Caught in mid-air.

River's favorite activity is parkour (or maybe you'd call it free-bunning).  I'm not sure if she's focusing on speed or aesthetics while she's having fun.  I've even caught her springing off of the front of the couch/loveseat just to build up speed as she made an obstacle course of our living room.

Timing is everything.

Simon was racing around the living room and I managed to catch this pic as he flew past me.

No good can come of this...

Simon seems to be thinking, "I don't know what she's up to either."
Sometimes I think River uses Simon as a lookout when she gets an idea for a grand adventure.  I don't think she fills Simon in on whatever it is to keep up the air of plausible deniability.
I generally step in at this point before events unfold that would more than likely end with her being stuck behind the couch or something breakable being knocked over.

My dish is empty and I am sad.

Simon thinks that if he looks sad enough, I will give him a second breakfast. 
Note that he's studiously ignoring the hay carnage strewn about his cage.  Clearly, only pellets count as food.  This is why he will never have a gravity pellet feeder--he would eat until he popped.

Little sisters...

They're just not as comfy as they look.
Thanks for visiting the blog!  We hope you have a great weekend and we'll be back on Monday!

Our resident drama queen.

Simon can't just lie down like a normal bunny on the couch.  He has to get a running start and crash head-first into the cushions in the most overly dramatic lop flop possible.  I'm amazed that he didn't bounce with the force he threw into it.  Bunnies take comfort seriously.

Congressbuns.

Due to an inability to compromise with Simon over the pellet and oat budget for this fiscal year, sequestration has taken effect.  Looking for ways to cut pellet and oat "waste", they have decided to furlough two branches of living room guardianship (the couch and the loveseat).

We'd like to express how much we value your vital contribution to our workforce.  You're furloughed! [nose-bonks the un-bunny off the loveseat]

Wow, this job is great--I don't even have to do anything and things happen!  The best part is that we decide our own pay.  I believe a raise is in order!  I'll expect a double serving of oats this evening.

Sadly, the bunnies don't seem to understand that we're affected by the sequestration and no one is getting extra oats.

Hey, we're talkin' here!

Just between you, me and the fencepost--er, I mean human.  On second thought, this probably isn't the best place to discuss our plans of bunny world domination if he's just going to listen in on us.

Bunny South Park skit.

I just had to do this when I caught River in a pose that made her look like Nathan's character in one of my favorite episodes of South Park.  Here's the link to watch it for anyone who is interested:  http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s14e07-crippled-summer
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so please don't sue me!

The bunnies' home is their castle.

Here's the first iteration of what would soon become a bunny version of the Winchester Mansion.  River is inspecting the incomplete second floor.

Yep, this is definitely going to be a fixer-upper.  The ramp to the second floor is going to need some work.

It needs more windows to let the light in and we'd like locks on these doors.  Other than that, I think you can make this work for us.

Simon and River are embarrassed to be seen at this point.  They cannot believe that I had the audacity to use duct tape on their precious mansion.  This is what happens when construction is done by the lowest bidder.

We'll accept your bribe of oats for now, but you're going to have to make this building up to code.
I should note here that duct tape really does suck when applied to cardboard--it started peeling off within the hour.  In my defense, I only used it because we ran out of packing tape.  Thus ended the second iteration of the Winchester bunny mansion.

Third time's a charm!  I finally got it right!

Simon is admiring the construction of the ramp and the awesome little niche under it.

Plenty of space to enjoy individual pursuits.

Honorary keys to the castle.  River is uncertain as to where she's supposed to stick them.

 Lots of openings to run through!

Simon and River inspected and approved!  Now it's time to relax.
On that note, thanks for visiting the blog and we hope you have a great weekend!  We'll be back on Monday.

Oh no he didn't!

River has this disbelieving look on her face that seems to be asking, "Simon is using my back as a table right now, isn't he?"

The joys of apartment hunting.

We agree with Simon and River on this one.  I wonder if bunny cuteness would be an acceptable form of payment?

Yippy skippy!

If a bunny could skip, I think this is what it would look like.

Bunny mani-pedi time!

Simon volunteered to have his nails clipped first by climbing into my lap. 
This is how I hold them to prevent injury to either of us.  It's hard to see, but I have Simon pressed up against my chest and suspended so his back feet aren't touching anything (prevents him from kicking out or thrashing and injuring his spine).  His front right arm is pinned between the pointer and middle finger of my left hand and his other front leg is kept still with my thumb near his armpit, while his bottom is supported and his back legs kept separated by my pointer and pinkie fingers of my right hand. 
My husband clips the nails using a scissor type nail trimmer with a nail guard (prevents trimming too much) while I hold the bunny.

Simon enjoying some oats after a successful nail trim. 
Meanwhile, River has been circling the bathroom around us while thumping and making interesting vocalizations somewhere between a grunt, a honk and a squeak.  This is new for her and I can only assume because of her deafness, she can only approximate the sounds a normal hearing bunny would make.
It was clear that she was not happy in the "waiting room" and knew that her evening was only going to get worse...

