).

One more nickname added

A new nickname has just come into use, so it's been added to the list. Love Sponges, applicable to either or both of them :-)

Mama

The Necessity of Carrots

Last night, I had forgotten to get out a carrot when preparing the buns' salad. I didn't realize it until I was carrying their bowls to their house. I thought "Oh, well, they can live without carrot for one night."

I put the bowls into their house. Calvin snags some dill and starts eating right away, but Jessica sniffs around, looking for carrots. (I usually hand her the carrot half that is hers.) Now, sometimes I run out of carrots, but Jess hasn't acted like this when that happens. Somehow she knew I had carrots but was too lazy to add one to the salad when I realized I forgot. Well, she looks at me, sniffs at me, then gives me this sorry expression that says, "What, no carrot? Wasn't I a good bunny girl? I was cute and lovable all day, and I don't get a carrot?"

So, I go back to the fridge, get out a carrot, wash it off, and break it in two. Jess was there, waiting for me, to take her half and start munching away, eventually running down to the first floor of their house to continue eating it.

I have a feeling that if they'd have been human and me a chef at a restaurant, Jess would have sent the meal back to the kitchen, with Calvin eating off the plate as the waiter carried it off.

They have me trained so well, don't they? :-)

Mama

More nicknames added

I added 3 more nicknames for either bun and 2 more for Jessica.

Mama

Mama - "What I'm Thankful for"

I'm thankful for the two wonderful little creatures that fill my life with laughter and love - Calvin Parsley and Jessica Donna. I'm thankful when they mob me for treats, when they're stretched out under the coffee table, when they're cuddled up to me for a head rub. I'm thankful that they like at least some sort of music that I do, even if it's not Genesis or the Who.

I'm thankful that Red Door, the shelter where I adopted them from, is moving to a bigger location so they can help more rabbits, cats, and dogs find new forever homes.

I'm thankful for my parents, my grandparents, and all of my family and friends. I'm thankful for my new place, 2 floors of bliss and very quiet neighbors.

There's so much to be thankful for, but I'll leave the list as it is.

When shopping this holiday season, please remember homeless animals and donate something to a local shelter - money, supplies, or time. And animals are fellow creatures, not presents, and require time, love, and a commitment.

Mama

Calvin - "What I'm thankful for"

I'm thankful for Mama and for Jessica, the love of my life. I'm thankful for treats, especially dill and oatmeal. I'm thankful for fresh hay and trips to the Great Buffet (outside, when I take him out on his lead - Mama). I'm thankful for our new place - it's so much quieter than the old apartment, and there's more room to run and dance. I'm thankful that Mama goes to Meijer, the grocery store that has the best salad stuff (like dandelion, dill and mint), even though it's farther away than another store that doesn't carry all the great stuff she buys us. I'm thankful she knows that I don't like her taste in music and only plays the CD she bought for us (yes, there is a CD made just of music that bunnies like - why is that strange?) or classical stuff - Mozart piano music is playing right now, in fact.

Calvin

Jessica - "What I'm thankful for"

I'm thankful for Mama. I'm thankful that she adopted me and puts up with my moods. I'm thankful she realized that I can't hear very well and has taught me a few signs in American Sign Language. I'm thankful for Calvin, even though he takes too many of my treats and smothers me with affection sometimes. I'm thankful for raisins and oatmeal. I'm thankful for long head rubs and fun places to hide. I'm thankful for days Mama buys new salad, for we run out of the good stuff before running out of lettuce and parsley.

Jessica

Cranberries - Proof that Buns Have an Odd Sense of Taste

The buns' grandparents bought me a food dehydrator earlier this year, so I bought some cranberries to dry out for bunny treats. (Both Calvin and Jessica love Oxbow's Critter Berries, a tableted form of herbs and stuff flavored with cranberries.)

On a whim, I decided to see if they liked plain cranberries before I went to the trouble of dehydrating them and finding out they didn't like them. (I know there are "Craisins," but they are sugared and, well, the buns don't need a sugar buzz.)

Calvin took a whiff at one cranberry and ate it right up. Jess hasn't eaten a whole one, but she's eaten half of one that Calvin had dropped. (They're a two-bite treat, I guess.) Calvin won't eat more than two or three at a time, but he does like them.

I had hoped to see what a rabbit "sour" face looked like, something like what a kid looks like after tasting real lemon for the first time, but he made no particular face at all. Dill after mint, and now plain cranberries without sugar. Remind me not to eat anything they prepare for dinner! :-)

Mama

Two new nicknames added

I added 2 more nicknames to the list of 11-11.

