Gracie loves being held, which works out perfect for us since we enjoy cuddling with all our furbabies.
Gracie enjoying the extra pampering…
My daughter was amazed at how quickly Gracie’s fur is growing back. In preparation for surgery, they shaved it down to the skin.
The weekend flew by for us! This is the last full week of summer vacation for my daughter. School starts next Monday. She’s excited about seeing friends and a bit sad that she won’t have as much play time.
I’m loving my new three cup granite mortar and pestle it’s perfect for preparing items for a small household. It’s my ‘manual food processor’.
Since it’s arrived, I had to say I’ve used it almost every day. Yes, I love it that much. Besides it being made from granite, it’s size is another reason I adore it so much. It’s not a wimpy mortar that only hold a small amount. It holds three cups! And since it’s made of granite, it has some heft to it, weighing a bit over 15 pounds.
It’s a handy kitchen tool that doesn’t require electricity to use, just human power. I’m loving that. It also doubles as a primitive display piece and is proudly showcased on our marble center island. Truth is, I use my mortar and pestle even more than my electric spice grinder.
You’d think I’d be satisfied with my three cup mortar and pestle, and for the most part I am… but there are times when I do grind a large amount of herbs/spices in bulk to make various dishes such as homemade mayonnaise, mustard, pesto, etc.,. After a bit of searching, I was thrilled to learn that the same company that makes my three cup mortar and pestle also makes an larger version! It holds about six cups. It’s also made from granite and weighs about 24 pounds!
For those who truly want to be over the top, they even make a mortar and pestle that weighs over 70 pounds and holds 12 cups! I don’t have use for something that size, but I’d bet it make a nice conversation piece. I could see myself filling it with vegetables and fruit fresh from the garden. Of course… I’m not purchasing that one, it’s much too big for my simple kitchen duties. I’ll be perfectly happy with the added six cup granite mortar and pestle.
Not too long ago, I discovered this poem about rescue rabbits. If you really think about it, this could be applied to all rescues, but its nice to see one dedicated to the loving bunny.
Oreo, our rescue netherland dwarf bunny, content in her furever home. She was one year and eight days old when we adopted her from the Humane Society of Harford County.Gracie, this sweet lionhead bunny, was rescued by the lovely ‘A’, since it would have been challenging to keep her we welcomed Gracie into her furever home.
I used to be a lonely rabbit,
Just looking for a home.
I simply had no place to go,
No one to call my own.
I wandered through the streets and fields,
in rain in heat and snow.
I ate whatever I could find,
I was always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore,
My body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give a pat
Or a gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance,
I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me
was really lots of fun.
And then one day I heard a voice
So gentle, kind and sweet,
And arms so soft reached down to me
And took me off my feet.
“No one again will hurt you”
Was whispered in my ear.
“You’ll have a home to call your own
where you will know no fear.
You will be dry, you will be warm,
you’ll have enough to eat
And rest assured that when you sleep,
your dreams will all be sweet.”
I was afraid I must admit,
I’ve lived so long in fear.
I can’t remember when I let
A human come so near.
And as she tended to my wounds
And cleaned and brushed my fur
She told me ‘bout the rescue group
And what it meant to her.
She said, “We are a circle,
A line that never ends.
And in the center there is you
protected by new friends.
And all around you are the ones
Who’ll keep you safe and sound,
Who will share their loving home with you
Until a forever one can be found.
We will do all we can
by searching near and far,
To find the perfect home for you,
where you can be a star.”
She said, “There is a family,
that’s waiting patiently,
and pretty soon we’ll find them,
just you wait and see.
And then they’ll join our circle,
they’ll help to make it grow,
so there’ll be room for more like you,
who have no place to go.”
I waited very patiently,
The days, they came and went.
Today’s the day, I would hope,
my family will be sent.
Then just when I began to think
It wasn’t meant to be,
there were people standing there
just gazing down at me.
I knew them in a heartbeat
I could tell they felt it too.
They said “We have been searching for
A special bun like you.”
Now every night I say a prayer
to all the Gods that be.
