Wayne's World: Extreme Closeup

The art of the flop

Flops: the physical expression of a comfortable, happy and relaxed bun. They can happen anywhere, anytime and when you least expect it. Its a sign that your bun is comfortable enough around you to let their guard down. You are one of them now.

Rabbits being prey animals are often always on alert so for them to flop in your presence is a great compliment.

There are many flops, the side, the loaf, the stretch, and the ever elusive roll off a ledge in the mooi. (That I wish I had a picture of. It happened this morning with Wiggles of course, but I didn't have my camera ready) 

Here are just some of my faves. As you can tell, some buns, mainly Wiggles, likes to do her napping in quite public spaces (as opposed to Connor who likes to nap in the closet, under the ottoman or on a quiet spot on the bed). Wayne rarely sleeps, he just takes random breaks from playing, running and getting into bun trouble. 

Flop in the box: Notice the bely, the partially eaten cardboard...and the head tilt. We have a sleeping bun here.

The "I've fallen asleep in the sun" flop. One of my personal favourites.

The "I just got startled by the birds chirping so I'm gong to raise my ears in case they alert me to the presence of the squirrel in the front yard so that I may wake and defend my turf" flop. Notice the closed eyes and the perked ears.

The "I've tanned my belly long enough, Im gonna rotate to the other side" flop.

The stretch flop: "I'm too lazy or my belly is too full for me to flop so I will just super-bun it". I love the dangling legs.

The "I just begged and cutted my way into loads of treats and my belly is full so I'm just gonna flop here" flop.

The Super Bun: "I just ran around a whole bunch doing hops, sproings, binkies, side binkies, and some random two wheelies and I'm a bit pooped right now so I will rest my belly on the cold floor" flop.

The side flop: Same as above, but to the side. Note the legs.

Super Bun on the bed. Again, note the dangling legs and the partially eaten carrot tops.

The Loaf or Stealth Bun: Notice the perfectly sleek and rounded loaf. 

The Follow the Sun Flop: Ok, so there is no room to actually flop, otherwise she will be on the floor, but there she is, on the window ledge, enjoying the sun with the lava rock.

The bed flop, while Connor keeps lookout. Note that Connie has also managed to dig a hole though the pillows making a tunnel. He also manages to dig into the mattress releasing its deep underbelly and a new world of mattress maze to explore. More on that later.

The bay window flop: Belly is fully visible so its a legitimate flop.

Things that go thump in the night...and the dishwasher.

I awoke at around 4 in the morning to a bun thumping their hind feet. They were very loud thumps followed by some scampering on the linoleum floor into the rabbit bedroom. My husband got up to take a look.

Apparently Wiggles had been on her nightly hunts in the kitchen looking for fallen scraps of carrot tops, cheerios, pretty much anything I may have missed mopping up the day before, when the dishwasher, set on its 4 hour delay went off startling her. Poor little bunny got scared and ran into her room knocking over the food dish spreading rabbit kibble all across the bedroom floor.

I am not sure if she does this nightly, looking for food in the kitchen rather than make bun sized messes. All I know for certain, is that if we don't wake precisely before 7am every morning, Wiggles will very loudly and with little finesse, open our bedroom door by chewing it (naturally) gallop her way into our room (you can hear her nails on the floor, an identifying sound unique only to her) and proceed to chew on one of the baskets in our room...loudly, very loudly. This naturally gets my husband up, because I tend to be zombie like in the morning, and he goes in the kitchen to make some coffee or espresso (my elixir of life). Well, Wiggles thus follows him galloping along, weaving in between his feet making her presence known. She then waits by the green carpet by the sink for some food. Now if you don't feed her right away, she will just keep following you, charging full speed towards your feet as you make your way from one side of the kitchen to the other. Still not in full comprehension of how linoleum, velocity and fluffy little feet make for a slippery surface,  she will often collide with your ankle leaving a wet little unintended rabbit kiss. If that doesn't work, will then nose bump you or constantly be underfoot until you give in and offer her breakfast.

But its not a simple meal mind you. Its not just a couple of cheerios, a shreddies square, or her oatmeal cereal. She wants more, always more. Lettuce, carrot tops, whatever is available. And if she does not feel like lettuce that morning, she will look at it disapprovingly, almost as if saying "Really, this is it? But I don't want lettuce, I want more cheerios" but begrudgingly accept once she realizes you don't have anything else to offer.

I often wonder what other shenanigans they get up to. Connor for instance is the quiet type. I KNOW he gets into funny bunny things at night. I once found him sitting on the highest part of the couch in the middle of the night, as soon as he saw me he scampered away as if I had discovered his secret desire to watch TV with us. Wayne does something similar, however his layer is downstairs, he has full reign over the basement. I would love to set up a bun cam to record all this. I might undercover the mysterious fluffy underbelly of the house rabbit world.

Hoppy Holidays

Hoppy Holidays. Nothing like clearing the driveway by making snow people and snow buns...just easier that way...except the ears, man this are hard to make. Happy Holidays everyone. It now feels more like Christmas with the snow on the ground. And I was REALLY tempted to do some sort of Calvin and Hobbes themed setup. Maybe next snowfall.

Connor: Part deux.

I realize I've posted a lot of Wiggles pics. Frankly its because she likes to hang around. Connor, on the other hand, is a much shyer, quitter and delicate bun.

So I am focusing a post on him and him alone....

This is Connor eating broccoli for the first time. Broccoli is not always recommended for buns, since it may cause gas, which is bad for their delicate digestive systems. However, I have found throughout the years that ALL of my buns LOVE LOVE LOVE broccoli, especially  their leaves. This is Mr. Connie who is always the most proper when it comes to eating food, DIGGING into a florette of broccoli.