Mama

Nicknames for the buns

(Sorry it's been so long since there's been an update.)

The bunnies have a variety of nicknames, and I thought I'd share as many as I can think of.

Both Calvin and Jessica:
The Fuzzies; the Grusome Twosome; my bunnykindren; my fuzzy kids; my bunny overlords; the Fuzzy Duo

Either of them:
Hey, you with the tail; Fuzzball; Meatloaf (when they're sitting in the "hen" pose with their front legs tucked under them); Doorstop (ditto); The Sphinx (when they're sitting with their front legs ahead of them so they look like the Sphinx); Love Sponges (they soak up any love I give 'em)

Calvin:
Chinchilla Pants; Shedding Machine; Dancing Fool; The Brains; Handsome Boy; Dances on Underwear (he jumped up on the couch where I was folding laundry one night)

Jessica:
Radicchio Rustler; Beautiful Girl; Drooly McGee; Queen Diva of the Warren; The Braun; Piggy (she gets all excited and snorts while trying to find treats by smell); Crayola Ears (she gets a lot of wax build up in her ears and it has to be cleaned out); Superbunny (she'll sit with her front legs stuck way out, more than in the Sphinx pose); Needle Nails (her nails curl down, so they poke me like pins when she jumps on me sometimes)

I'll add more as I think of them.

Mama

Let's Pretend

I took Calvin and Jessica to the vet last Sat. When we go out, I usually put them in the same carrier. It's big enough, and they can console each other that they're going somewhere. When we get home, I open the door and they go sprinting out and run into their "house."

Well, I've left the carrier door off and the carrier on the floor since last week's trip. Every night, both of them will hop into the carrier and stay inside of it for a while, presumably to eat the hay in the litter box inside of it. At least that's what I, as a rational human, think they're doing.

From their point of view, maybe they're playing "Let's pretend."

Jessica: I'm gonna pretend we're on our way to a carrot farm.

Calvin: I'm gonna pretend we're going to a raisin factory.

Jessica: That sounds good. I'll go with you.

Eventually, they hop back out of the carrier and into the living room as a whole. If they do go on a pretend trip, they never bring me back any pretend souveniers, so they have to have visited a destination that revolves around bunny treats. :-)

Mama

Jumping into the Third Dimension

The buns and I have recently moved from an apartment to a 2-floor townhouse. I had been eager to see what Jessica and Calvin would do when confronted with stairs. I figured that they'd be racing up and down them right away.

Well, Calvin has yet to brave the stairs, but Jessica had no fear either of the uncarpeted entry to the stairs (she was fostered in a home with hardwood floors) or the stairs themselves. She hopped halfway up them last night, then hopped back down. Then later last night, she hopped all the way up to the top. She explored the bedroom (tons of boxes everywhere), went back out into the hall, surveyed the bathroom from the hall, then hopped into the study. Even more boxes there, so she hopped back into the bedroom to explore a different route, and then hopped out and back down the stairs.

Tonight, Jessica has gone up and down the stairs a few times, including racing up the stairs taking them two at a time. (I wonder if I could convince her to carry a few boxes up with her ;-) Calvin, well, I tried to temp him onto the uncarpeted entryway with some dried papaya, but he wouldn't let his back end go off the carpet. He saw Jess hopping down the stairs, and he was startled. As much as Calvin jumps down from high places and explores stuff, it's funny that the stairs unsettle him so much. Maybe he figures that if there are monsters upstairs, let them eat Jess instead :-)

Mama

I guess Jess doesn't trust me

Every night, I hand Jessica her carrot, and she usually runs downstairs with it, thinking she's stealing Calvin's carrot or to keep him from eating hers. Anyway, I gave her a carrot the one night, and she dropped it and started to eat it on the 2nd floor. Well, it kept moving away from her as she tried to bite it, so I picked it up and held the pointy end toward her so she could take a bite. She bit of a piece, chewed, and then grabbed the carrot and ran downstairs with it. Did she think I was going to steal it? I like raw carrots, but not at 10:30 at night. Harumpf :-)

Mama

The Calvin 500, Carrots, and Gravity

Last night, two funny things happened. I was sitting on the floor reading for class, and Calvin came snooping through. Usually when he does this, it means that he's about to go racing around the apartment (run the Calvin 500). And he didn't disappoint. The funny part was, I was at the end of his one run, and he went leaping over me then stopped. He turns around, jumps over me again, and then uses me to kick off the next sprint. I was laughing so hard. Now, he's run into me before (which is why if he's out, I either try not to get up and move around or I announce "Mama walking" so he might know where I am), but I've never been purposely included in the Calvin 500 racetrack :-)

At salad time last night, I handed Jessica her carrot (which she usually steals and runs downstairs with). Well, she drops it, and it goes downstairs. She'll often run down after it, so I was busy straightening the hay in the litterbox after I gave Calvin his carrot. Then, I reached downstairs to get Jess's carrot to give back to her. Well, as I look up, she takes Calvin's carrot and runs downstairs with it. So, I gave him Jess's. I guess I didn't return Queen Diva of the Warren's carrot fast enough. I need more training so I can serve her Royal Fuzziness promptly :-)

Mama

Give me an O, an A, a T...

