It's A Rabbit for Pete's Sake

It's dark and some might say dreary today but I love days like this. The sky is dark and filled with moisture that comes down in a soft rain. The wind is making the leafs on the trees dance. The branches swoop down and then into an arc, the leafs showing their underbellies in a silvery shade.

 

I have turned on the lamps in the living room and the softness of the lamps leaves dark corners of the room hidden and mysterious. I'll enjoy this for a few days and then I'll be looking forward to the sunshine that, I believe, has therapeutic benefits to our mental well being. I don't believe I could live in Oregon where rain and cloudy days are their norm.

 

Carrie and I shared a ride to school. She stayed; I got to come home. I've been worried about Bugsy lately. You remember the rabbit? She lived with me for a while until she moved to the daughter's house so she could be close to Carrie. She has a nice condo initially but that wasn't enough. I wanted her to have her own "run" or her own 'yard' so we took the 'run' that the husband had built for her and transferred it to her yard. She can now hop, skip and run in her own space.

 

Summer has arrived and the sun beats down. Bugsy's home is mostly in the shade until the late afternoon. At that time she must go into her condo where she has a sliver of shade to hide in. I visited her yesterday and viewed her shade OR lack of it. Something had to be done. I had mentioned to the daughter about putting a tarp over the top of her run. The daughter didn't think it would work nor was it necessary.

Today on my journey home from the school, I stopped at the Dollar Store. I was looking for a tarp. The Dollar Store doesn't carry that item so I strolled the aisles with an open mind on what might be used. The first thing I saw that might work was a vinyl tablecloth. My mind went into drive on how this might be attached to the top of her run. Zip ties. I could punch holes in it and use zip ties to attach it. It would be waterproof and large enough to cover her entire run. The next thing I spied was those reflective windshield sun guards to keep the sun from heating up the steering wheel and the seats in your car. BINGO! I ditched the vinyl table cloth and headed for the register with the Sun Guard. For 3.50 cents, I had a partial shade area for Bugsy. I rushed to her house and attached it to the top of her run. The reflective shield will work much better then the thin vinyl tablecloth. I was so excited about this idea. I used part of the metal pieces that had been cut to fit around her condo  to spear through the Sun Guard, bent them over to make them secure and now she has 1/2 of her run protected from the sun. A little later today I will make another trip to The Dollar Store and pick up another one. I'll have to have zip ties (which are already in my purse) so I can attach the Sun Guard to the part of the run farthest from her condo. There is no metal that has been cut to leave spears to attach it. The zip ties will have to be used. This is not pretty. I don't care. It's all about comfort. Sorta like wearing your favorite pair of worn out, full of holes pajamas that you can't quite relinquish.

 

 

This may not be as exciting to you as it is to me but I have such an empathy for animals and their comfort as I do for little children that need protection.

 

I will make a visit to Bugsy when this weather passes and the sun is once again bright and hot. I want to see where we might need to tweak her area for shade. I am determined that Bugsy will be comfortable this summer though she refuses to give up that beautiful white fur coat she insists on wearing 24/7. We had a little talk about her coat. Her pink eyes rolled up, she blinked and turned away from me. I took this as a definite refusal. I let it be. It's her clothing choice and as long as she doesn't appear some day with tattoos or piercings, I will let her dress as she pleases. That's all I ask of the grandchildren so what's good enough for them should be good enough for Bugsy.

 

Have I gone to far?  After all..she's just a rabbit. I love that silly rabbit!