Reflections of My Life

katlupe

SF VIP
Location
Norwich, NY
cutey_400.jpg

Meet "Rabbit" My House Rabbit Companion

Where I live we are allowed to have one pet with no deposit, as long as you have a doctor's slip. My doctor asked me what to write and he wrote it out. If you have another pet, you have to pay $100. deposit on that one. Rabbit is quiet and doesn't make any noise, unless he hears an unusual noise, then he gives me the rabbit warning sign of stomping both back feet loudly.

I never planned to have a rabbit much less a "house rabbit" at the time I got him, I had 3 horses and 2 cats. My other animals had died off by then. In 2014, my husband came in the house from the barn to tell me there was a rabbit in the barn. When he said it was white, I asked if it was a cat and he thought it was a rabbit. I thought that because we had a stray tomcat that came to our house and acted like he lived there, so I thought it was him. I went out to the barn with him and yes, there was a white rabbit!

He was digging around in the hay and didn't seem to be scared of us. But if I tried to get near him, he scooted out of sight. He had made a bed hidden under a pallet of hay. Now I have been writing and attending homesteading events for some time so I was familiar with rabbits. My brother had one as a pet when we were kids but she was kept outside in a shed. I sat on the bench watching him and I instant fell in love with this little guy! When I saw his side though..........it was clear that an owl had picked him up somewhere and he must have gotten away somehow. He had marks on his side. I wanted to doctor him, but he would not let me that near him.

He ended up living out there from Sept to early Feb. Some nights he'd go off and wouldn't come back for 2 or 3 days. I'd go crazy with worrying knowing something would get him. We lived in the middle of the state forest and there were a lot of coyotes and other critters out there. I heard owls every night and baby rabbits screaming right after that hoo hoo. So I was scared and wanted to bring him inside if I could get a hold of him. Plus that was a very cold winter with temps -26.

Well he healed on his own. Eventually, I caught him (but that is another story to tell) and brought him inside. I researched online about caring for a pet rabbit and discovered the world of "House Rabbits" and that is what he is. I had him neutered and he uses a litter box, but I didn't even have to teach him. Pretty much like a cat, just did it. When I moved from my house, I took him with me and he is the talk of the apartment complex. Everyone calls me "the rabbit lady." But lots of people have house rabbits, just not here.
 

What an adorable story. I love it.
Rabbits make great pets.
Do you have a harness for him?
What types of foods do you feed him besides rabbit pellets?

I’ve had three rabbits in total.
Mine were litter trained also. One of mine liked gladioli flowers to eat. It was his favourite snack so I shared my flowers with him.
 
What an adorable story. I love it.
Rabbits make great pets.
Do you have a harness for him?
What types of foods do you feed him besides rabbit pellets?

I’ve had three rabbits in total.
Mine were litter trained also. One of mine liked gladioli flowers to eat. It was his favourite snack so I shared my flowers with him.
No, he would never tolerate a harness. He is quite stubborn and set in his ways. He refuses to eat rabbit pellets. I feed him spring mix, parsley, cilantro, basil, mint, kale. Old fashion type of oats. I buy a dry blend of plants and flower blossoms and give him a pinch of that. I also give him compressed Timothy hay cubes and he chews on those, they are small. But his main food is hay. My bf gets a bale locally and keeps it at his house and brings me a flake when I need it. I use it for his litter box also because he likes to eat while he is doing his business. I also buy a bale of Oxbow Orchard Timothy hay blend online or in a local pet store. Gives him a variety. He loves treats which are mostly fruits and carrots.
 
Oh you are a wonderful bunny mommy. 🥰
My Maltie loved oats, granola, trail mix, fresh grass, spinach, kale, carrots but I hadn’t thought of spring mix. What an excellent idea. Your rabbit must be super healthy and super spoiled. That’s so cute

We had a harness for ours and trained them to walk on it and they did quite well. He went on camping trips with us and our German shepherd was his biggest fan. She adored him. We had a huge fenced off area at the side of our property that we would put him in spring, summer and fall. We made him his own bunny house.

And you’re going to think I’m making this up but my first bunny I named Rabbit, Rabbit only cause he got so used to the name that I didn’t want to change it. When I called him he came running.

Rabbits make great pets. We have a cat now and I’m not sure how they get along. She’s an indoor / outdoor cat accustomed to hunting and I wouldn’t trust her.

I hope you don’t mind me sharing my bunny pictures in your bunny thread. 11AE0E46-1CBE-4E58-B11D-26969DEE1CC2.jpeg2FA07B02-DD76-4FA8-A506-918C50331235.jpeg0CC1472A-F284-4935-BAA9-6BEBAE9824DF.jpeg
 
Oh you are a wonderful bunny mommy. 🥰
My Maltie loved oats, granola, trail mix, fresh grass, spinach, kale, carrots but I hadn’t thought of spring mix. What an excellent idea. Your rabbit must be super healthy and super spoiled. That’s so cute

We had a harness for ours and trained them to walk on it and they did quite well. He went on camping trips with us and our German shepherd was his biggest fan. She adored him. We had a huge fenced off area at the side of our property that we would put him in spring, summer and fall. We made him his own bunny house.