The other day, I finished up one of the 18oz. "cans" of oatmeal, which I give to Calvin and Jessica as a treat. (Yes, I know it's not that great for them, but they don't get much oatmeal or get it that often.)

On a whim, I wondered if Calvin would stick his head into the can to eat the oatmeal. So yesterday, I made a little pile of oatmeal for Jess to keep her out of the way and put a little in the empty can to see what Calvin would do.

I took these photos today. As you can see, Calvin had no problem sticking his head into the can (and I held the bottom so he wouldn't get stuck). Yesterday, he'd come up for air while chewing but, since Jessica wanted oatmeal, too, I think he tried to eat as much as he could before taking his head out of the can.


As you can see, she didn't have any problems with sticking her head into it, either.

Later, I gave them some dried papaya so I could get good photos of the "begging" faces that they do. Here's Jessica's:











And here's Calvin's:





And a cute picture of Calvin in general.



I love these two guys!! :-) So many great rabbits like Calvin and Jessica are abandoned at shelters each year or, worse yet, turned loose to fend for themselves. And with Easter approaching, the numbers of both will go up. Please adopt - don't buy a rabbit, and learn about what a bun needs to be happy and healthy before bringing one home. They are such wonderful animals and are worth every minute I spend with them (and then some!). :-)

Mama

Ears redux

Tonight, I cleaned Jessica's and Calvin's ears. And again, Calvin is a very unhappy rabbit. He and Jess are laying side by side in their house right now, and his ears are pinned back. I think from his gaze that I should have gone up in flames by now or fallen into a bottomless pit.

I wonder how long he'll be mad at me this time.

Mama

Bunny Smarts

I know I often make it sound like the rabbits don't have much in the way of brains. For example, they don't understand gravity (if either Calvin or Jessica starts to eat something at the top of the ramp leading down to the first floor of their cage, that food inevitably goes rolling down the ramp). However, they do some pretty smart things sometimes.

The smartest thing I see Jessica do is keep ahold of her lettuce as she eats it. She'll put a foot down on it so it doesn't flail around or anything as she chomps. With her holding the lettuce, she can rip off pieces with a fling of her head.

Another genius move of Jessica's is how to get attention. One day, she was nibbling on some boxes out here in the living room. I was sitting at my computer, and I kept telling her to stop. She kept doing it, so I finally got up and went over to her. Well, she looks at me, turns, and goes leaping and dancing off, as if to say "Ha ha. Made you get up."

Calvin's brains seem to always be cooking up a new trick to try. One night, I was upset and really stressed out about a final exam for a class. (This was before Jessica joined us.) I had opened the cage and was sitting on the floor in front of the TV and, I'll admit it, crying. I happen to look over at Calvin the very moment he launches himself from his cage (about 18 inches from the arm of the couch), lands on some mail sitting on top of my backpack, and "surfs" on the mail until he drops to the couch cushions and stops about three inches from my face. I almost died of laughter! He had this smug little expression on his face, like "I did it! I'm so great!" I asked him, with tears of joy in my eyes, how long he had been planning that.

Anyone who thinks rabbits are boring or stupid needs to meet my two!

Mama

Jessica, the Radicchio Rustler

I like to buy a variety of salad items for Calvin and Jessica, and one favorite of theirs is radicchio. Radicchio sort of looks like red cabbage except that it's red and not purplish. I will peel leaves off of the head to give them to eat until the head is smaller than my fist, at which time I'll give them the rest of the head, whole.

Well, it should come as no surprise that Jessica usually grabs the head and runs downstairs with it, leaving Calvin on the second floor of the cage wondering where the tasty radicchio went. If I remember, I peel off a chunk before I put the head into their cage, so when Jessica grabs it and runs off, I have some to hand to Calvin (much like how Jessica now steals her own carrot while still thinking she's stealing Calvin's - see #1 under Tails of Sibling Rivalry in the Sept. 05 archive.)