Thank you for the life I live
and all you’ve given me.
But most of all protect the pets
in the pounds and on the street.
And send a rescue person
to lift them off their feet.
I was about five or six years old when I had my first pet rabbit. There are a lot of myths about rabbits and I thought I’d include a few below.
Myths about rabbits
Rabbits love carrots and should eat them daily. All the rabbits I had did love carrots, but this should only be given as an occasional treat. Carrots are high in sugar.
Rabbits should be kept outside. Excessive heat or cold could harm or kill a rabbit that is not properly housed. If you keep your rabbit as a pet, please keep them inside.
Rabbits can be kept in basement or garage. If either is an area where you rarely frequent why in the world would you keep your rabbit there? Rabbits are social animals and should be considered part of the family. We keep our rabbits inside the house. Place them in areas where you frequent. Gracie is in my room, Oreo is in my daughter’s room. If you can’t do that, why in the world do you want a rabbit?
Rabbits only have to be fed pellets. Wrong, the bulk of the rabbits diet should be hay, greens, and have pellets available for snacking. I’d say about 90% of the food our rabbits eat is hay. We give our bunnies a variety of greens daily.
Rabbits can be fed Iceburg lettuce. Iceburg lettuce has zero nutritional value. Better choices would be collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, kale, celery, swiss chard, radish tops, etc.,
Rabbits have poor eyesight. Rabbits are much better at seeing things far away, not so good at seeing things directly in front of them due to their eye placement. However their ears and nose are extremely helpful in alerting them to what they’re having trouble seeing.
Rabbits don’t make any noises. Rabbits can make a variety of noises. Our rabbits hum when they’re around us. That’s a sign of affection. Rabbits can also give a grunt/growl when they’re annoyed, and they also can scream. Gracie screamed when Oreo nicked her through the cage. In all my years of having rabbits, that was the first time I’ve ever heard a rabbit scream and I hope I never hear that sound again.
Rabbits aren’t that affectionate. Rabbits can be extremely affectionate animals. Oreo and Gracie love to be petted and always come up to us to say hello. Sometimes they flop down beside us when they’re relaxing. Oreo, our lionhead rabbit, loves to lick. Sometimes she does this if I stop petting her it’s her way of telling me please don’t stop. Other times she licks because I think she’s ‘grooming’ me. 🙂 Gracie regularly grooms Angel, our teddy bear guinea pig. Angel grooms her too.
Gracie, our lionhead rabbit, is recovering nicely from her laceration surgery. Many thanks to the amazing work done by her veterinary surgeon (and the rest of the wonderful staff) at Chadwell’s Animal Hospital. I’ve been going to them for years.
While there are animal hospitals that are much closer, I prefer Chadwell’s Animal Hospital because of their knowledge about common household pets and exotic animals. They also do a lot of work with rescue animals. I’m huge fan of those who work with animals that some people heartlessly throw away.
Gracie still isn’t thrilled by the medication she has to take. There are four different medications in all. Three have to be taken daily and the fourth, is a penicillin needle injection, that has to be given (under the skin) twice weekly. It’s been a while since I’ve given an animal a needle, so I did a search until I found a tutorial on how to give needle injections to rabbits. It’s time that I brush up on my needle injection skills.
Early this morning, I’d emailed ‘A’ (the wonderful angel that rescued Gracie), and mentioned that Gracie dislikes her medication. It’s kind of cute to watch her reaction. After receiving the meds, she does a tail flick, and kicks her back legs quite forcefully off the floor. She then speeds madly about the room. Upon her return she either licks my hand or bumps her nose on a part of my body. It’s a cute bunny nudge. Perhaps she’s saying, I’m not thrilled by the meds, but I love you anyway? 😉
Gracie checking me out as I take her picture
The stitches, and the meds, are the only indication that something has happened to her. We’ve only had her for four days, but we love this little girl!
It’s so nice to see her being her normal sweet self. Doing normal bunny things, such as…
Gracie inspecting the cover and showing her cute bunny lips
checking out everything…
I caught Gracie getting ready to run around the room. She’s fast!
