Day One of International Rabbit Day Weekend – A Personal Celebration

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Rabbittude

I would call this photo, Tigger gives thanks, for all of us. Over this past month when I have seen the postings for International Rabbit Day for either today or tomorrow, I was wondering if we would reach this weekend and still have two rabbits. Shadow’s allergies moved into a more serious case of Snuffles right before Labor Day. Since both bunnies tend to pass infections back and forth, both were started on the antibiotic Baytril.

After just a few days on Baytril, Tigger’s stomach problems returned and we needed to take her off the Baytril. Shadow finished out his two weeks continuing to improve. Starting earlier this week he has been a bouncier, happier, hungrier bunny than he has been in months. Tigger however throughout this month has continued to have stomach issues. She has been on again off again for appetite and on again off again for us giving her gas meds, pain meds and force feedings of Oxbow’s Critical Care and syringed water.

It has been very frustrating trying different combinations of hay, pellets and greens and having her at times even refuse her favorite treats of banana or dried fruits. It has been exhausting and heartbreaking at times wondering if she was going to pull out of this. She was overweight and we had been trying before this month to adjust her diet to help her to lose the excess weight. Now in one month with her stomach issues, she has dropped about a pound.

There were some bad moments this week when she really seemed hungry, but lacking appetite and exhausted all at the same time. Then we noticed a trend to her eating Kale and having a really bad spell. So even though Tigger loves Kale, we eliminated it on Thursday. Today, it is like we have a new and improved Tigger back. She is bouncing around, getting into everything and eating as if to make up for a month-long starvation diet.

I just hope she doesn’t overdo it all! However, it is a wonderful day and weekend to celebrate that we have two lovely companion rabbits who though elderly are still with us.

We’re Still in the UK and …

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Rabbittude

Hillbilly Internet Headquarters

Okay, I woke up groggy once again this morning with my now usual Benadryl hangover and we are still in the UK according to Etsy. I tried to get on with the business of the day which included lots of work on a website due to go live tomorrow. I was working furiously to get some of the final edits in place and upload the site to the internet.

Right in the middle of the upload, my cable internet service goes out, again. I have lost count of the thousands of times we have lost the internet service over the years we have been with the only business level provider to our area.

I picture the company as having a headquarters like the picture here. Everything about the service seems to be holding together just about as well as this ramshackle shack which is just barely.

Sigh … At least Shadow has come off his Baytril and is bouncing around and has regained a lot of appetite. He seems to be healthier than he has been in months and wants to get into all kinds of things and places. Tigger is still a concern. Her appetite fluctuates widely day-to-day. She regularly has gas issues, no mistaking that skunky smell. She is on again off again for pain and gas meds and feedings of Critical Care based on her activity, eating and comfort level.

I am hoping tomorrow will be a little less crazy than so many days have been this month.

We’ve Moved! No Wait, We Haven’t, but …

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Rabbittude

There are some days I cannot decide which is crazier and less consistent, my rabbits or the internet. admittedly, I have been a bit fuzzy headed for a week now as the Ragweed pollen counts have gone way up and I have been walking around in a Benadryl haze. However, I don’t remember moving to the United Kingdom.

That is however where Google now has our Rabbittude Etsy shop showing up, as uk.etsy.com/shop/rabbittude. Dozens of US and Canadian shops on Etsy are reporting that according to Google, they are now in the UK.

Time for more Benadryl and maybe tomorrow I will find out it was just a figment of an allergy induced coma state.

Photo Share – Bunny Brunch

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Rabbittude

I took this photo of Tigger and Shadow earlier today. They were enjoying a bunny brunch of some parsley and carrots. Shadow is showing part of the personality that earned him the name Shadow. Tigger is showing just how scruffy a pretty bunny can be when she decides to seriously shed some fur. Shadow seems to be recovering nicely from Snuffles, but Tigger is only slightly improved on her tummy and appetite issues. She will eat her greens, but isn’t really eating her hay as she should.

