Can't Touch This

Our rabbit Kenji is very fluffy and cute.  Almost like a stuffed animal, but very Alive.

Looking at him, you just want to reach out and hold him and hug him.  Yet Kenji has other ideas than being hugged.  He'll move away.  "nope,  Can't Touch this."

He does like to play and hop around a lot. Lots of energy.

When our bearded dragon, Hagrid, has energy she doesn't want to be held either.  Go, go, go.  

Yet because she's a reptile her body will cool down and she will slow down.     It is then that she likes to be very close to warmth.  She  is very happy when we share our warmth with her.  She'll lay on us for warmth and comfort for a time.  

It's sort of interesting: 

The fluffy cute rabbit wants private space to himself  

The scaly reptile wants to enjoy close time with us for warmth. 

All Kinds in this world.

Here's a pic of Hagrid resting on me. She relaxes and closes her eyes as she feels my warmth.

And here's our sassy sweet Kenji on his tunnel boxes.

How About Them Apples

When watching Kenji eat,  we'd notice that he takes little bites.

I cored an apple, peeled it and cut it up in small pieces

Then I brought it to him on a paper plate.

Not every piece was the same size.  Some were smaller than others.  

Well, Kenji looked it over.  Then he went and grabbed the biggest piece on the plate.

Since then I don't bother cutting apples up in small pieces.

Nail Clipping

 

Clipping our pets nails is an important part of pet care.

It can take practice to get it done.

When I first attempted to clip Kenji's nails, he zipped away.  My daughters would try to hold him. Yet it was still challenging.  Kenji seemed to find a way out.   

I asked the vet about how to hold and cut his nails.  She demonstrated that he tends to need to be held like a football.  

OK 

Yesterday I bought a new pair of nail clippers, because I couldn't find the one we had. 

Supplied with new nail clippers, a banana (his favorite treat) and towel, my daughter and I went to it. Kenji was held in a football hold, while I clipped each paws nails carefully.

He was happy with his reward treat.

Hagrid gets her nails clipped too.  

She, being the Queen of chill, wasn't initially hard to work with.  

Yet she would shake her hand after having her nails cut. Her way of letting us know she didn't care for it.  

Hagrid gets exercise

 

Hagrid warms up on her rock hill in her enclosure.  

When she's warmed she gets taken out for a time.  

When she's light colored her body is warmed up.  She now has a lot of energy to move.

She gets excited as we carry her out to the living room.  She sometimes gets impatient and wants to go down.  

She is placed on the floor.  And zoom...she's off running around.  "Beardie on the Loose"

She runs through the living room.  Then runs into the kitchen.  

She turns and heads to the bathroom.  Then out across the living room again.  

She also loves climbing.  She discovered she can climb up the heater cover near the front windows.  From there she can look outside the windows, which she enjoys doing.  Her skill of climbing has improved and she climbs up with ease.

She seems proud.  She stands in a proud stance and gazes out the window.  She's guarding her territory.  

                                                Here's a pic of him looking out the window.

Here's a video of Hagrid running in the living room.

Water, please. TY

Kenji enjoys his upstairs "pad" with Emily.  

He is a free roaming bunny.  

He has:

a place to go-to-the bathroom 

a food place and water dish

 towels, pillows, rugs

a tunnel to run through and boxes 

He's a happy bunny.    

He gets checked on throughout the day.   

As far as roles, I seemed to have taken on cleaning his water dish and refilling it. And he knows it.

I know he knows it because when he wants/needs more water, he looks at me and then the water dish.

"Water, please, TY"

I pick up bowl and go down to clean it.  

He sits in a spot and waits for me to come back.  

I come back and fill it.  

He gets excited and does his zoomies (hopping around in circles) and then nuzzle me (TY)

Kenji's Gotcha Anniversary

 Jan 9, 2021

That morning we put together the cage.  Later that afternoon my daughter and her friend placed the cage in the back seat of the car and drove to the house to pick up her new 6-7 week old rabbit.

They brought him home. They carried in the cage with this small fluff ball of a bunny.  He was so small and cute.

We open the cage door.  It took a while for him to get comfortable enough to come out, yet he did.

My daughter and her friend came up with his name, Kenji.

