Bunny Update

     So its been a couple of weeks since the discovery of baby bunnies in my backyard, and I am glad to announce that they are doing well! Everyday around dusk, my family and I see the little bunnies joyfully eating and romping around in the grass.There are a couple of generations around and you can see the variance in size between them. Even though they all have been spotted happily munching my mom's flowers on a couple of occasions, I'm ecstatic that they are thriving! One odd quirk about them is that the young ones have an alarming trust of humans and dogs. They don't flee when one of my family or our dogs come near and only hop away if we are withing five or six feet. Of course, my family and I would never hurt them, but there are lots of wild animals and dogs and people who would. Because of this, I really hope they stick around my house, and I also  enjoy seeing them every day munching and roaming around in the grass!

Cute Video of Pie

Here is an adorable video of Pie eating...

Hello Again!

It's been quite a while since I last posted! Summer is well on its way, considering its already July 25!

 Here are some pictures of Sunny and Charlie peacefully sunning themselves on a beautiful afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

For the Fourth of July, my family and I went on a road trip, so Sunny and Charlie took a trip to the local boarding kennel and a close friend of mine kindly came over every day to take care of Pie and Midnight. On the way to the kennels, the little guys were not well behaved. Sunny was quite stressed and howled and or whimpered the entire way there with no avail from me to try and comfort him. Charlie was quiet which helped because all my attention was focused on trying to calm Sunny. Anyways, we got to the kennels and it appeared that Sunny had finally calmed down and seemed to be curious about where he was. It seemed like they both had forgotten that this was the dreaded place where they went every year for a haircut. I was in charge of getting Charlie in the door which was predetermined in my mind to be quite simple. It was all great until he got his front legs into the doorway...then he realized where he was and shot out of there backwards like the place was on fire! Luckily I had a tight grip on the leash otherwise he would have made a mad dash for freedom! I was so embarrassed but the guy who brought them to the back was very nice and just laughed. I was very sad to have to leave them both for a week, but they were in great hands and it was a welcome sight to see them running up to greet us when we came back with their tails wagging and tongues hanging out!

     My bunnies were quite well behaved on the other hand and my friend said they gave her no trouble. I knew that they would be good; for rabbits, they are both quite social and one sure way to win their hearts is to come with yogurt chips stashed in your pockets! They are both quite trusting when it comes to me and my family going out and feeding them or giving them grass throughout the day, but I wasn't sure how they would be if a stranger came and fed them. I didn't know if they would hide away and get really scared or try to escape, but luckily neither of those events happened.

Baby Bunny Saga

     It all started when one day about a month ago; I let Sunny and Charlie out to do their business in the yard. Soon I was alerted by some barks that there was a little creature trying desperately to be camouflaged in tall grass. My first thought was that it was a mouse or vole, but upon further inspection I realized that it was a baby bunny! I didn't know whether to try and take the bunny into our house and nurture it, or to leave it in case the mother was going to come back. I read online that if you touch baby bunnies their mother won't take them back, and I also read that it's really hard to raise wild baby bunnies so I was apprehensive about disturbing this little guy. After checking on the little guy for the next few hours, I saw that he seemed to be breathing without difficulty and decided to wait until the next morning and see if the mother would return. The next morning, I woke up early and went out to see if the little visitor was still there or if he had been swept away by his mother. Unfortunately, the little bunny was still there, however the good news was that he was still alive and breathing. My next move was to search for a nest of some sort that the bunny may have strayed from and now was lost and couldn't find his way back. After my search provided no hint of a nest, I started to walk back to my house and get a box ready and bring the little guy inside. On a stroke of luck, I happened to look down and spotted a patch of fur. It was a nest of baby bunnies!!! Quickly, I scooped up the lone baby bunny in a pair of gardening gloves that I rubbed vigorously in the grass to try to disguise the scent and placed him in the nest with the others. Right away, he wiggled right to the middle of the group and seemed to be at home.After covering up the nest with the fur and grass which were originally concealing it, I hoped that the mother was still taking care of the babies. 

 Over the next week or so, I periodically checked on the bunnies and they seemed to be fine up until the day that I went to see them and 

they were gone. I figured that they were old

 enough to leave the nest and the mother had

 relocated them, and luckily I was right. 

