The Bonded Buns The Love Story of Lily and Mister

When Lily first came to live with me, we had a little ritual where I would lay on the floor, face down, and she would hop up onto my back and give me an exotic bunny back massage, then she would lay down for a few minutes.  It was a wonderful experience and I swear it relieved all to the tedium and stress from my system.  She loved have her nose and cheeks rubbed.  When I got home from work in the summer I would take her into the backyard where she would binky like crazy, dig like crazy and occasionally manage to escape to the neighbors yard (which make me crazy). And of course there was the evening ritual that amused my neighbors the most catching her to bring her back into the house. 

As much as having a sweet little Lily leap with joy when I entered a room, I always felt that this Sweet little girl had more love to give than spending a couple of hours a day with me could use up.  She constantly attempted to befriend Sooty and Cleopatra but they ignored her.  By this time I had educated myself on the nature of bunnies and believed that it would be a good idea of selecting a mate for her. 

As luck would have it the same PetSmart that had Posted Lily as being "Free to a Good Home" a year and a half later had another such posting.  I called the number and arranged to meet the male rabbit "Misty".    When I asked if he was "altered" I was told that he was not, but that he had never shown any inclination to acknowledge his "nature".  As Lily by this time had been spayed for over a year I knew that there was no chance of my becoming a BunnyGrandmummy, so I packed "Misty" into the backseat and headed home, going over in my head all that I had read about bonding rabbits....keep them in a separate room for a few days, don't leave them alone together, be prepared for fights, I was a little bit trepidation about what the next few weeks were going to be like. 

Lily was a free range rabbit, so I could not follow the advice of the experts and keep them is separate cages.  I put Misty in a cage and set it in the living room as I installed the baby gate between rooms.  Before I could turn around Lily had come to inspect Misty, as neither one of them were showing any signs of aggression I let them be.  Lily circled the cage and Misty kept turning to see her.  They seemed interested and curious about one another but not aggressive.  I took Misty out of the cage and the behaviour continued with the circling of one another and the curiosity but no aggression....until Misty got on top of Lily (sideways I might add) and began to show his "nature".  Lily was mildly perturbed, I was a bit embarrassed (I'm not sure if it was because of what he was doing or the fact that he was doing it sideways and backwards) but I decided that "Misty" was in fact "Mister".  Lily decided that he was dirty and needed to be bathed.  I have no doubt that Mister thought he had landed in heaven.  They spent days with Mister in his cage for about a couple of weeks (which included Misters recovery from the surgery that was booked the day after his arrival).

Lily and Mister had 6 very happy years together.  On July 8, 2008 Mister moved on to the rainbow bridge.

Another Bullet Dodged

Living with Stu is a delight.  Living with a senior bunny is not always a delight.  There are good days and there are bad days.

Saturday was a good day.  Stu was chasing me around the house looking for love, circling my feet, eating, drinking, peeing, pooping.  When I was making his dinner on Sunday evening I noticed he had barely touched the previous days food,  There had been no circling my feet that day, in fact I don't think he came out from behind the Lazy Boy all day.  When I made up his evening treat of mashed banana with flax and glucocimine he had no interest him.  I had to lift him from behind the Lazy Boy chair to change his ruggies and vacuum.

You can clean all you want but I am not coming out

On Monday I came home from work at lunchtime with some carrots and carrot tops for him....he still had not made a dent on his food bowl.  He nibbled at the carrot with little interest.  When I came home last night he had made no further progress.  He had moved his position behind the Lazy Boy but aside from that was pretty much the way I had left him that morning. 

Mushed nana, Metcalm were no interest to him.  I tried to get some water by cupping water soaked crasins,  it worked for about a tablespoon.  I pulled down some blankets and pillows and forsook my princess bed to sleep on the floor next to him last night.  As soon as the vets office opened I called and made an appointment.  Called in to work with a headache.  As if hearing what was being discussed, he picked up a  piece of swisschard and downed it then went to work on a carrot.  He took some water, his meds...as if to convince me he did not have to go to the vet.  I was having none of it.