Jan 9, 2022

It's been a year now since that first day. We celebrated his "Gotcha Home Coming" day by treating him to his favorite treat, a Banana and sitting with him and praising him.  

It's been an experience having a rabbit to care for and there have been many joys.  Lots of learning and engaging.  

Love

Curtains

 

My oldest daughter was changing up her room.  She moved some things around to suit her better.  She added a couple of new items.  One of the items was a set of new curtains.  

I helped her put up the new curtains.  

The curtains were full length curtains and would touch the floor.  I brought up a long curtain rod.  

Kenji's enclosure is in front of the window.  In order to put the curtains up we had to move his cage forward. 

Kenji seemed uncomfortable about the cage being moved.  Yet watched to see what was next.  

We moved the cage a few inches from in front of the window.  

I then laid out the long curtains to start to pull each one through the curtain rod.  

Kenji saw the curtains and came over to investigate.  He sat by some of the curtains.  

Once I put the curtains on the rod, we put them up.  

Kenji went to the curtains.  He moved through the curtains and then sat admits them. 

Since that day, he has hopped through and slept among the curtains.  

Hagrid: Full Body Portrait

 

Hagrid

Hagrid: Scratch Board In Process 2

 

I scratched out more of the light areas and defined certain areas.  

I added some color.  

She has orange markings on his face.  

Here is a detail on her face.

Hagrid: Scratch Board in progress

 

Hagrid Beardie is quite beautiful. She has the well known feature of spikes scales on her beard area and around the back sides of her head.  The spiky scales are on her sides too.

Her face has orange, and then there are black areas and light orangey brown area down her back.

I thought it would be good to do a scratch board portrait of her.  

I started the other night, to scratch out the light areas.  

I plan to add color.  

Here is what I did the other night.

In progress.

Hagrid Growing and Shedding

Hagrid is happily in her new larger enclosure.  

Hagrid is showing signs of growing.

Like snakes, a new layer of growth and skin pushes the older skin away.  The old scales dry out and fall away. 

At different points, the scales can come off as little pieces that remind one of dandruff. At other times, the scales can come of as fuller pieces of skin.  

One day we notices a piece of skin that had pulled away from her arm.  The piece of scale skin matched her upper arm, elbow and part of her lower arm.  

Another time, we noticed her eye was looking bulgy.  The scales had pulled away.  The old scales looked like the area around his eye.

Hagrid's old scaly skin.  

Hide and Seek

Children enjoy playing Hide and Seek.  There's mystery and surprise in the game of Hide and Seek.

There are are advantages to the game that are vital to an animal out in the wild.  The instincts are strong in animals.  Hiding to protect oneself.  Hunting for the next meal. It is ingrained in their DNA.

Kenji, a domestic rabbit,  does play Hide and Seek.  He is drawn to places that are like a den.

under the bed

in a box

in a corner

Yet because he has gotten to know us, he does come out to see us.  

I go upstairs and he may or may not be visible.  If I don't see him, I call his name, "Kenji, Kenji bunny".  
I look in the places I know he goes: under the bed, in a box.  

Then suddenly he comes out.  

"There you are."  I say.  

I let him smell my hand and pat him. 

We can be sure he will come out when we have his favorite treat, a banana. 

Hagrid, our Bearded Dragon  is a predatory animal.  

She will move as a predator does like in the wild. She will stay really still and keep low and hide behind a plant or branch to approach her prey, crickets.  Stealth and timing is key.  

Hagrid: Pencil drawing

Hagrid Beardie is about 6-7 months old now.  

I've noticed as she grows that her coloring and patterns on her body are becoming more distinct.  Her features are more prominent.  

When most people think about bearded dragons, they picture a sandy-colored reptile. But many people may be surprised to discover that bearded dragons can come in a variety of different colors, patterns, and something referred to as morphs or mutations.

Hagrid is a Standard morph.  Her face has orange markings.  Her beard area has black lines. And her body has a  a sysmetrical pattern along her back and down her tail.  There are browns, blacks and light color areas on her back.  

Shee has the familiar spikes feature on her beard area and along her sides.  

She is pretty cool to look at.  

I did a pencil drawing of her yesterday while she basked.  

Around the Yard with Kenji

 

At first, Kenji wasn't sure about going outside.  

But once out in the yard he really enjoyed

himself.  