Portrait of an unhappy camper. 
At this point, she's switched from vocalizing to purring in an attempt to comfort herself.  Despite many noogies and cheek rubs to calm her, she still can't see everything around her while being held and she absolutely hates that.

She started squirming too much so we let her have a few breaks to wander around the bathroom.  She's still doing her purring and thumping every now and again. 
Simon is constantly going over to her to give her nose-bonks and kisses (he'd even try to climb into my lap while we were trimming River's nails). 
It really is hard to tell what her noises mean because she's normally a little chatterbox making all sorts of purring and honking sounds as she goes about her normal day.

Finally everyone's nails are clipped and they've both crossed the "towel bridge" back into the living room.  Simon is comforting a sulking River (who refused the oats I offered her).
Simon:  Well, that wasn't too bad!  I feel quite pampered.
River:  Speak for yourself.
At least we don't have to undergo this drama again for about another 6 weeks.

An awkward moment...

I think I caught River practicing some secret bunny handshake with the mirror bunny.  That is a guilty face if ever I saw one!  Not to be outdone...

Simon looks genuinely shocked that the kiss meant for mirror bunny's cheek ended up on the lips instead.  Sneaky mirror bun!
Well, I suppose this could be taken as a PSA to be mindful of people with cameras because you never know what embarrassing moment could be captured for posterity. 
On that note, we hope you have a great weekend and we'll be back on Monday!

Reciprocity.

I'll groom you first...

Now it's MY TURN!!!
Simon really did just lick River's head three times then shove his face between her front paws.  Judging by her unamused look, I think River was expecting this.

It's hard to argue that logic.

Simon:  Well, you're a girl and have cooties--so, there!  Pbbbt!
River:  That's a mature response to me tearing down your Straw Rabbit in our debate.

Who knew this was a thing?

That tan piece of cloth with the bunny hork on it is part of an ingenious solution to help alleviate Simon's newly recognized separation anxiety.  Yeah, we didn't know it was a thing either until one evening I was preparing some food for the next night's dinner and was out of Simon's line of sight.  Within 10 minutes of me "not being there" he started to thump rather loudly and insistently (much like he does whenever I would go to bed at night).  It was then that I noticed the pattern of timing and this only ever happening at night after the sun had gone down...

I asked my husband to do a quick Google search for rabbit separation anxiety (so I could still be out of his line of sight) and darned if there weren't similar stories from other people.
As an aside, you can see the foam furniture padding we placed under his cage to help damp the noise a bit (along with their kitten brush and the ridiculous amount of fur they produce during a heavy shed in the baggie--hey, it keeps it from going everywhere and gets tossed when it's full).

We found some tips and tricks to help lessen this all night random thumping that has been going on since November.  Here's the link to my original post:  http://bunnies-and-sunshine.blogspot.com/2012/11/no-simon-thats-bad-simon.html
Quite honestly, we were at the end of our rope at this point and I had no problem giving the little fuzzball the shirt off of my back if it would help solve the problem (I had only gotten a few hours of sleep per night for over a week, so the 2 hours of interrupted sleep the night prior due to the thumping had me wanting to cry I was so frustrated with him). 
It was clear that he wasn't afraid of anything or in pain, just that he wanted (or needed)  my attention.  We were both so tired of the thumping that our gallows humor kicked in and resulted in giving Simon the motto:  "When in doubt, thump it out!" 
What you see Simon playing with is a tee shirt that has my scent on it (I literally gave him the shirt off of my back that evening).  He never chews holes in it like the other cloth pieces in his cage, just nibbles it to shape it and gets bunny hork all over it before snuggling with it like a security blanket.

The combination of the shirt and ignoring the thumping (not giving him positive reinforcement for that behavior) has really helped decrease the night time thumping.
I'll be honest, the first night made us wonder if this was doing anything at all (I think it got worse because he realized we were ignoring him), but over the next few days, the frequency and duration of the thumping started to decrease and after about a week, we only noticed him thumping in the morning when someone's alarm went off/a light turned on so he knew one of us was awake (and he tried to demand early pellets from us).  This has gone on for a couple of months now, so I really think this combination of tactics is working for us.
We're still working on stopping him from making the morning noise, but it's happening less often now and we've managed a few nights strung together of no thumping at all, so that's a start.  The only time we find his behavior getting a bit worse is when we have visitors or there's some change to the normal routine, but it reverts back to normal within a few days.
Uninterrupted sleep is awesome!

Bunny vs Food.

Simon is attempting to shove the entire hay cube into his mouth at once (apparently, they really are that tasty).  River is relegated to the cheering section and is sadly looking on with a face that says, "But I want some too!"
The bunny won in this epic battle by changing tactics and eating the hay cube like a normal bunny would instead of attempting to snarf it up in one go.
Epilogue:  Since we've discovered that Simon isn't good at sharing, we gave River her own hay cube and all was right with the world again.   

