March Chat!

[DanaNM]

Well I think spring has sprung!

We just had a groundhog emerge from hibernation in our yard! Going to make gardening an extra challenge but we’ll probably plan a decoy garden for it. We decided her name is Petunia. 🙂

We’ve been busy clearing all of these invasive vines that are threatening to take over the property and strangle our trees, so Petunia is prob wondering what the heck happened to the lovely thicket that used to surround her burrow!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

Wow — I have never actually seen a groundhog in real life…. I am envious of the sight! I think Petunia is a wonderfully fitting name.

I hope you have good garden gloves to protect yourself in all that clearing work… I can’t imagine how many cuts and splinters I’d get with how clumsy I am, haha.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

We were very excited to see her! She was super cute, she even did some stretches! It must be crazy waking up from a months-long hibernation. I had seen marmots before in CA, but never a groundhog up close (they are super closely related). It was funny, because literally last night I had said, “well if that is a groundhog burrow we’ll definitely see when it emerges from hibernation” because we can see the burrow from our kitchen window. Then this morning, there it was!

And yes we definitely gloved up! Thankfully the super crazy vine is not thorny, but there are a good number of blackberry canes throughout that we have to watch out for!

I’ve been scheming of garden projects I can make with the cut vines. They are woody, and some are really beautifully twisted and I think we can make some plant supports and maybe and arch-way with them. I’ve been watching this wonderful gardening channel on youtube and he made some beautiful plant supports with vines and branches from his property.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bladesmith]

Sprung heck, it’s fallen on us as if dropped from a great height.  We went from freezing temps to almost 80 degrees literally overnight.  And now this Saturday, we’re going to drop down to the low 30s, with snow showers.  Wonky!

As for moi, it’s been busy busy lately.  Loki continues to be a large spoiled lump,  and I love him dearly.  The big goof.

I found a very nice Mountain Bike that someone threw away, and I’m rehabbing it so I can ride it myself.  I mean, free $250 mountain bike?  Yes please!

And, I found out that when my daughter turns 18, she’s going to lose her portion of the social security disability she’s been receiving, which will cut our monthly income by over 1/3.  Not a good scenario.  Fortunately,  the day after I learned of this, I went to my local library and they’d just put out fliers looking for a part time library assistant.  So, I filled out the app, dug out a VERY old resume, and sent it in.  Got the first interview, on the first day of them, and 2 minutes after my interview, they offered me the job!!  Granted, the pay is low, $9 an hour, and 20 hours a week to start, with more to come, maybe.  With a little time in, I should make enough to fill that SS gap, and maybe even a little more.  But not so much that it’ll impact my disability.

Also, my loving mother got sick of looking at my (literally) chewed up old recliner, and bought me a brand new one!   This thing is so comfy my butt thinks it’s died and gone to heinie heaven!

And last item, I went in today for the first test to see if I’d be a suitable candidate for something called “Radio ablation” where they stick a needle in my back and burn the nerves causing the majority of my back pain dead.  After SIXTEEN shots in my back today, I’m a bit knackered.

[LBJ10]

OMG! I love groundhogs! We used to see them all the time, but it seems the foxes and coyotes have scared them all away.

Dana – It looks like the previous owners left you a lot of stuff in the backyard. I bet you have big plans for the area though! Hopefully Petunia will stick around.

Congrats on the job Bladesmith! That’s exciting!

[prince dorian the bun]

Petunia looks like a cuty! I  need to start my gardening,  granted it’s all deck gardening,  but hopefully can keep the buns in greens.  

Bladesmith congrats on the library gig and hope that the nerve thing works out!

I am deep in moody buns and wondering if I will ever make it through bunny bonding. But also buying new stuff for when they share a room, so I guess part of me is still hopefully 😅.  I am also happy it’s finally not dark at 4pm!

[ParsleyBun]

Yes spring has sprung here too! But this weekend it will snow.  Oh well. 🙄

Question: Can I give my long-haired bunnies haircuts once warmer weather hits?

[DanaNM]

LBJ10 – Yes we have a lot to do in the garden! Everything beyond those two wooden fence posts (one of which has fallen over) is the neighboring property, but the garden beds were completely overrun with vines. But I think we should be able to get it in shape slowly but surely! I definitely had some fun with the loppers. We are dreaming of planting a cottage garden with tons of flowers and veggies mixed in. I have trays of seeds starting already!

We haven’t seen Petunia the last two days, but I’m guessing that waking up from hibernating is a slow process. It’s going to snow a bit today so maybe she sensed it wasn’t quite time (or saw that there wasn’t much food available yet).

Bladesmith- glad you were able to find some work that will help! and hopefully those treatments (plus a new recliner) help your pain!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

Oh, so it’s the neighbor’s junk. LOL

[DanaNM]

LOL yes!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

@Dana: That’s so cute! It sounds amazing to have a garden like this and see animals in there too ^_^

@Bladesmith: Congrats on the new job! Really hoping that the treatment is going to help you. Chronic pain is such a drain on your energy levels, I know that all too well…

@Dorian: I really hope that the bonding goes well. Bunnies can be so territorial :/

 

Sorry, but I need to vent… I haven’t slept a proper night since December because the bunnies are so hormonal, frustrated and noisy. Ugh, and they say the boys are bad during puberty? Molly is an unholy terror at the moment. She couldn’t be spayed until next Thursday.