We would follow him with the leash around the yard.  

He would check out things around the yard.  

Rub the short log.

Smell the grass.

Exploring the yard was intermitted with sitting in one spot.  

Under the playset near the old tire.

A dirt mount under a bush. 

Hiding in the leaves at the maple tree.

Spurts of hop hop hopping, covering lots of ground.

Burrowing in the soil.  ( the house sparrows use his little hole in the yard to take a dust bath)

Surveying the area.

Animal Whisperer

 

I'm presently working for  UCP.org at a location in Johnston, RI.   

I had been in Johnston before, a time ago.  I had volunteered with a therapeutic riding program.  The therapeutic riding program was there for a number of months, but then moved to another barn.  Things had started out Okay but then went awry.   

I would continue for a time volunteering with the therapeutic riding program.  

I enjoyed working with the horses.  This was an opportunity for me to delve into working and being around horses.  It was hard work, yet there were payoffs.  

I got to know the horses and they got to know and trust me.  One of the horses, I would get to ride.  I developed a bond with that horse.  I would work with him: grooming, ground exercises and riding.  I loved our time together.  

I have many wonderful memories of connecting with him.  

Riding in the ring relaxed and easy in the late afternoon.

Grooming him.  He loved the attention and relaxation of just being there in the moment.  I didn't  ask much of him during grooming.  I just wanted him to relax and enjoy our time.  

Working in the ring, I would ask him to do some bending and stretching.  I worked on walking and trotting for conditioning the muscles.  Then a cool down at the end.  

For me being there was a chance to:

Decompress

Be in the moment, the present

Enjoy and relax

Be calm and courageous 

Recently, I chose to go to the location in Johnston to just see.  

The twin willow trees and stone entrance wall were still there.  Nature seemed to have started to grow over the parking lot.  

I got out of the car.  I looked and noticed no sign any more.  A neighbor noticed me.  I started to walk up the parking lot toward the barn.  A pine tree, tall and green, was still there near where the riding ring would have been.  The neighbor came over to me and asked me if I could use some help.  I mentioned there had been a horse barn property here.  

He said, "Not any more, and for the best."

I had figured as much.  

Like myself, I now felt like I had entered into a new chapter in my life.  

The last year or so: COVID19, lay off, job searching, becoming employed again.

writing, art, bird watching, walks/hikes

One thing I note is my sensitivity that lends to my ability to relate to animals.  Some might claim it as Animal Whispering.  

For me it's always been about relating to beings and things around me.  

From the birds I feed and watch in the back yard.  They see me as I go to fill the feeder and stay nearby.

The stray cat that if I hadn't had an allergy to I would have taken it in.

The dogs I've met here and there in my life.  

Presently: Our neighbor's puggle "Kota and cattle dog Teedo.  A street over "Pepper" dog.  

The Horses I have worked with.  

A new Chapter has arrived,  spurred by my daughters wanting finally to have pets.  

We are now a proud family with a rabbit and breaded dragon lizard.  

A Mouse In and Out

It was morning at the farm.  I walk into the barn and say "Good Morning" to each horse as I pass their  stall.  Some horses whinny while others shift and snort.   They are hungry for breakfast.
I enter the feed storage room.  There are barrels of grain lined up along one wall.  Most mornings the grain buckets are ready, having been refilled the night before in readiness for the morning feed.  This morning, as occasionally happens, the buckets weren't filled.  So I begin by taking off the barrel lids to fill the buckets with grain.
I open one barrel to find a mouse inside it.  For a split moment I let out a short scream and shut the lid.  Then in the next moment realize it's not useful to freeze since I have a task at hand.
I open the lid and look at the mouse.  Mouse gets nervous since big human is standing over barrel that it's in.  It occurs to me how senseless it was of me to scream at a creature so much smaller than I am. Especially in contrast to how large I am: human being vs a mouse.  Yet it is what it is.  I got startled so reacted.
Mouse runs and tries to jump up to get out.  It fails each time to get out.  Apparently mouse is lower in barrel than it can run and jump out.
So I choose to help it out.  I try to get the mouse into a scoop to lift it out, but it runs and tries to jump out more.  So I stop for a moment.
Mouse stops for a moment too.
--then there is the incredible moment.
Mouse looks up at me.  I mean really looks at me.  Our grazes meet.
Mouse's eye look soft  and shiny.  The feeling I get- "Please don't hurt me".
I say, "I'm not going to hurt you.  I just want to get you out of the barrel so I can do my chore- to feed the horses.
Mouse seems to relax a little. I position scoop and shift it under him and lift him. He accepts the lift then moves - jumps out of barrel and scurries away.
Out loud to myself I say "Now I can get to the chore at hand-feeding the horses". I turn to pick up a grain bucket.
Out of the corner of my eye I notice mouse momentarily still for a moment under the wire shelf on the other side of room.
Mouse looks.
In a soft voice I reply, "Your Welcome".
Mouse scurries off to do what mice do.
I move to do what's at hand.  Feed the horses.

