Simon's quest for oats.

Simon decided to start with the already open box of oats.  He quickly realized two things: 1) his body would not fit inside the box and 2) there were no oats in there.  Fine, if that's how you're going to be...

I'll just tip over the box I know has oats in it!  Hmm, no oats came out.  Maybe if I...

Huh, pushing it across the floor didn't work either.  But I want oats!  I need them!  They're so yummy and crunchy and oaty...is oaty a word?

[sigh] Maybe if I lay here and look sad enough, she'll give me some.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has visited this blog!  So far, we've had 8,270 page views from all over the world.  Thanks again and I hope you all have a great weekend!  I'll be back on Monday. 

River is hide-and-go-seek grand champion!

I became an unwilling participant in a game of hide-and-go-seek when the phone rang.  It took me a while to find her this time.  I have to give her points for scaring the heck out of me when I found her behind the trash can and recycle bin--I just caught movement from the corner of my eye as I was going past the kitchen.  She is the only bunny I've ever had that is perfectly okay with walking on a linoleum floor, so I tend to forget that those rooms aren't off-limits to her.  Here she is upon discovery giving me her 'butter wouldn't melt' face.

A morning with Chaos and Mayhem.

This is what greeted me this morning.  Simon's cuteness quotient approaches zero for this little stunt.  I shall dub him Chaos for today.  He seems genuinely shocked that I don't want to pet him after this.

River saw what Chaos (aka Simon) was doing and saw how much attention he was getting and decided to get in on the action.  It looks as if she's asking him, "Am I doing this right?"  She earns the moniker of Mayhem this morning.  A classic case of bunny see, bunny do.

River is scary smart...

At first, I couldn't understand what River's fascination with our doors was.

She'd spend about half of her time out of her cage going around the apartment carefully checking out each of our doors.

It wasn't until yesterday that I finally figured out what she was doing...she's trying to understand how doors work so she can make her opening gambit for bunny world domination!  It all makes sense now--first, you have to escape your cage, then the apartment, and finally the world is yours!

Sleepy bunny wants attention.

Here's a video of Simon wanting attention.  He has recently started moving his litter box to get me to run over to him before he flips it entirely.  He then uses cuteness as a weapon against me by giving me bunny kisses.  It would seem that he has me well trained.  He napped for a solid hour after this was filmed.

Thanks for flying American Harelines!

I don't even want to know where they got the biplane from.  I also have no idea where they're off to and have a sneaking suspicion that they don't either.

Dramatic lop flop Friday!

Simon took a running dive at the ground in this pic.  He almost flipped himself over onto his back.  Such a drama queen!

River was running around the house like mad and completely wore herself out.  She noticed the towel and just collapsed onto it.  She looks like she's thinking, "This is the softest bed ever...how can I get this in my cage?"

Surgical recovery note:  Both Simon and River are doing well but will be staying inside their cages today to avoid overdoing it (Vet's orders).  I think Simon has realized what's missing and is a bit sulky with me.  River is her usual happy-go-lucky self.  So far, it looks like they're starting to get a bit of an appetite back as the drugs wear off.  River was all excited for breakfast this morning, Simon looks as if he wants to go on a hunger strike if I'm the one bringing the food to him...I catch him nibbling at it when he thinks I'm not looking.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday!

The little troopers are home from their surgeries!

River is still a bit high from the surgery meds and is a bit wobbly on her feet...she did nibble on some oats, so that's a good sign.

Simon has been more active because they did his surgery first.  You can see that he's already playing with the steri-pad they put in the bottom of the carrier.  No cone-of-shame for either of them, which is probably a good thing because I think they'd smother me in my sleep once they completely regained their faculties.

Hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to the Vet we go...

Today is the day of the spay and neuter for these not so little ones!  They know something is up and by the sounds of the digging and thumping, they aren't happy about it in the slightest.  They were lured into the travel cages with breakfast and they just now realized they've been duped.  Tough love--it's for their own good.  At least afterwards Simon will no longer be in bunny jail (for the crime of doing some not so brotherly things to River's head) and River won't have to be in protective custody!  They can happily share the same living quarters once they're healed.