We have them in separate hutches and let them out to play in turns, but Owen gets bored and lonely in his hutch. When he does, he starts to rattle the bars for hours, waking everyone up.  Nothing works: garlic, diluted chilli sauce, bite-x, nothing. Rattle rattle rattle…

It’s been nothing but oink oink oink, pee and poop everywhere and rattling the hutch bars since December 🙁

I’m really hoping that her hormones die down soon, and they can be bonded. This is driving us up the wall…

[Azerane]

Must be wonderful to have wildlife like that in your yard, how exciting! We just have a big, fat rat 🤣

Congrats on the new job Bladesmith, I’ve been at the same job for over a decade so I’d be terrified starting anything new.

It’s been a very long week here, work was crazy due to stocktake which means longer shifts and hours all over the place, Apollo had seizures and vet visits, and my Nanna had a bad fall and broke her pelvis. We made the long drive today so that I could visit her in hospital, hubby wasn’t allowed in (covid restrictions) but he kindly came with just for the support even though it meant sitting in the car for 2 hours by himself while I was in the hospital. No idea whether she’ll recover yet, one day at a time. She’s in her mid 90’s so I need to have realistic expectations.

In good news, I now have 2 months off of work. I’m using some of my long service leave. No specific plans, I just need a break to relax, work on my art and just not be at work. It’s ended up being perfect timing, because I am so emotionally drained right now.

[prince dorian the bun]

Thanks @Ellie from the Netherlands. I think they are slowly working things out. They are oddly not super territorial, the issues are around who is going to groom who. Other than that they share food, share toys and bedding and they are in semi-neutral territory as they are both butts about being picked up to go the bathroom (my only truly neutral space) and I gave up and am letting the spoiled fluff creatures have their way and just hop to their date area. Granted when we move to non-neutral territory who knows what will happen!

@Azerane – enjoy your break!! 2 months sounds amazing. Hope your Nana is okay and healing. Same for Apollo!

[GlennTheLionhead]

Sorry to join the chat a little late!

Everyone sounds like they have fantastic things going on and nice weather! What a cute little ground hog @Dana!

Awsome news about the new job bladesmith.

Prince dorian hope the bonding is going well, hang in there, the reward is worth everything!

Warm wishes to you Azerane, hope all goes well and you have a relaxing break!

Ellie that sounds tough! Just remember its only temporary and you will get there with the buns.

Nothing is new with me really, I’m a doctoral student so work is just a constant stream of pain in the butt busy lol. But on the bunny front Glenn has taken to sleeping in the bed with us now! Its super cute and my partner is jealous because obviously he always sleeps on my side of the bed lol! Although he will dig at my chest when its time for breakfast which in his mind is 6 am….

[Azerane]

@Glenn I’m not sure I could see a bunny as being a good sleeping companion. All that poop, digging and sheet chewing, lol. Then again, the cats aren’t much better 🤣

I’ve hopefully helped a lamb today. There’s a big house block near my place that keeps a few sheep. Today when I walked past I noticed they had two lambs. One was doing zoomies and lamb binkies and the other was just sitting and bleating occasionally. On my way back past, I noticed the flock had moved on 20m but the one little lamb had only managed a couple metres before sitting back down again and was bleating frequently. Since it was right by the fence I noticed it was very thin, and clearly very weak. I went around to the front of the house since I assumed that they simply weren’t aware of the lamb being in trouble but I couldn’t get to their door to knock since it was gated and locked with no doorbell. After doing a bit of research to double check that I was right about the lamb being in a bad way, I phoned the RSPCA so that hopefully they can do a welfare check. Their other sheep are very healthy and I’m sure it’s not intentional, just accidentally overlooked. My only concern was how to get the lamb some much needed help. Hopefully they can get in touch with the owners tonight to get it sorted. Meanwhile I’m going to be thinking about the poor little lamb all night, but at least I’ve done what I could.

[DanaNM]

Aww poor little lamb! I’m glad you noticed and called!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Azerane]

I haven’t seen the little lamb since, so either it possibly passed away, or it’s been taken away to be bottle raised. Impossible for me to know unless I see it there again when it’s a bit older.

Apollo has had another off day again today, checking the camera it started just after midnight, and I couldn’t get him to eat until around 2pm today when I tried to syringe him water and completely failed. But it seems to have upset him enough than when I offer fresh grass he eats it, lol. So now he’s getting a handful of hand picked grass rinsed in water every half hour to keep his fluids up and tummy full 🙂 He’s still clearly not happy but he’s eating which is good. He ate one pellet out of about 10 (Luna came along and cleaned up the rest) and still won’t eat hay, but it’s a start.

[Bam]

Oh, Apollo! Please eat!

[Azerane]

Thanks Bam, he did end up recovering. Seems the regular feeds of fresh grass did the trick and he was eating hay again later that night. I’m going to have to keep a very close eye on him I think.

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