Farewell to "E" Pig

I first met "Emily" Pig when I visited Lend-A-Hand farm.
She was a rather large, black and white adult pig.
She would wiggle her nose and grunt.
When I volunteered  there, I'd walk by her pig pen in the morning as I did chores and say "hi" to her.  She always seemed to reply with soft grunts- perhaps content-- happy sign.
Of course if she were hungry the grunts would change.

Lend-A- Hand closed. Thus a change.

At the new farm, she was in a stall.
Apparently we were all experiencing the adjustment.
   "change is a constant"
Timing of feeding changed.
She got out of her stall a few times.
She seemed more grumpy in waiting for her food.

One morning when we approached feeding her, she pushed her way out.  To keep her in the aisle, I faced her off with a pitch fork.  I didn't touch her, just make it so she wouldn't want to get passed me.  My working partner showed her her feed bucket.  We got her back in.
Second time, I talked to her through the stall door and let her see I had a pitch fork if need be.
She calmed down, so I opened the door and passed the food to her.  She was much better.  And she seemed satisfied and good.  whew
Last few feeding went well.  She seemed to settle in.
I've checked on her water dish too, and she seems content.
Nice to leave that impression on her.

Well, with arrangements made, she'll be going to a new permanent home in PA.  Sounds like a good "pig" place.
I imagine she'll get a pig pen again and be very content.

May she find a pig paradise.

A sweet Farewell to "E" pig.

I know she left an sweet impression on me from the start.

Best to you.

Typical Good Buddies

Typical, Good Buddies:
Look for each other.
Stand together.
Enjoy each others company
Playful

Eclipse and Sophie are quite the buddies.  They've been around each other for a while.  They are in stalls next to each other.  They can look out of their stalls at each other.  In fact when moving one of them to the other aisle or out of the barn, the other one will always whinny for their bud.
They are more content when led out together by two leaders.
I sometimes get to lead Sophie in-line behind Eclipse as we walk them out.

They get to spend time out together in one of the pasture on warmer days.
On colder days, they are put in the arena for a time.
- this gives us farm hands a chance to clean stalls and the barn easier.
They do spend some good time together.
Sometimes I check in on them.   They can be seen standing together, either dosing or grooming each other.
They do get playful too.  Though I've only seen a little of that.  I look in and they stop and just sort of stand around.  Wonder if they don't want us humans to get any ideas if they run around or such.
- I get a little amused.  Yes, their amusing

They always get food and water where ever they are put.

Well, one day they were particularly amusing. 

Deba and I led them into the arena for the morning.  They needed some hay in the arena, so I went and got it.
Usually they hang around near the front doors waiting and anticipating it.
Well, this day they must of been feelin' good.  Playful
I went through the break room to walk into the arena.
They were on the other end of the arena.  Must of been playing a bit. 
They were standing next to each other facing forward, ears pricked forward when I entered the arena with the hay.  In a split moment they went into a run.
Yup, racing down the length of the arena.
A "Beat yah there".
I placed-dropped one flake of hay in one spot and the other flake of hay a few feet away-as usual- and stepped aside toward the wall.
They slowed down just so as they got there.
I couldn't help smile and sort of laugh ,"Slow down". 

I've had other horses sort of hurry over for hay- trotting over and such. Yet this was buddies racing each other.

too fun

There's more where that came from

I now work at LAH farm Monday through Friday.
I check and fill water troughs in paddocks.  Then move inside the barn and check-fill water buckets.
I also clean stalls and paddocks.