During his two days behind the Lazy Boy Stu made a poopy bum (which I guess is better news than him not making poop).  His weight is down .2 kg from 2.09 to 1.9 kg. He was dehydrated.  He got hydrated, a package of Critical Care (until he gets back to pellets and hay) and a cream cuz the poopy bum is getting dry from baths and urine scald .  They took a urine sample, and some blood work to see if there is an underlying issue.

Im eating Im eating I dont need to go to the vet

I will be keeping a close eye on him for the nest couple of days.  I have to go away Friday night.  Usually my brother comes in and feeds Stu when I have to leave but I think I will leave him with Dr. Munn. 

Now that the trauma is winding down there has been some leaky eyes. Times like this make it all to clear to me that my time with Stu is limited. But for the moment I am feeling like we have dodged a bullet.

Valentines Day is Comming

When I was a child we exchanged Valentines cards at school.  Things are probably the same today, but I don't have a child so I cannot be sure.  Before Valentines day I would bring a list home that had the names of all of my classmates.  I would be made to sit at the kitchen table and write the name of each of the children's names int the TO: space on one of the cards ripped apart at the perforation point.  There was no telling Mom that I hated so and so and did not want to give them a card.  I would give one to each child and one to the teacher.  My only recourse was to pick the ugliest card and give it to the kid I did not like....Porky the Pig, Uglyy Monkey, the People of Scooby Doo.  The prettiest card went to my best friend and all others fell in between, but Mom would check the list to make sure that there was one for everyone To Donna M From Donna H, To Donna A From Donna H, To Kim M from Donna H, To Kim P From Donna H, to Mary From Donna H......Donna and Kim were the popular names the year I was born.

The sugar rush would have been supplied by Moms....although in retrospect we never took that into account....the cupcakes and cookies and rice krispy squares magically appeared as most mother supplied things do. 

These days Donna M, Donna A, Kim P and Him M are likely receiving valentines cards from Husbands and kids.  Being as Donna H is not, I carry on the tradition.  I perforate a box of 48 valentines day cards and decide who in my office is getting the Baby Cub or the Fawn.  I have to admit that the few people in my office that I really and truly do not like I don't include on my list. But the ones who are on the fence are given an ugly monkey.

A walk to Evergreen Brickworks

For some reason I thought that Evergreen Brickworks Farmers Market took place on Saturdays and Sundays between 9am and 1pm.

Grumble grumble grumble, some of us like to sleep in on the weekend.  But today I pulled on my new super duper warm winter coat and decided to brave the cold weather alert and take a walk over to see what they had to offer....

As the crow flies it might be 1/2 k to the Brickworks Grounds.....but as the roads and trails wind it is 2km

When I got there I realized that the Farmers Market is only on Saturday....grumble grumble.  I wandered the buildings a bit...as previously mentioned there is an ice area for skaters...there was an area where a fella was selling a handful of what I assume was vegan organic wares to the skaters. No hot chocolate, french fries, and potato  chips.  $8 chili, something that looks like a light brown brownie. I think there was coffee but I did not stop to find out.  There was a child's birthday party going on....the building is concrete and the squeals of delighted children and bursting balloons was reverberation of walls and ceilings.....I really don't know what the intent of the new building is.  It is four stories of empty building right now.....I don't want to knock it cuz it is an Environmental organization which is a good cause. Maybe there is something more to it that I don't understand.

I decided to keep on going.  I didn't have my skates or a shovel with me but I wanted to check out the ponds.  There is something about walking over frozen water that is always a bit thrilling.  The ponds were all frozen solid.  The main pond had been trampled and snow has melted and refroze.   The result has left the ice lumpy and bumpy but the big pond at the back is in excellent condition.  I was wishing that I had my gear. 