Hitting the Wall

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Rabbittude

This has been a rough month and it is only at the half way point. Tigger and Shadow are both being medicated for different problems. Tropical depression Lee came through on Labor Day with multiple tornado warnings. We lost internet for a chunk of time after that which backed my work load up since I run internet based businesses and do web design / development.

The Etsy Rabbits team is putting a push on creating treasuries with team members / rabbit themes to get the word out about International Rabbit Day. I thought I at least had that one down as Saturday the 24th, but Etsy posted it as the 25th. In doing research, it appears that groups pick the 4th Saturday or Sunday of the month. So now there are lots of treasuries planned leading up to and through both days of the now International Rabbit Day Weekend event.

Then business taxes that were extended are now due. Blaine and I both have large work projects going and are operating on very little sleep. Add in the fact it is fall allergy season here and we are coughing, sneezing, and wheezing. What does a good nights sleep feel like? I am not sure anymore.

So I am almost hitting the wall. I say almost, because I am so tired I am not sure there is a wall anymore and I don’t have the energy to try to find it to hit it.

Slight Delay …

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Rabbittude

🙁 As happens with humans, the fluid congestion from Shadow’s allergies has led to a slight infection. We have been giving him Benadryl (in vet determined dose) to try to cut down the sneezing and congestion. There must have still been a bit too much sitting around in his sinuses and he started to have some thick nasal mucus last evening. So he got a trip to the vet first thing this morning.

Stay tuned! Tomorrow I will have the promised Etsy treasury full of items from some of our international Etsy Rabbits to lead off a total of six treasuries I will do showcasing one item each from the active Etsy Rabbits shops. A few shops are currently on vacation or hiatus, but there are currently almost 100 shops from over a dozen different countries.

There are so many wonderful items available from the Etsy Rabbits with a variety of styles in art, crafts, jewelry, accessories, clothing, home decor and more …

Sticky Buns

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Rabbittude

I was so proud of myself this week. I finally got all my supplies properly organized into containers and used a label maker to put nice clear permanent (I thought) adhesive labels on the containers.

Then Shadow decided to show me a completely new rabbit trick yesterday evening. He hopped up to one of the plastic containers, grabbed the adhesive label somehow with his teeth and ripped it off. I had to grab him and wrestle the label away from him immediately so that I wouldn’t have to find out how bad an adhesive label might mess up a rabbit’s digestive system.

What on earth was he thinking and why would he go after those labels? Shoot, now what am I going to do? If I take all the labels off, I am back to not knowing what is in the containers. If I leave them on, Shadow now knows he has something new to mess with.

Arghhh! Clearly as long as the he is still breathing, Shadow will continue to find new ways and means of getting into things I would never have dreamed of! The labels weren’t even on a week. Does he notice new things or what?

Dust Bunny Watch

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Rabbittude

Click image to see our dust bunny shirts

Tonight we are on alert for the possibility of a dust bunny uprising. I cleared out the master bedroom today in a delayed spring cleaning. Shhh, there are now less dust bunnies here …

I am hoping that the dust bunny colonies in other parts of the house did not get wind of the activity. It is always amazing how quickly the dust bunnies grow and multiply when there are real rabbits in the house. When I start to clean hard floors, you can see the dust bunnies scurrying away across the smooth open stretches trying to make it into the corners to hide.

Hopefully I won’t be attacked in my sleep and will be back to blog again tomorrow.

Newest Rabbit Photos

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Rabbittude

Click image for Shy Bunny Lanyard

Click image for Floral Rabbit Lanyard

Everyone knows that it is hard to get good pictures of kids and pets because they just won’t sit still.So you would think product photography of little bunny rabbit items would be a snap. Well they don’t sit so still either.

I was trying yesterday and today to retake the photos for one item and get images taken of a new item.Both items are cell phone / zipper pull / key chain charms, so they are designed to hang. Getting a sitting portrait of an item that isn’t meant to sit can be a challenge. Finally after lots of coaxing with them, success!

I just love these little Asian porcelain rabbit beads, the one looks so shy and bashful and the other looks like a rabbit that is taking charge and hopping away leash and all! The glass bellflower beads were so lovely, I bought a variety of colors to work with on projects. I love the garden feel they give to these lanyards. The lanyards are nylon cord with iridescent threads woven throughout, so there is also a soft sparkle with these.