Paddock cleaning can be interesting.
Depending on the time I do each paddock I may have a horse in there with me or not.
I don't mind if they are.  I've gotten to know the horses and they've gotten to know me. 

I have wondered sometimes at things.  And today I made note, again, that when I clean around them there - not every time, yet often enough- a horse will leave a "gift" for me to add to my work already there.
Is it about cleanliness? Or animal marking? or syncing with the energy going on?  ..... I can really turn thoughts and questions around and churn them.
I don't know that I have an answer really.
Some have noted this and complain that after they clean the stall the horse goes- like ugh-more work.

In the case of cleaning paddocks, my own experience has been one with a slight twist.  If the horses goes-to the bathroom- I've made note that they've been doing it conveniently before I finish cleaning their paddock.
Are they marking? Leaving a "gift'? Acknowledging my maid service--hehe?
I've decided to look at it as a gift oddly enough.  ..it happens often.  I say "oh thank you, I'll get it" 
Are they helping me with my work?  hmmmm

 "There's always more where that came from"

Maybe they are acknowledging me in some way.

Today I got to Lady's paddock late in my route.  The day had warmed and I was feeling a little hot and tired.  I greeted her as usual "Hi girl, how are yah." and went about my cleaning.  There were some piles near her that I picked up.
I was almost done with the piles near her when I felt her soft muzzle nudge me for a moment. 
She has come near me before for some attention and a pat, but she's never toughed me with her nose like this before.  I wasn't facing her at the time.
She has done the low neigh or kicked the gate when wanting more hay.

I try to tune in to "What".  I asked her "what"? when I felt her touch.  She wanted my attention to something.
I was unsure for a moment.
Then I happen to turn and noticed she made a pile- gift.
I was like , "Oh, OK. Thanks."
I usually notice when they do it right away and make a comment.
Did this time she pick up on my tiredness and noticed I didn't notice it right away?
Why would she have done it?
I can't come up with any other answer.
I know they pick up on any and every move, emotion, energy stuff- very keen senses.

One thing I do know is I felt very touched by the gesture.  A connection though very subtle.  A gift.

So it had to do with poop, ...well.  

 

 

Rawness of Nature

Rawness of Nature

One day as I walked home from seeing my girls off at school, I saw a baby bird on the sidewalk. It was chirping like crazy. I looked at it and it just chirped. I didn't see an adult bird around. I gathered by the fact it couldn't seem to move that it had fall out of a nest.

When I got home I called the local animal rescue. Then I checked on the baby bird.

Unfortunately my efforts were to no avail. The little bird didn't make it.

I'm not sure what kind of bird it was. It looked like it was pretty young with only a few short feathers.

Nature takes it's course. Things happen in a way that spells the future or not.

This was not my first encounter with animal rescue.

Last year I managed to save a young Robin from our next door neighbor's cat.

I had noticed the cat in our yard was eyeing something that it wanted to get near. Yet something was keeping it from doing so. I walked out in the yard to look. In the garden was a young robin amid-st the green plants. The cat kept eyeing it. The Robin started to move away by walking through the plants. It appeared to not be able to fly. It kept struggling. It appeared the bird was favoring one wing. I put myself between the cat and the bird. The cat backed off. I grabbed a small pail and we managed to get the bird in it. I called the animal control and they said they'd be there soon. I decided that the pail wasn't such a good idea since the bird would start to spook when I tried to move the pail. We grabbed a big cardboard box and slipped the bird into that. Then we took it to the front of the house to wait for the animal control to get there. We made sure the bird was out of danger.

The animal control person came. I showed her the box it was in. She gentling took hold of the bird and picked it up. The bird seem to look at us and the animal control person. It's mouth was open, yet it didn't struggle as much.

I asked the animal control person what would happen next. She told me that there is a wild animal rescue in the state and a woman who's known as the “Bird Woman”. She rehabilitates the birds. That if this bird had signs toward recovering they'd see it through.

She gave me a number to keep.
I called a week later and was told the bird was moved to this woman's place and eventually would be released back out in the wild.

This bird was a fledgling and looked similar to an adult bird yet not there yet.

My husband noticed later that an adult Robin seem to be hanging around our place. He thought maybe it had to do with my rescuing the youngster. I don't know for sure, yet feel good.

Nature can be quite raw, yet also amazing.