My husband asked if they'd come home with those cone-of-shame things around their heads and if so, told me that I'd need to take a picture of it because it would be hilarious.  I'll keep you posted on their progress and cone-bearing status.

River and the mirror bunny.

At first, River wanted to try and help the poor bunny stuck inside the mirror--she'd run back and forth and circle around behind it looking for an entryway to no avail.  (I can only imagine how that revelation had to blow her mind!)  Slowly, she came to realize that the other bunny was mocking her by mimicking all of her movements.  Trying to nip the other bunny to get them to stop proved ineffective--there was this weird smooth barrier between them that got all foggy when she breathed on it.  Now it looks like River's thinking, "Hmph...that other bunny can just sit in that weird inter-dimensional portal thingy and figure their own way out...probably got there because they were being rude to someone anyway."

What do you mean it's not rent controlled?!

Simon is learning the harsh reality of housing costs for his bunny condo.  Just another part of growing up.  Apparently the home owner's association didn't like the remodeling work he and River have done (well, really it was just the construction mess).  It's a good thing that they both pay in cuteness--of which, they have an unlimited supply.  The look on his face in this pic alone is enough to cover the cost of living increase!

River's quest for oats.

This is when we found out that oats are like crack for bunnies.  Here we find River jonesing for oats and deciding to go directly to the source--the oat scoop.  Simon is providing encouragement (I don't know why he decided to scrunch himself up like that in the corner--it looks uncomfortable, but he's caught up in the moment, I guess).  Sadly, the scoop was empty.  No matter...

River remembered that there was an open oat container hidden amongst the toys!  Surely, the oats are at the bottom...just a bit further...

At this point, I imagine River is thinking, "Hmmm...maybe if I push it across the floor it will give me oats.  It can't be that hard--the humans give us oats all the time."  I'm not sure how I feel about being Simon and River's oat 'dealer' now.

Simon makes a discovery in the bunny condo.

When did we get a skylight?!

Hello!

Some fatherly advice...

Okay, so I don't usually post on the weekend but considering the holiday, I couldn't let the day go by without wishing all the Dads out there a very Happy Father's Day.

Just another day at the office...

Sorry for the late post, but hopefully this makes up for it!  Meg--Thank you for letting me "borrow" Dexter!  I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday.

Where's River?

Oh, she's being eaten by the Coke box! 
Actually, that question is a constant one because if she isn't being my shadow, she's zooming around the apartment so quickly that she's never where you expect her to be.  River likes to live dangerously by making a kamikaze run from a hiding spot (like the box in this picture) and darting in front of our feet while we're walking.  It's a good thing we've trained ourselves to always look down while walking when she's out because she can't hear us approach.  We can't quite decide if she thinks she's indestructible or just takes some perverse enjoyment in tripping us. 

River is working on her Smooth Criminal lean.

Simon, are you OK?
You OK?
Are you OK, Simon?
You've been hit by
You've been struck by
A smooth criminal.

I'm sure at this point, Simon is pleading with River to please stop singing.  She can have his helping of oats if she just stops!

I didn't ask for maid service!

Just when Simon got his room exactly the way he wanted it, the humans had to come and clean it.  Like any teenager, Simon has boundary issues when it comes to his room.  Somehow I get the feeling that he would put up a sign on his door saying 'Bunnies Only' or 'Humans Keep Out!' if he had access to writing implements.  Why yes, that is his tongue sticking out and an eye roll.  My husband had to deal with the bunny angst while I laughed and took pictures.

Happy Monday!

