Happy Rabbit Awareness Week!

In honor of Rabbit Awareness Week, I asked my rabbity friends what they love most about their bunnies. Here's what they told me!

• "Their feisty personalities behind all that cute fluff." - Laerke
• "I love them both for different reasons. I love my sweet little Bunbun because I don't care what kind of day I have had, when I scoop her up and nestle her in my neck she calms me instantly because she is so very timid that my focus changes to calming her and reassuring her and in that act itself, I become calm. We breathe together and comfort each other. My feisty Chubs is such an aggressive girl(sometimes) that she teaches me patience and perseverance and how to earn trust. She has taught me also that sometimes what appears to be aggression is just masking fear and that translates into humans as well. So slowly the 3 of us are just making our little way together, and I love them for being my life teachers." - Ann
• " I love everything about them...and I honestly can't come up with a #1 reason!" - Kathy
• "The bromance when they snuggle together stretched out feet out." - Cera
• "Their spirit." - Bean
• "Their personalities. They are full to brimming with unexpected spunk and sweetness." - Ginger
• "Everything about them! I can be having a horrible day - a few minutes watching them in action and my day suddenly becomes wonderful!" - Gail

I second what everybody above said! When I brought Fitzi home almost nine years ago, I had no idea what I was in for - in the best possible way. She's so full of spunk and personality! Hemingway, Alex and Paddington also brought their own unique personalities into my life and made it so much better. Sure, I provide them with hay and food and greens (and have cleaned more litter boxes than I care to think about), but I'm the lucky one to have them in my life. The love they give and the joy they bring is boundless.

A Precious, Then Piddly, Moment

I don't think there's anything more precious in the world than a binky from an elder bun. Fitzi will be nine in October and she's definitely slowing down. She has arthritis in her hips and moves around more gingerly, so when I catch her in those moments of unabashed joy when she leaps into the air and twists her hind legs, it warms my heart.

When I was getting ready this morning, Fitzi was "helping" me. She was underfoot in my walk-in closet and happily making a "perka-perka-perka" noise as she explored my shoe rack while I tried to find something to wear. Then she leaped straight into the air in a top-notch binky.

"Aww, Fitzi, that's my girl!" I exclaimed. I reached down to pick her up for a cuddle...and she peed on my foot. Did I mention she's starting to have more accidents as she gets older? In true Fitzi style, she also managed to pee on a pair of pants and a dry-clean-recommended sweater.

So there you have it. In a singular moment, I saw the young bunny still inside my elderly girl and was reminded that she's becoming more fragile. After I got the pee off my foot and tossed my clothes in the washer, I took time to give her a long snuggle with extra kisses on her sweet head.

Clothes (and feet) can be washed. Precious moments need to be treasured.

Ice, Ice Paddy

It's HOT here in Illinois. In grand Midwestern tradition, it has gone from 60 degrees to 95 degrees in the space of a week. I had a coworker who was a transplant from California and couldn't understand how temperatures could shift so quickly. I explained it with one word: "Illinois."

It was a comfortable 61 when I left the house this morning, so I didn't turn on the air conditioner. I feel like as soon as the A/C goes on, it doesn't come off until September, and I find myself missing the fresh air blowing in through the open windows. Throughout the course of the day, the temperature crept up to 95. I was in a cool office building, but the bunnies were stuck in my apartment all day. When I finally got home, I was greeted by three warm, cranky long-eared monsters.

I immediately went to get them ice cubes. Alex and Fitzi immediately set to playing with and licking theirs, but Paddington regarded his like it was some sort of foreign being. Is it possible he never encountered ice cubes in his last home?

Pad approached his cube and gingerly stuck out one paw. It must have chilled his toes because he leapt back immediately. He hid in his cardboard playhouse and stared at the cube. Twice more he ventured out and swatted at the cube, only to beat a hasty retreat. While he considered his plan of attack, the cube slowly melted. By the time he had a foolproof plan for conquering his frosty foe, it had disappeared completely and left behind nothing more than a small puddle.

Padding peered around, wondering if maybe the enemy had snuck into his litter box or hidden under his blanket. He's still not sure what happened, but he's darn sure he doesn't like it.