A few weeks later, I spotted the whole family eating fresh, green grass in our backyard. The whole family are alive and doing well!:)

The Snake

     The other day, my family and I were playing bocce ball. The object of the game is to be the person whose large green or red ball is closest to a little white ball that is thrown first. As we were strolling towards the cluster of bocce balls, a gigantic snake suddenly appeared next to my brother's feet and started slithering away from where my brother was stepping. Screaming and running ensued, but we finally went back to get a closer look at this snake. It was about three feet long with a yellow and brown patterned skin. What really worried me was this snake kept rattling it's butt like a rattle snake would do when it feels threatened, but I wasn't sure if there were any in my area. I looked on google and I found out that two types of poisonous snakes are found in my area, one happening to be the timber rattler. Luckily, the snake did not fit the pictures of timber rattlers, so I figured that this was a different species. Species of snakes, such as the milksnake, have rattling tails as a defense mechanism because animals contribute that characteristic to poisonous, therefore leaving the reptile alone. This is definitely effective because my family and I left that snake alone!

N.E.W Excitement

     I'm so excited! I have just started volunteering at the N.E.W Zoo, which is a zoo near my house. Since I really enjoy being around animals, this is the perfect opportunity for me. Among the many activities that are available, there is Zoo Watch. Zoo watch is basically observing an animal in the zoom,(giraffe, emu, prairie dog, etc), and looking for any behavior out of the ordinary. My first day, I mostly did this activity, and it was so much fun! Animals that I watched were a red panda, moose, snow leopard, Japanese macaques, Canadian lynx, elk, and prairie dogs. It was really interesting to observe these majestic animals for a length of time because their personalities really show. The Japanese macaques were especially active, the young ones running around playing fetch and joyously sprinting through the water. They reminded me a lot of humans, the way they interacted with the others and how there was a tiny baby and as he explored, his mother sat nearby intently watching him and protecting him. The prairie dogs were quite interesting; they came out of their holes at around 4:00 pm and seemed to be very hungry! I really enjoyed watching them chew their hay and then stand up on their little hind legs when they were alerted that danger may be near. I also performed exhibit window washing and sweeping up the walkways. My day was filled with new excitement and I am overjoyed to be helping out at the zoo and learning new things along the way.

On a Nice Quiet Rabbit Stroll

     First rabbit-walking adventure of the summer! I am so happy! I always enjoy watching my bunnies hopping around, joyously exploring the wide open spaces outside of their confined home headquarters. Pie is the rabbit pictured here because I can only walk one at a time as a result of two bunnies loving to go in opposite directions and me only capable of traveling in one at a time. Rabbit-walking is an acquired skill; I am speaking from some experience! First of all, rabbits do not always enjoy being harnessed. It's quite scary for them to have foreign apparatuses strapped on, but luckily they get used to it relatively fast. Second, they do not always listen to the specific route that you had in mind. Basically, you are going where ever they wish and trying to keep them out of areas that they do not belong! Even though it can be tough to get the hang of it at first with learning how to direct them, the end is worth it when you can witness your babies having a great old time and just being carefree.

      An adventure-loving rabbit, Pie is quite amused by running all over the place;exploring minor details of the big picture called nature. Open areas are not well-liked by nature as a result of prey instincts to hide, so Pie is always to enter tall grass or underneath trees but I worry that she may escape because I don't tighten her harness too much. As a result of all the frantic running and eating as much grass as possible, every once in a while Pie likes to take a break and soak up some rays of sunshine. Here are some of the pictures I took on the journey although Pie wasn't too keen on posing!

Spaghetti Dinner

New Hair Cuts!

     As summer approaches, it was time for Sunny and Charlie to shed their heavy winter locks and get a new hot-weather do! Since they were a bit "over-grown" to say the least, we took them to the professionals. Every year, the same events occur. We load them into the car, they are scared and crying the whole way there, they are relieved when they are let out onto the immobile asphalt parking lot, waltz right into the groomers, stay there a couple of hours and come out looking unlike their normal selves. Even though this is a annual ritual, shock still washes over me as they come out for the first time. First reaction: who are these strange dogs? Second reaction: are these really my dogs? I have to admit they both look so cute I just want to scoop them up and squeeze them! Without the extra hair weighing them down, Sunny and Charlie have an easier time bounding up the stairs after each other and chasing each other in the yard. Because of Sunny's curled-over tail, the first few weeks are not enjoyable because his tail irritates his close-shaven

back. Here are some pics of my cuties with their new, stylish haircuts.

Grumpy Cat

These are some pretty hilarious photos! Tartar Sauce, nicknamed Grumpy Cat, is a cat with some pretty interesting facial expressions. Her grumpy expression isn't photo-shopped, either!The owners explain that Tartar Sauce is actually a very happy-go-lucky cat with a mellow personality. These are some of my favorite pictures of Grumpy Cat.

Weather is Warming Up!!!