And you’re going to think I’m making this up but my first bunny I named Rabbit, Rabbit only cause he got so used to the name that I didn’t want to change it. When I called him he came running.

Rabbits make great pets. We have a cat now and I’m not sure how they get along. She’s an indoor / outdoor cat accustomed to hunting and I wouldn’t trust her.

I hope you don’t mind me sharing my bunny pictures in your bunny thread.
No, I don't mind at all. I love all bunnies! Past & present.

Actually cats and bunnies get along fine.

That is why I kept Rabbit's name. He responded to it.
 
In May of 2018 I moved from my off-the-grid (off the utility grid) homestead and left behind my beloved horses, one cat (she would have hated living in an apartment) and my marriage. It was not a spur of the moment thing. As I was getting older and was doing less and being dependent on my husband for many things, I had become quite depressed. I kept telling him. One big problem was that even though it should have been very cheap living there, he kept using credit cards (including mine) and had a motorcycle and truck (that I was not comfortable driving so did not) payments. Sometimes we did not have food. In the beginning there, I had 16 raised garden beds and dried and canned lots of food. But as I got where I could barely walk, less and less.

Once I started getting my Social Security, I was eager to leave and told him I would. Until then I had no money. When I sold stuff on eBay we had to use it for food, hay or gas. He did not think I really would. The day actually came that I was able to leave. Mainly due to applying for senior housing that is subsidized based on your income. It was a lifesaver for me. I had not been to a doctor in years (and I was almost 66) or a dentist. I was for most of my life a stay at home mother because my first husband had his own business and my son is disabled. So I took care of him. I know people put down others who use services that are available to people with low incomes, but sometimes it is not something you do on purpose. This was my only chance and I was getting older. I do not regret it one bit and my life has turned around.
 
Oh you are a wonderful bunny mommy. 🥰
My Maltie loved oats, granola, trail mix, fresh grass, spinach, kale, carrots but I hadn’t thought of spring mix. What an excellent idea. Your rabbit must be super healthy and super spoiled. That’s so cute

We had a harness for ours and trained them to walk on it and they did quite well. He went on camping trips with us and our German shepherd was his biggest fan. She adored him. We had a huge fenced off area at the side of our property that we would put him in spring, summer and fall. We made him his own bunny house.

And you’re going to think I’m making this up but my first bunny I named Rabbit, Rabbit only cause he got so used to the name that I didn’t want to change it. When I called him he came running.

Rabbits make great pets. We have a cat now and I’m not sure how they get along. She’s an indoor / outdoor cat accustomed to hunting and I wouldn’t trust her.

I hope you don’t mind me sharing my bunny pictures in your bunny thread. View attachment 91225View attachment 91226View attachment 91227

Oh my, look at the way that dog is looking at the rabbit... he might be thinking how nice it'd be to have some barbecue sauce right about now... :p
 
My daughter had a rabbit which she named "Hopadilicus." If you layed down on the floor and watched him come toward you, it was like watching the movie, "Night of the Lepus." He was ok wandering around in the kitchen but once he hit the carpeted living room, he was un-catchable. I had a crab net for that purpose. Worked every time.
 
My daughter had a rabbit which she named "Hopadilicus." If you layed down on the floor and watched him come toward you, it was like watching the movie, "Night of the Lepus." He was ok wandering around in the kitchen but once he hit the carpeted living room, he was un-catchable. I had a crab net for that purpose. Worked every time.
Oh my, Rabbit would die of a heart attack if I did that to him. He comes to me all the time and likes to sleep next to where I am. But if I can't him out from under my bed (like if the fire alarm goes off) I can shake the jar of oats and he will usually come out. He does binkys all over the room in the morning because he is so happy.
 
Today is the day I go to my bf (Sonny)'s house to watch the NASCAR race and just spend the day laughing (he makes me laugh). He has three little dogs and a parrot. One of the dogs, Chichi and the parrot, Chipper, were his mother's. She died in 2013 and he promised her he would take her critters. At that time, there were two other parrots also. Only Chipper is left. He is quite the talker. Sonny bought a talking hamster from Amazon and it mimics whatever you say. I like to play with Chipper with it. He loves it! If I say something, the hamster copies it and then Chipper does the same.

Sonny will cook something special for our Sunday dinner and sometimes he works on it for days. I don't know if he did this much cooking before but I doubt it. He was an OTR truck driver, so doubt he was home that much. I cooked a lot my whole life so I don't cook many big meals now. I usually make something and eat it every day till it is gone. Before I would have been horrified to prepare a frozen pot pie or pizza, but not now. Standing in the kitchen for long periods of time is something I cannot do. I have a stool in there or my rolling walker that I can sit on while I work.