The buns are good at sharing the litterbox, water bowl, etc., but when it comes to food, there is no such thing as yours and mine or his and hers. It's all Jessica's :-)

Mama

Calvin: "Whut happened?"

I wasn't feeling well today, so I stayed home from work. When I'm home during the day, on weekends and vacation days, etc., I usually let the rabbits out to run around or to lie behind pieces of furniture. (I always think that when I let them out of their house, their first thought is "Yeah, I can now lie down somewhere else for a while instead of just here in my house.")

Rabbits will "flop" - fling themselves onto their sides and sleep deeply for a while. Jessica loves to do it behind my recliner. Calvin did it the other day at the bottom of the ramp leading to the first floor of his house, making it look like he fell and injured himself or something. (I knew he was only flopped, but I laughed, which made him sit up and look at me as if to ask me why I ruined a perfectly good flop.)

Anyway, Calvin likes to lie on the little magazine shelf under the coffee table. It's about 2 inches off the floor. (Jessica often lies behind the coffee table and sets her head on the shelf, so it's a good bunny height.) This afternoon, I hear a thump, so I look over and Calvin had flopped on the magazine shelf, and he lay there licking his front feet. Well, his fur and the wooden table usually equal sliding, and he was close enough to the edge of the shelf that he accidently fell off. He turned over onto his feet and looked at me like "Whut happened? I was licking my feet and just lying there, minding my own business, and now I'm on the floor." I wonder if he thought I did something to make him fall. Um, no, I was sitting and reading a book for class, so he only has himself to blame.

I have to teach these guys about gravity, I think.

Mama

All is Forgiven

Hurray! Calvin is talking to me again :-) He started acting more normal around me last night - no running away, no cowering away from me. He actually approached me a few times to see what I was doing, especially when I was cleaning their litterbox.

I'm so glad to be on my bunny boy's good side again! :-)

Mama

Still in the Bunny House

Boy, can Calvin carry a grudge! Now Jessica I know will. I came home on Valentine's Day last year and pulled Jess out to give her a hug. For a week and a half, she'd stomp her foot and run to the first floor of her cage, thinking that I was gonna pull her out and hug her again.

Hopefully Calvin will forgive me soon. He's still shooting me looks that could kill. Sigh.

Mama

Oh, and....

Calvin's not talking to me. Usually when I give him a head rub (or barely stroke his head), he grinds his teeth, a bunny way of saying that they are very happy. Well, I got no grinding when I gave him the special "after ear cleaning" head rub, and I got none when I just petted him. In fact, he gave me the cold shoulder. I'll have to get into his good graces tomorrow night, for it's bed- and salad-time right now.

Mama

Mama's Side of the Story

I knew Calvin wouldn't be happy with getting his ears cleaned. But Dr. Horton saw wax in his ears on his annual checkup, so he gets to get them cleaned every so often, my lucky little guy.

I couldn't believe how different his ears were from Jess's. Hers are a lot longer and wider, so it was easy to clean them. His are narrower and since he wanted them pinned down, they were more constricted than they probably usually are, too. I figured he'd fight, and he did, but hopefully it'll get easier. Jess has given into the procedure, and he won't get them cleaned often enough to adapt, probably.

And Jessica is still licking his head. I didn't think he'd actually get sympathy from Queen Diva of the Warren, but I'm sure he'll milk it for all it's worth :-)

Mama

Calvin: "I am SO offended!"

Mama cleaned my ears tonight! Me!! My beautiful uppy ears were violated with smelly ear cleaning stuff and horrible cotton swabs. I couldn't believe it. She cleaned Jessica's ears first but, well, Jess always gets her ears cleaned, so I wasn't too suspicious when she grabbed me and carried me into the kitchen. When she wrapped me in the towel, I thought, "Hmm, what manner of evil is this?" but didn't struggle. In fact, I poked my head out and checked out the kitchen counter. Then, Mama grabbed the bottle that smelled like Jess after she gets her ears cleaned.

The liquid being put into my ears wasn't too bad, but when she started wielding the cotton swabs, I fought. I didn't growl like I usually do if she starts messing with my feet, but I wiggled and shook. After she was done and unwrapped the towel, I shot Mama a look of pure annoyance. She tried to placate me with what she called a "special head rub" that I guess she gives Jess afterwards, too, but I wasn't having any of it.

She gave me two papaya/pineapple treats before putting me back into my house with Jessica, but that didn't make up for the indignity. I always sympathize with Jessica when she gets her ears cleaned, but she was busy licking her own pride to pay me much attention. But now, though, she's giving me a good head licking, so I guess that is sort of okay. Sort of.

Calvin