But on this day I had to content myself with a walk on the crisp sunny day.  Today I would have to stick to the main trails for the most part because I was not dressed for rolling in the snow.  Good thing there is a road that goes up the escarpment and some beautiful winter foliage along the way.

Some brave souls risked the Poison Ivy LOL

When I got to the point where I would go going down the other side of  the escarpment I came upon this abandoned wagon.  I pondered as to how this sidewalk method of transportation had come to be abandoned next to the old railway track...the answer will remain a mystery. 

Would I make it down the steep hill without falling....I really did not want to wet my bottom.  Yeah I made it....then there was another steep winding trek up Pottery Hill Road..I was feeling pretty good about my walk as I crested the top of the hill and faced the final challenge of my walk....

Yes I kept on going.

Skating at the Evergreen Brickworks

I finally got to skate at the Evergreen Brickworks.

Last year I skated behind the Brickworks buildings.  There is a series of Ponds that freeze. It required a shovel and an ability to skate around protrusions (branches, weeds, bricks thrown on half frozen ice) or to avoid less than perfect ice (leafs caught in the freeze) and a knowledge of priorities (eventually I realized I just needed to shovel a track to skate on and not clear a rink. 

I was not the only one who showed up with a shovel, I think some of the Dads took more pride in their shoveling than in the skating accomplishments of their rugrats. There was something thrilling about skating on 100% natural ice in fresh clean air....but lets be honest it is not Zambonied ice.

Back in the day all of the bricks that built Toronto came from the Don Valley Brickworks, but times change and the Brickworks fell into disrepair. The ruminants of the Brickworks have been operated by Evergreen a group that advocates environmental issues, sells organic plants and vegetables.  When I seen the sign on Bayview Avenue inviting skaters I initially thought that the ponds were being cleaned and flooded naturally. When I called to inquire I was told that the rink is in one of the dilapidated buildings.  the concrete floor has been flooded and the ice is maintained with shovels. As far as I can discern there is no Zamboni.  The concrete pillars would make it impossible for one to maneuver as far as I can see. 

The skating area is partly open air but most of the roof and walls is intact.  This prevented my GPS tracker from keeping track of my workout, but allowed the snow falling outside to fall on the ice.  I went on Thursday evening after work, not sure if it was timing or the fact that this is rink has been operating for just over a month but there was no crowd. The structure was very informal. Some practiced their figures, some skated in circles, some weaved around the pillars.  One or two speed junkies shooting up snow.  I practiced skating backwards between the pillars.

I have been curious to try this skating area since I became aware of its existence.  Next time I go to skate at the Brickworks I will take a shovel and skate on the ponds behind the buildings

Skating under a full moon

Since doing the resolution run on New Years Day, I have been totally lax about running.  Yesterday it was half snowing/half raining as I left work so I thought I would skip skating and get back to running...that was till I opened the car door and slid.  All the sidewalks were covered in a sheet of ice.  No way I could run on that.

Today everything was frozen solid, sidewalks and streets had been salted to the extent that I could rim my Margarita glasses on them. Nothing to keep me from running....but I chose to skate instead.

For the time being I have to say that my favorite place to skate is at the Shops of Don Mills skating track.  It is small but not many people utilize it.  There are the residents of the condos or the shoppers or people like me.  For the time being that is a small demographic. Because it is a track instead of a rink the intent is to skate in circles no hockey sticks are allowed, no chairs for rugrats to lean on as they learn the basics.  No room for fancy twirlers.  Just straight skating counter clockwise and I have seen these rules enforced. 

Because it was so cold tonight the rink was pretty empty, I got to skate full out (pretty much) for my entire allotted hour.  While lacing on my skates I had sat on a bench covered in a block of ice....the heat of my bum melted the ice and....honestly I did not pee my pants!!!!! But I was left to skate in sub zero temp with a damp bottom.