This is the sight that greeted me this morning...River sitting quite proudly next to her overturned litter box.  I should also note that Simon is watching all this like a typical big brother with a look that practically screams, "Oooh, you're in trouble!"  I can't really attempt to scold her for two reasons:
1)  I have no idea when she actually flipped it over and unless one of us catches her in the act, she has no idea what she did wrong.
2)  I have no hand signal for this. 
Resigned to the fact that she gets a pass on this one, I decided to take the photos and make the best of a bad situation.
Apparently, the litter box can double as a pretty sweet look-out spot.  It's almost like she's saying, "Look what I can do!"

After successfully managing to scoot River from her perch, she decided that it was only right to help me out by hopping inside the litter box as I tried to remove it from her cage.  I suppose I should just be glad that the lure of breakfast was just too great for her to consider an early morning bid for freedom.  Crisis averted!

Simon learns what the internet is really for.

Ah, they grow up so fast!  I have a feeling that a trip to the vet is in order for the both of them in the near future.
I startled a laugh out of my husband on this one and he insisted that I post it, so here's your Friday dose of bunny humor a bit early!  The idea made me chuckle for more than 15 seconds, so I had to do it.  This is the reason why I can't be left to my own devices for too long.
I hope you all have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday!

Simon acting like a bloodhound puppy.

I swear that Simon acts like a puppy sometimes!  He's as loyal as any dog I've ever heard of--especially when you consider how protective he is of his sister, River.  I think he's on a quest for oats in this pic.

River is not defective... she's handicapable!

We found out the other day that our sweet little River is deaf.  They were doing the annual fire alarm testing for our apartment building and when the siren sounded, poor Simon looked as if he were about to have a coronary while River happily kept cleaning her front paws after a short pause to look at Simon.  I immediately went over to them both to cover their ears because the siren was loud enough to hurt my ears so I couldn't imagine how it would've felt to them.  They kept turning the siren on at random intervals and she didn't even flinch (unlike me and Simon).  The rest of the evening was spent checking to see if she had any hearing at all--no response to whistling, loud clapping, yelling or anything.  Simon got a bit peeved with us and started thumping, which River was also oblivious to.

I let the lady who we got them from know so she could test the hearing of the mother and any other bunnies from that litter.  She offered us a refund for selling a "defective" bunny...needless to say we turned her down.  She isn't defective, just differently abled.  We love her the way she is. 

Now that we know she's deaf, a lot of her behavior makes sense, like why it was so hard to litter train her.  She couldn't hear the numerous cries of "No!  Don't pee there!"  We also realized that she's an incredible actress for mimicking Simon's responses, which explains why it took so long to figure out she couldn't hear us.  We think it also explains why her brother, Simon, was always so overprotective of her--he probably knew she was deaf from the start.  Simon took on the role of sentry, always having one ear up and constantly vigilant.  When we brought them home, he blocked her from leaving the carrier to go explore--she ended up crawling over him to get outside. 

I've found words in sign language for "no", "come here", and made one up for "hop in your cage".  On the first evening, I managed to get her to follow me 15 feet and around a corner to get her to hop in her cage using nothing but hand signals.  She's a smart little bunny that certainly doesn't let deafness keep her down!  Kind of inspirational, if you ask me.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it...

Simon (aka Ignatio Doomhammer) gets his first mission from the B.U.N.  He's not going to let reality dim his enthusiasm!

That's not how you use the litter box!

In the event of an emergency, your litter box can be used as a recliner.  I have no idea how that is comfortable for her.  I should just be glad that this time she didn't tip it completely over on herself.  She always looks so shocked whenever it happens...she blinks at me with bedding all over her head and shoulders like she has a bad case of dandruff.  Cause and effect little one, cause and effect.

A round of binkies for my friends!

Here's Penny showing amazing binky form and air-time.

Here's River with a slightly more graceful looking binky.

Last but not least, we have Simon adding some side-kicking flair and propeller ears to his binky.

I just wanted to thank all 2,117 of you who have visited the blog this week.  I'm amazed and humbled that so many have visited here and I truly hope that I can continue to brighten your day just a bit if only by getting you to crack a smile or startle a chuckle out of you.  Thanks again and I'll be back on Monday!

-Courtney