We've been Disapproved!!!

It's official, Mr. Mick is a Disapproving Rabbit . Needless to say, we are quite proud of this achievement, although it's already gone to somebunny's head; he's wanting some extra treats and the run of the house for the occasion.

Mr. Mick's Musings

Hey there, Mickey here. I told Mum that I wanted to do the post for Easter Bunday, and she said that was fine with her.

First off, I want to mention some bunny-blog friends who have recently passed from this world. A fond farewell to my friends Ginny, Freckles and Sugie ; we were never pair-bonded on this earth, but we are bonded in spirit, and I know that you will be there to guide my way when it is my turn to make that journey. Mum and I send lots of love to you and your families.

Next, I want to thank everyone for spreading the word that live rabbits do not make good Easter gifts, but do make wonderful pets for the right people who do the research and learn how to be respectful and loyal bunny-slaves.

On the homefront, I recently had my first outdoor exercise session of the year. We had some warm weather last week, so Mum set up my exercise pen. Here's a couple of videos she shot for the occasion:



Mum says her voice sounds funny because she was still getting over that virus she had. I say it's because she's telling stories about me and the grass--I knew darn well it was edible before, it just wasn't as tasty as this year's grass.



What she should have mentioned is that there were all these nasty birds making noise while we were outside! I kept thumping at them to tell them to shut up, but they just kept on squawking and squawking. Mum was worried that the birds were scaring me, but I wasn't scared, I was ticked off! Stupid birds. Mum said she'd never seen me thump so much in my life. I say those birds had better watch their beaks next time I'm out there.

On another topic, what is it with you people and your litterboxes? I don't care if you watch me when I'm using mine, so why can't I watch you when you're using yours?! The Big Guy just had a fit when I went into the bathroom to say hi and see what he was doing; he made Mum shoo me out! How rude! I should have humped his foot while I was in there.

Uh-oh, Mum's coming at me with that look in her eyes. She's been plucking at my fur a lot lately. She says it's because I'm shedding and she can't stand to see all the little sticking-out bits of fur. I think she just wants my fur for something. Doesn't she get enough of it when she grooms me?

Here she comes--I'm out of here. Happy Easter, everybun, and don't forget to email me--especially if you're a cute and single ladybun.

Nose bonks,
Mickey

The benefits of being sick

Actually, there's no benefit to being sick...unless you're Mr. Mick and it's your bunny-mum who is sick.

A couple of weeks ago, I got hit out of the blue by a virus; swollen glands, sore throat, earache, low-grade fever, coughing, and general misery. Fearing that it might be strep throat (to which I am highly prone) and not wanting to suffer more than necessary, I immediately went to the doctor's.

Good news: no strep

Bad news: no quick-fix. A virus can only be waited out; you can take pain relievers or other meds/treatments to alleviate the symptoms, but not much else. This particular virus, I was told, usually lasts about 4-5 days.

So I spent the next 4-5 days glued to my living room couch because I was too miserable to do much else. I used my cell phone to check email, read bunny blogs and post occasionally on Facebook and Twitter, but otherwise I laid there, occasionally watched TV and slept.

The menfolk were not much help; they generally try to avoid dealing with sick people unless they're the ones who are sick (and then they want 24-hr. attention because they are DYING, dammit). Fortunately, I had the best of bedside care from Dr. Mick, who was happy to sit on my chest for three hours and lick my face for the small price of an ear rub. He was also more than happy to take advantage of the fact that, because I was not able to sit at the computer, he got to have access to the living room for a few days.



It always amazes me how excited he gets when he gets to go in there. I swear that lazy bunneh never runs so much or so hard as when he's in the living room. Our dining room (his regular exercise space) is nearly twice the size of the living room, and he very rarely runs full-tilt in there unless he's running one of his Bunneh 500 laps from the living room to the dining room to the kitchen and then back into the living room. You'd think the newness of the territory would wear off after a while, but it never does. He's even expanded his repertoire of living room activities to include leaping up beside me on the couch, which only gets him picked up and set back on the floor again. (The main reason he's not allowed in the living room unless strictly supervised: the first time he ever hopped up on the couch, he peed on it.)

Sure enough, after about 5 days, I was feeling about 95% better. I've still got a bit of a cough, and my voice still has a little rasp to it, but I can function normally again. I'm back on the computer, which means the living room is once again off-limits for the most part to Mr. Mick, so now I get to hear the sound of a grumpy bunneh shaking the baby gate that blocks his way every night.

Spot the Bunneh

Where's Mickey?

Give up?

Here he is!

Foo' wabbit.

I bought these mini-bales of hay from BinkyBunny.com (one young oat, one orchard) and they are a perfect fit for Mick's cage. I wasn't sure if he was going to like them or not, but since he had his teeth done, he's been going to town on the oat bale. Apparently the only thing he doesn't like, though, is where I put it--I had it up against the  right side of the cage and he keeps moving it out to where you see it. I'm tempted to switch it with the orchard bale (which is next to his throne and he hasn't touched it yet) to see what he'll do.

More assorted stuff--with videos!

WOOHOO! IT'S BASEBALL SEASON!

GO YANKEES!

It's also snowing right now, and supposed to snow all night and through tomorrow. BOO-HISS!

At least it held off so I didn't have to cancel Mickey's quarterly trip to the vet's to get his molars filed earlier. It went just fine, no problems--his vet said he looks great, and Mickey immediately started munching on some hay as soon as I got him home and back in his cage, so it was definitely a successful vet visit. (Of course, it would have been even better had I not had to give somebunny a butt bath before we went to the vet's because he insisted on sitting in his cecum instead of eating it.)

Mr. Mick went a little thump-happy the other night, and for once, I caught it on video. I was at the computer (as always) when this loud *THUMP* nearly startles me out of my chair. I looked down, and there was Mr. Mick sitting on the floor mat next to my desk. His ears were pointed forward and he was staring intently at something in the direction of my living room. He thumped again, and I asked him what his problem was--and then reached for my Flipcam. I wasn't sure if he would actually thump again while I was filming him, so when he did, it startled me, and you'll see that on the video:

Lord only knows what goes on in that bunneh brain. He was fine after a couple minutes of petting, and bopped around for a bit before he noticed the basil plant that I had bought him. He sniffed it for a bit before finally deciding it was worth a nibble:



By the time I put him back in his cage, he'd eaten half of it. I'm either going to have to buy him another one or let this one grow a little more before he gets it again.

Mickey was also introduced to chard yesterday, and it seemed to go over quite well. I was hoping to introduce fennel into his diet, but the fennel available at my grocery store just looked too wilty. A lot of what's been available for produce that Mick likes hasn't been of great quality around here, which is why I've been introducing some new things so that I can offer him more good stuff. By the way, does anyone know how much of a fennel plant a rabbit can eat? I know the green top part is bunny-worthy, but what about the white bulb-like part?

Speaking of food, somebunny is noodging me, so I suppose I'd better get this posted and get him back in his cage and fed.