In the hour that I skated I covered 8.6 km and used 353 calories according to Runkeeper.  But most impressive of all I breathed in fresh air and for half of the time watched the full moon rise in the frigid night air.

Saga of the Kitties

A while back i wrote about White Kitty and Beat up Kitty/Grizzabella.

I have surmised that Beat up Kitty had two kittens.  One was a bit of a piggy and would wait on my doorstep for me to put out food so I called it Gorgie.  Then when Gorgie had 4 kittens I changed it to Georgie Girl.  The other kitten was more skittish and would only come to eat after I had gone into the house.  I called this one Other.  Just as Georgies kittens were getting big Other had a litter of  3 of her own.

The only Tom that we ever seen coming around was White Kitty.  In spite of the fact that White Kitty was a deadbeat dad and he was a bully towards all the other cats he was a very sweet and affectionate to people.  In fact he is the only one of the lot who has ever allowed himself to be petted.  Because of this and the fact that he always wore a collar, I assumed that White Kitty belonged to somebody. I have discovered since, that he is a street cat that one of the neighbors put a collar on in an attempt to protect him if he should happen to get into trouble with the authorities.  A couple down the street were going to take him in but for reasons I don't know they changed their mind, another neighbor wanted to take him in,  but she already has a cat with feline HIV that has to be isolated from other cats.  I found out just over a week ago that everyone else on the street calls White Kitty, Jake and that he is homeless.

The past summer we had 5 little kittens, two bigger kittens and Grizabella living in hideaways, under steps, sheds or decks.  White Kitty and the occasional neighborhood cat, and raccoon would come around looking for a handout too. My next door neighbor puts food on her front step and I put food on my back deck.  I know there are others in the neighborhood that feed them too. 

When the weather started getting cold I put an old comforter under the bench in the backyard and put a sheet of Styrofoam to block the wind.  In the front I put a basket with some old towels.  By the time the weather got very cold only three of the kittens were coming around daily and utilizing the sleeping quarters.  White Kitty still shows up every now and chases everyone off.  Grizabella shows up rarely (looking like she has found someplace to care for her),  Georgie and Other have been missing for a very long time,  Georgies 4 kittens too.  It was confirmed that one had been hit by a car. 

My  next door neighbor has created a kitty house that makes my makeshift basket look like low income projects.  A Rubbermaid storage container with 4 inches of hay and a lid.  she has cut a cat size opening to protect as much as possible from the elements.  The three little ones switch between our doorsteps.  They are almost always hanging out when I get home from work chowing down on their dinner but they still expect a cup of dry food from me too.

Just over a week...or maybe two weeks ago I came home to find the three and one who I thought was Grizabella.  When I got closer I realized that the big cat was more white than Grizzie,  but had the same size and demeanor.  New Beat Up Kitty stuck around when she realized this place was good for some grub.  On the weekend, when White Kitty dropped by, New Beat Up Kitty let out that kitty howl that every ally cat responds to.  In spite of the call there was a scuffle between White Kitty and New Beat Up Kitty. (cats don't fall in love the way that people do).  One morning I went to fill up the backyard bowl and New Beat Up Kitty was staying under the bench.  She ran when I came out but she looked like she had been in a ferocious fight.  On my way out to work my neighbor flagged me down to tell my that White Kitty had been in a fight and was hurt.  She decided to call the Annex Cat Rescue to ask that they rescue White Kitty.  I had to agree that it was a good idea.  Unlike the other kitties, White Kitty was catchable, if he was injured he would need some real care.  They will clean him up and "fix" him up and I feel confident that he will finally find a forever home where he will get the love that he craves.

White Kitty has been gone for almost a week.  I have not seen New Beat Up Kitty.  I hope that she is okay somewhere.   For all I know she may have a home.  I may be mistaken but I think that now that the bully cat is gone the others are settling down and seem less skittish.  Perhaps in time they too will be rescued and find loving homes off of the streets.