     With all the snow the we have been getting, even into spring, its nice to see that it has finally stopped! All four of my adorable animals are enjoying the weather change as well! Sunny and Charlie enjoy being able to run around the yard and sniffing the grass that hasn't been visible for ages. Pie really loves eating newly grown grass and Midnight loves to run around their house without having huge snow piles in the way. Rain has been coming and going, which is bad for spring sports, but is quite wonderful for turning the grass green shades of beautiful.

The Liebster Award!

A huge thanks to Chou Chou Briard for the nomination! This award is for bloggers that have under 200 followers and want to get the word out about their blogs. The following is required: list the nominator’s blog with a link; answer a set of 11 questions asked by the nominator; provide a list of 11 random facts about yourself; nominate 11 qualified blogs (less than 200 followers) for the Liebster Award and let them know through a post on their blog page; provide a set of 11 questions for the nominated blogs to answer; display the award!

Questions:

1. Why do you have a pet blog? I have a blog featuring my four pets because I wanted to document all the going-ons that happen on a day-to-day basis.
2. Do you write for other blogs or websites?Nope!
3. Where do you live?I live in the United States, in a rural area with nature all around!
4. Why did you choose the breed/dog you blog with?Both of my dogs were given to us by people who were looking for good homes for them. Sunny is a Maltese-Bichon mix and Charlie is a Shih Tzu.
5. How often do you blog?I try to post as much as I can because there are always exciting things going on!
6. Do you have specific goals for your blog?I wouldn't say specific goals, just more of wanting to enjoy blogging and for others to also enjoy some of the things I write.
7. What is the most effective way you have increased traffic to your blog?Mostly just keeping up with the blog and visiting other great animal blogs!
8. Do you have other pets in your home?I have two somewhat-energetic dogs, Sunny and Charlie, and two wonderful rabbits, Pie and Midnight.
9. Do you work outside the home?What are you doing?Although I do not have a job at the moment, I am considering volunteering or getting a job this summer; basically anything to do with animals!
10. How old is your dog? Sunny turns 13 in May and Charlie turns 3 in May.
11. How old is your blog?Less than a year but going strong!

 Random Facts:

• I have a sweet spot in my heart for animals and always will!
• I love reading!
• Bucket list item #1- I've always wanted to travel around the world in 80 days like the book written by Jules Verne.
• My favorite color is blue
• My future goal in life is to become a veterinarian and maybe own my own practice.
• Bucket List Item #2- I really want to go way up north to the Arctic Circle to see the northern lights in their full majestic beauty!
• Sports that I play are softball and volleyball
• I really love driving even though I only just got my license!
• Cleaning isn't my thing, a dirty bedroom doesn't bother me!
• My favorite number is 7
• I've got a major sweet tooth!

 

Other Nominees:

1. Neshikot Chamot
2.  My Dog Sam - A Ruptured Disk & My Life on Wheels
3.  A Houseful of Rabbits
4.  I don't really know any others..but here's to all the other bloggers with not the longest of followers lists!

Happy Mother's Day!

War Horse

   The other day was the first time I have seen the movie War Horse, starring Jeremy Irvine as the main character, Albert. I really love this movie, with all the beautiful scenery and inspirational story line. The movie starts out with Joey, the horse, being born and growing up. Joey and Albert share many happy moments growing up, from learning to ride with a saddle to racing a car. The strong bond between the two main characters is tested when money troubles cause the selling of Joey for the use of  the military. It's a really heartbreaking scene when Joey is taken away because you can just imagine the over-whelming sadness that must consume Albert. Probably my favorite part of the movie, and there are a huge selection to choose from, would have to be when Joey is being rescued by two men from opposite feuding armies. It's really touching to see them stop the fighting for a moment while a poor, lonely, and scared horse is being rescued. Overall, I'm very impressed by this movie and would definitely recommend it to any animal-loving person!

Feeding Frensy

      Two times a day, either my brother and I feed our beloved bunnies. On the menu for most mornings are a combination of either carrots, bread, apples or a combination. Night time consists of pellets, hay, water, and carrots. Hay and water are always bountiful, and occasional yogurt chips are a favorite by both Pie and Midnight!
     At night, both bunnies are shut in their little house until morning, when they are let out to play all day! When we come for the night time feeding, we are eagerly greeted by curious bunnies looking for some yummy treats.
     There is no fear of strangers present when Pie and Midnight spot some munchies! In the top right picture you can see Midnight eating right from my hand, and she will do this with just about anyone who is quiet enough to let her come in her own time.
     Here are some pictures of my adorable babies being their cute and curious selves!

St. Patrick's Day (A Little Late)

   


















     



     Sorry for posting this so late but I've been very busy lately! These are some pictures from the St. Patrick's Day Parade that takes place everywhere in the town by which I live. Although it only lasts about 30 minutes, it's always fun to attend. Being from an Irish family, St. Patrick's Day is always a huge deal; bring out the corned beef, cabbage, Gaelic music and shamrock-covered apparel.