Mr. Connie and Mr. Wiggy munching on a bowl of parsley, carrots and some celery (just because Wiggy can't get enough).

Connie is really shy and oh so delicate. But LOVES being petter. Here he is sitting on my lap waiting to be petted. 

Snow Bun

When it snows, Wiggles sits by the door indicating she wants out. Well, she does that when according to her we don't feed her enough and needs to go outside to munch on leaves and twigs she is not supposed to. This is her sitting in the windowsill, (something she often does while gazing outside and alarming us when the local squirrel is on our property threatening the safety of the family) being offered a snowball by my husband. In typical Wiggles fashion, she naturally must try it.

Wiggles, in her happy place. Flopped, warm and belly full.

Happy Hoppy!

I dont understand how one could abandon a creature as loving as him. Found in a banks parking lot, my neighbour brought him home. All I did was ask if she needed help. Well, no one had even come to inquire about him despite her posters, so, he became part of our family.

He was so thin and dirty when I picked him up. I fed him right away and let him settle into his new home.  He has since doubled his weight, gotten a lot more comfortable around the house and his feet are now very clean. He is very energetic and intelligent and loves to play chase. He will poke your feet if you don't chase him. He also loves being petted and enjoys our company.

Still boggles my mind that people think its ok to release a domestic rabbit into the wild. These are house rabbits, not wild ones and therefore have no skills to survive in the wild.

Please don't release your unwanted house rabbit in the wild. So you decided to get a cute little bunny for easter for your niece, and you now realize that they are a bit more of a responsibility than you presumed.

You can't just keep them locked up in a cage ....ok, more on that later...but regardless, you no longer want this bun. There are a lot of options, shelters, rabbit rescue groups, you can give them to.

Please don't release them into the wild. If it wasn't for our neighbour Wayne would have either starved to death, gotten hit by a car, or eaten by a wild animal.

Have common sense.

Wiggles LOVES to go galloping outside. Connor is too scared, so he will just watch her cautiously creeping his way closer and closer to the door.

Nutmeg: The 25 pound Flemish Giant

Nutmeg, my lovely Flemish Giant. He was also a shelter bun. I was living in Waterloo when I had a dream about a rabbit waiting for me at a shelter. I can't say that I am someone who believes in random messages though dreams, but I couldn't shake it. I decided to call the shelter. Lo and behold, they had one rabbit. When I went to see him I knew I couldn't leave him there. He took up half the cage and didn't have enough room to move. So on my student budget, I went out and got the biggest cage I could (Which I had to return a few days later because that wasn't big enough either). I brought Nutmeg home much to the surprise of my housemates. I soon realized I couldn't keep him cooped up in student housing so my mom took him for me. She was never a huge fan of pets, and this one was by far the largest. She and my dad ended up bonding with this rabbit so much. He became their third child. He would have almonds with  my dad in the morning and then hop into bed beside my mom until she woke up. Believe it or not he grew even more. This is a 'baby' picture of him. You can tell by the ears, they are WAY too big for his body. He grew into those as well maxing out at 25 pounds. This is a classic Nutmeg pose. Being somewhere is he not supposed to be. Well, its quite ingenious really. Where did my mom keep the fresh fruit and veggies? On the dining room table of course. This is Nutmeg waiting for the arrival of the bowl of many fruits. You can see just how big he is by the size of the newspaper beside him.

He only lived a year and a half however he left a lasting impression on all of those who were lucky enough to have met him. They call his breed gentle giants because that is really what they are. Smart, funny and truly a wonderful bunny. To this day I hope that my path once again crosses with such a loving soul.

Wiggles will always find the sun. This is her sitting on the ledge of the window. I have no idea how she fit. But she loves warming in the sun and will always find a way to get to it. The look of contentment in her eyes describes it better than I ever could.

Wiggles started growing back her whiskers when she started living with us. Its a great attempt however not as majestic as Connors.

Connor, his first night with us. The Smallest bun I've known. So delicate and gentle. So loving. He fit into my husband's palm. He was 6 weeks old when we got him. 

Wayne. Loves being petted on the head. He will lift his head to enjoy the pets and love.

Bonding is for real! Wiggles and Connor have bonded for life.

Its hard to bond buns. Especially those with bun problems. Wiggles and Connor hesitantly bonding.

Connor butt!

Wayne. He is the most active and happy bun I've known. Merry Bun Mass Wayne. I love you and thank you for being in my life.

Wiggles turned 5 in December.  I don't think she had quite a b-day like this. Shredded carrots and lettuce with lit candle. The tricky part was to keep her away from the candle so she wouldn't singe the few whiskers she had.

Connor, after his surgery. He ate the cone, and he kibble. Such a strong bun.

Bun tracks in the first snow.

Love over cereal. Area rugs around the house are known food spots for the buns. When we give them anything, they will gallop with the food in their mouth towards a carpeted spot to feast on. Wiggles and Connor will wait on this particular carpet for their cereal in the morning. Cereal consisting of oats, bit of raisins and some sunflower seeds. You can imagine what goes first. Wiggles being the little Dyson she is will eat up all the raisins and seeds before Connie can get to them. However he has learned that he needs to eat quick or get left with nothing but oats when dining with Wiggy. 

The Flop:
Sometimes bad bunnies become so comfortable, that they hang out with you in the middle of the day and show you just how floppy and happy they can be.

Wiggles in her Mooi by the windowsill. She will often flop in the sun. She adores being warm and it gets quite hot in that thing. 

She can flop quite well too and snuggle with Connie when she is in a sharing mood, which is not often.
Its hard to find a toy for a rabbit that they will actually use. The Mooi is by far one of her favourite places to crash.