Making these was a joy. All the elements have beautiful colors and textures. I love the bunny rabbit in the garden feel of them and the feminine look. I had a friend stop over after I made the first one with the reds and corals. She bought one right away. So that was a nice compliment for me that the lanyard charm had the “charm” I wanted.

Ready, Set, Action …

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Rabbittude

Here is Miss Tigger up to her bunny armpits in hay

... and the action behind the camera

Earlier I promised I would share some bunny photos. The photo of Tigger was taken with my camera on its table top tripod taken to the floor to catch her at her level. While I was taking it, I felt a furious tugging. I quickly rotated the camera around on the tripod and got the shot of Shadow attacking the drawstring on my shorts.

I couldn’t see to focus this second shot. It was a quick swivel around and shoot blind by just pressing the button to capture the shot. But it gives a great view of what was going on in front of the camera and behind the camera at the same time. I would not have been able to get the shots of both Tigger and Shadow in action without my camera setup the way I showed in my earlier post on Catching Bunny Rabbit Photos .

Catching Bunny Rabbit Photos

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Rabbittude

This morning I am sharing how I get some of my up close and personal bunny rabbit photos. Above is a photo to show how I have my camera set up. I have put it up on my desk with a rabbit stand in who knows how to stand still.

When we first got Tigger and Shadow 10 years ago we used 35mm cameras. When digital cameras really started to drop in price, we made the switch, but found ourselves having to relearn picture-taking all over again. Taking photos of kids and rabbits is tough no matter the camera, because they rarely sit still. So we found ourselves with lots of blurred bunny photos.

Getting a camera that had a kids and pets setting was a big help, but I still found myself with lots of semi-blurred images. Two things recommended to decrease blur are using a tripod and automatic timer settings to snap the picture and remove the camera movement blur that can occur when depressing the button. Using a picture snapping timer setting rarely works for bunnies because they don’t stay still long enough for even a two second timer. Normal tripods usually put me way above bunny action and I would get lots of looking down on them shots.

I wanted shots to be more up close and personal. I tried just putting the camera on the floor, but that was really tough on me. I had to be flat on my stomach to see through the camera and focus. Then to get more than one shot, I had to completely rearrange myself into another position or angle if the bunnies had moved on to another place in the room. If they went to another room, I had to start over with my floor positioning. So I never got too many shots doing that.

When we started to sell things online in the Rabbittude Etsy shop, we purchased several table top camera tripods to aid in product photography photos. Looking at the one I have pictured here, I realized it was a good size to put on the floor and be bunny height. It allows me to kneel and still be able to see through the LCD to focus. The swivel ability of the tripod lets me easily follow the bunnies as they move around. I can catch multiple shots staying in one location.

Later this afternoon, I will share some bunny shots I got using this camera setup.

Dust Bunny Concerns

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Rabbittude

Dust Bunnies in the Rabbittude Etsy Shop

The Dust Bunnies are on alert in the Rabbittude Etsy Shop

Our dust bunnies have been sneaking out of their hiding places and reading recent posts about the Simplify Your Life Week due to start on Monday. They are deeply concerned that this is going to spur a move to serious cleaning, putting their very existence at risk.

They have gathered support and moved themselves up to the featured area on the Rabbittude Etsy shop in preparation for a major protest against any movement towards a clean sweep. We think the existence of the majority of the dust bunnies here is due to Tigger and Shadow. We fixed them so they couldn’t reproduce real rabbits. They have been showing us ever since that time that they still have a means to multiply and bring lots of little dust bunnies into our world.

Anytime I seek to sweep dust bunnies away, our dust bunny creators will interfere. I have started to picture all the little dust bunnies rising up in protest against me. I picture myself tied up someday in a fuzzy version of Gulliver’s Travels.

So I hope the dust bunnies will remain calm and reasoned this coming week. I will be talking about ways to keep things simple with rabbits in the house, but don’t have any major cleaning initiatives planned for them.

Rabbittude

Rabbits + Attitude = Rabbittude

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