Happy Easter!

Road Trip!!

     The other day my mom and I were walking in the town I live near and we came upon this silver car with these two adorable dogs sitting on the back shelf waiting for the owner. The widows were open, although you can't really tell in the picture, so they had enough fresh air and were enjoying basking in the sun. The degree of tolerance of my pets to joy rides in cars varies between them. The most well behaved and most tolerant would most definitely be Midnight and Pie. They both have no problem with car rides, especially when they are allowed to explore the interior of the vehicle. Carrots, wheat bread crusts, hay and other goodies are also welcome perks when taking a trip. Charlie comes in at the middle of the pack; not unruly but also not an angel. Most of the time he is just too petrified to move or even make a sound, even though he is being cuddled and given praise the whole time for being such a good boy. He isn't a dog who likes to stick his head out the window; the wind rushing past his face and ruffling his hair isn't what he desires at all. Bringing up the rear is Sunny. It's odd that he freaks out so much in the car because he is always excited to get into the car; jumping up onto the seats, running from window to window, wagging his tail, etc. It's about two minutes into the ride where he starts to realize that it's a moving vehicle and that he's terrified! No amount of petting, coaxing, cooing, bribing, or fresh air will calm him down. Only when he is out of the car does he finally relax; rounding out the trip with relieving himself on the nearest open spot.

Spring Break!

     Hey everyone...spring break is here! It's a great time to relax, do some spring cleaning before Easter, hang out with friends, and spend time with our beloved pets! Have a great break everyone!

Great Product!!

    I absolutely love this waterless shampoo spray. Since it's not always good to get rabbits wet because they can catch colds really easily, this spray is the answer! For my rabbit's, I spray this on their fur and rub it in, and then brush them after. Afterwards, their fur is very nice and shiny, and they really enjoy all the attention and massage! This waterless shampoo spray is also great for cleaning dirty bottoms and muddy feet. I definitely reccommed this!

A Day In Winter Wonderland

    Today I had a great idea for a fun activity my rabbits could do to get some exercise and fun....romping around in the snow! Both Pie and Midnight love to dig in the freshly fallen snow....flakes flying everywhere! Where I live it has been snowing quite a lot and has just stopped in the last few days, so there was a good 12 inches of snow for my bunnies to play in! Midnight especially loves to mow down on some fluffy snow in the process of exploring and digging! Pie, the more adventurous one, was trying to escape from the little fort I had designated for them to stay in. She is so curious that the prospect of exploring the "Great Outdoors" was just too good an opportunity to let pass. Luckily, we didn't have an escape and the whole experience was great.

Sunny

 

Sunny really loves to get comfy and just snuggle in soft places! He is always getting excited if someone were to lay down or sit on the couch! He is truly a creature of comfort. Charlie isn't as keen on being comfortable, especially when his fur is very long. Since Charlie's hair is so thick, he over-heats so his favorite spot in the summer is on the nice cool floor. Sunny's hair is quite thin, so he never has that problem.

Odd Realtionship

     At first, Sunny was an only dog and had the run of the house. He received all the attention and love for about eight years. Then, Charlie was looking for a loving home after being rescued from a less than adequate home. Luckily, Charlie and Sunny got along great from the start. Some aspects of Sunny's life changed, some for the better and some for the worse.

     

     Since Charlie is so much younger than Sunny, by about 10 years, he keeps Sunny young. Keeping up with Charlie insures Sunny can't just lay around on the couch, which he mostly does anyway, and has to run after Charlie. Charlie is really good with letting Sunny have his food first and allowing Sunny to get his treats first. I think this is because Sunny is Charlie's elder and kind of like his mentor. When we first got Charlie, he was very scared and would just cling to certain people for protection. Sunny has taught many things to Charlie, such as how to scratch at the door if he has to relieve himself outdoors, how to be a couch potato, and how to bark if a visitor comes to the door. Not so positive behaviors Charlie has been taught include eating rabbit poop and barking at things that don't exist(just noises they "hear").

      One negative aspect of their relationship is that Charlie is always bugging and nagging Sunny. Whether it is chewing on Sunny's fur when they are running or accidentally jumping right on Sunny's head when he is trying to get up on the couch, Charlie is always trying to be near Sunny. I know that Charlie is trying to get Sunny to play most of the time, but I do see how annoying he can be to Sunny. Luckily, Sunny is pretty laid back and doesn't get mad at Charlie.

      Over all, the two of them get along just fine and keep each other company!