Exploring, as you can see she had lots of fun checking out the room.
And she kept a close eye on me during the process, stopping by regularly to give me soft bunny kisses and waiting for pats and hugs.
Adorable bunny grooming
I captured her grooming herself, I think rabbit grooming is so adorable.
Oreo, our one year old rescue bunny, is our shy sweet girl. The good news is, she’s gradually losing her fear and actually lets me hold her for long periods of time before wanting to get down and explore! I consider that progress.
I added one boneless chicken breast to the pressure cooker with three garlic cloves and about one inch of ginger. My daughter prepared her ramen noodles. After the noodles were done I showed her how to rinse them off thoroughly and I told her to toss the included flavoring packet.
Daughter: “Really mom, why?”
Me: “Oh we can make much better seasonings then the pre-packaged junk that accompanies those noodles. Let me show you…”
Into my 3 cup granite mortar and pestle, I added a few grains of sea salt, whole cumin, peppercorns, and cardamom I proceeded to grind them all together. I must admit, I really love the simple pleasure of manually grinding things together.
The mortar and pestle have been around for thousands of years. My daughter got caught up with my obvious enjoyment of the process and asked if she could try grinding manually. I her try it out, she’s hooked too. In no time, everything was ground to a fine powder. Which worked our nicely since the ramen noodles and chicken breast were finished cooking.
The boneless chicken breast was extremely tender and took about ten minutes to prepare in the pressure cooker.
Chicken noodle soup
Since my daughter just wanted chicken, noodles and spice blend I didn’t add any vegetables. She eats plenty of vegetables and fruit throughout the day, so one meal without isn’t an issue. My daughter added the chicken breast with the noodles and spices, mixed and promptly ate everything. It was a one bowl meal, made specifically for her and there were no leftovers. She did tell me that our season blend tasted much better than the packet that was included with the noodles.
I really enjoy preparing meals for those I love. I’m sure my daughter will have many fond memories of her mom taking time to make meals extra special.
Earlier today, I stumbled upon a great video on rabbit bonding. I included it as a ‘resource’ with my last post about Gracie and Oreo’s bunny bonding gone bad. Because I think it’s so good, I thought it deserved its own post.
This post, is mainly a placeholder for myself, but it’s such a great reference that I hope if someone stumbles upon my site (while searching for information on the correct way to bond bunnies) they will benefit from it also.
In addition to the above video, I noticed that the Binky Bunny website had an excellent forum on bonding bunnies. Over the past few weeks, I’ve casually browsed that website but today was the first time I noticed a forum about rabbit bonding. Searching the bonding forum was refreshing since I found a lot of great posts from rabbit owners who were attempting to bond their rabbits. While some didn’t have too much issue, others ran into similar issues like I experienced. Seeing successful friendships develop between rabbits that were initially fighting ‘tooth and nail’ was extremely encouraging.
For those of you that don’t know, they are 6-7 month old sisters that we adopted in November and they were fine with each other’s company for about a week until one big scrap whioch forced us to separate them. They are currently living in “X-Pens” next door to each other.
I really don’t know what happened next one minute they were about a metre apart and the next they were lunging at each other! Luckily I got in the way pretty quickly and I bore the brunt of it. Ariel got my hand quite badly (its only just stopped bleeding). I picked Ariel up to seperate the two and calm the situation (Ariels usually the easier one to pick up and responds better to it than Miranda, who just seems to get more wound up if shes picked up), tried to put them back together after a few minutes to try to end on a positive note but they weren’t having any of it so it was separation straight away again. I think Miranda may have been quite upset by it as she did a wee straight over the side of the litter tray almost straight away after the fight and i’ve never seen her do that before, they are pretty much perfectly litter trained. They looked pretty upset when I put them back in their pens too.
To this…
Hello all!
Well its been nearly 2 weeks since we moved the buns in together in our bedroom and they seem ‘cemented’! We have cleaned the lounge with vinegar and have set up a new home for them, complete with logs for them to climb on!
From reading that post, it took several weeks before the two female rabbits were bonded.
I’m loving my new 