Happy 4th of July!

Now that's a finale!

We just wanted to wish everyone a very safe and Happy 4th of July!  Have a great weekend and we'll be back on Monday.

Soon.

Simon's inquiring mind wants to know exactly what River is plotting.  I have to admit that I'm a tad bit curious as well.

Mind if I join you?

Simon:  I fit like a glove!
River:  I can't breathe.
This is what happens when two bunnies try to fit in the 4 inch gap between the table leg and the chair.  Neither looked very comfortable but they stayed like that for a good 10 minutes.

More tummy troubles...

I noticed River had eaten less than usual and had started pressing her belly into the ground late on Saturday evening.  She had just started a heavy shed and I suspect that she ingested a bit too much hair while grooming (even after being brushed once a day) and was suffering from early GI stasis because her belly was still soft and doughy feeling.
I had let them both out for yard time to see if she would move about and to see if Simon could lift her spirits a bit.  She immediately made a bee-line for the couch and hopped up on her own, which surprised me. 

Simon kept going over to nuzzle and groom her, but River wouldn't leave her spot on the couch.  I think the cushions felt good on her tummy.  I eventually had to herd Simon away because he wouldn't stop racing back and forth on the couch trying to get River to join him in a game of tag.

Look closely at these pictures.  This is what a bunny with colicky abdominal pain looks like.  Her eyes are a bit squinted, her muzzle is pinched-looking (not the typical rounded shape it should be), and her body is tense and you can see she is pressing her belly into the cushion.  If you ever see your rabbit look like this, you need to act quickly.
Here's what I did:

• Aspirin to relieve pain (NOT the chewable baby aspirin because it has artificial sweetener that can be bad for rabbits).  This is a weight-dependent dosage.  She weighs 3 pounds and I gave her 1/8 of a 325 mg tablet in 2 ml of mint tea.  Here's a link to the drug calculator for rabbits that I used:  http://www.morfz.com/rx/drugcalc.html.  I would err on the side of under-dosing and always check with your veterinarian first about the drug and dosage.
• Simethicone to relieve pressure and bloating from gas.  I gave her 0.4cc of our store brand version of Myalanta Maximum Strength.  I gave her a second dose about 3 hours later (I waited to see if the first dose had any effect and I didn't want to overcrowd her stomach with medicine--because she's so small--if I wanted her to eat and drink).  Here are some good resources for using simethicone for gas and GI stasis:  http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/se-pennsylvania/GIStasis.htm and http://rabbitsinthehouse.org/newsletter/HRS-HelpMeMakeIt.pdf
• Kept tabs on her body temperature.  A rabbit's ears are their way of dissipating heat, so if they feel cooler than normal, it's a sign of shock and you need to get their body temperature back up.  It's also a good idea to have an appropriate thermometer and know how to use it to check their temperature.  I used a warm water bottle and placed it next to her for a half an hour to get her temperature back to normal.  Don't leave them unsupervised if you're using any warming device to avoid the risk of heat stroke if they get too warm!
• Gentle belly rubs to help break up the gas bubbles in her tummy and help stimulate her GI tract to keep moving.

It was a very long day.  I'm sure a good bit of the aspirin and the first dose of simethicone ended up dribbled down her chin.  I would give her belly rubs a few times an hour for as long as she would stay still.  Poor little one was exhausted and listless for a good bit of the day.  She would constantly change position in her cage and hang out in the litter box (unusual behavior for her) and kept pressing her belly into the floor and grinding her teeth in pain until the aspirin kicked in.

She finally started to feel better after the second dose of simethicone (she got the full dose with none escaping her mouth).  She stopped pressing her belly to the ground and was able to get some sleep.  We were lucky that she started eating hay and drinking on her own again by 5am, which was the cut-off point for me to start force-feeding her.  She started using the litter box again about 5 hours after that.

From now on, both get brushed twice a day during a shed and get their pellet ration reduced slightly to encourage more Timothy hay consumption.  It is ridiculous how quickly they'll go into a shed when the temperature changes!  So, take this post as a helpful PSA on the importance of brushing your bunny's fur frequently during a heavy shed.  Once a day is not enough sometimes.

River is (thankfully) on the mend and binkying up a storm!  I decided to set out some cold, unsweetened mint tea to encourage her to drink more.  Here she is with Simon having a spot of tea.

Simon was being a bit of a piglet about drinking the mint tea and this was his clever way of distracting River from drinking it.  He discovered that if he started grooming her, she would bring her head up and consequently not drink any more tea while he kept at it.  I eventually had to herd him away so River could drink uninterrupted after they got into a shoving match over the tea.  It's good to see that she's back to her old self again!