Sonny's dog, French Fry, became paralyzed a few weeks ago. Now she is trying to walk on her own. The vet said this is common with her breed and to just keep her quiet and she will probably recover. Well she is doing just that. I am looking forward to seeing her. And Spud, his Jack Russel is also going through the aging transition, as he is fifteen. That's the hard part of critter life, but it is the same for us (people) too.
 
Yesterday I finally was able to go to the eye doctor and get my eyes examined and new glasses. The last time I did that was in 2014. My glasses were not right for my eyes now. Nothing wrong with my eyes except I needed a stronger prescription. BF took me and he had an appointment as well. We had a great time as the people who worked there were so nice. Everyone joking and laughing together. The eye doctor was a lot older than me, not sure how old, guessing in his late 70's or older. I loved him! I am looking forward to going back to pick them up. I had saved up some money over a few months for this. I sold an electric canner I had which was too heavy for me, even if I wanted to can again. Which I don't. That gave me enough money to cover it.

I am still going through all my photographs and my mom's too. Photos just take up too much room. So I am making boxes of photos to send to my different cousins. Then they can share them if they have the same ones. My mother took pictures her whole life and when I put one of Facebook my cousins get so excited. One of my cousins said she and brother had one picture of their mother who died when they were young teens. It was falling apart so they were afraid to touch it. I started putting pictures my mother had, even from when she was a baby. So I sent them some of those pictures and she was so excited. Now I have found more. For my son and my brother, I am making photo albums for them.
 
This Coronavirus had me worried about my bf, who has lung issues. He has had heart attacks and has a pacemaker. But it is his lungs that the doctor watches constantly and he uses oxygen at times. He is very outgoing and it is hard for him to stay put. He is the direct opposite of me. I can stay inside my apartment for days without seeing anyone. I never run out of things to do. Yesterday I told him that I wasn't going to his house on Sunday. He sounded like he was going to cry when I said good bye. I felt so bad for him that I called him back and told him I would go to his house after all.

Yesterday was a beautiful day here. I went out to the dumpster with my rolling walker and then decided to take a walk. I walked all the way around my building which is really big. A full block. I even met a woman who is one of my Facebook friends but I had never met her in person. She called out to me and I thought she was just being friendly. Then she asked how my rabbit was! I asked if her name was Wendy and it was. So I talked to her and her friend a few minutes. It is strange to see the parking lots empty. The city parking lot is right near us and usually it is full. There is a pharmacy, a coffee shop, a few restaurants, a couple of bars and clothing stores along that main street and the back entrances lead to this parking lot. The restaurants are offering take out with delivery within 5 miles or curb side if you place your order over the phone then call when you arrive out front.

I have a doctor's appointment on Monday. I had x-rays and blood work done last week. Her office called and scheduled me to have a phone appointment. She will call me and discuss my results with me then. I like that much better already!
 
Spring is here and along with that is our spring rain. I don't really mind rain now because it will turn everything green. The flowers will start popping up. I haven't wanted to use my mobile chair because the salt and dirt get on the wheels and I hate bringing it into my apartment. The lady across the hall leaves her chair outside her door in the hallway, but I like mine put away. I keep it in my bathroom and move it out when I take my shower. Rabbit loves when I move it out so he can examine the wheels. There is a park directly across from building and then 3 more within walking distance, quite close. My chair I named "Jazzy" because that is the brand name. It gave me my independence last year. All of a sudden I could go to the grocery store whenever I wanted. It took me a few months to actually drive it outside of my building. Once I did, I was hooked on going places. I bought it used from a neighbor who lives downstairs. She had it because she needed it when she had a broken leg. It was like new! Then my bf bought one from someone on Facebook marketplace (his was more, about $500. I think). So last summer he'd bring his over and we would ride all over with them. Even went to the car museum together and was there for hours.

jaz.jpg
 
I have never lived through anything like this Coronavirus. Yes, the flu. One year I even got the flu. It was called the three day flu. I worked in a nursing home and the whole place got it. People were leaving work wearing Depends. Every year they would give all the residents and most of the workers the flu shot. Then they all got sick. One coworker told me not to get it because when they talked her into getting it she got so sick from it she thought she was going to die. So she never had the shot again and she never got it again.

So for now, I am not going to worry too much or panic about it. I do worry about my bf because he is out and about and he has health issues but I can't make him do what I want him to do. I am not married to him and I am not living with him. My son too, I worry about. He lives about two blocks from me and is disabled (mentally) but appears normal. He does not drive and walks or rides his bicycle wherever he goes. I have explained to him about this virus and what he needs to do. Does he do it? I have no way of really knowing. He is still getting food in the stores (TOPS and the Dollar store) because he doesn't quite do well stocking up. I have food for him here if needed and it usually is toward the end of the month.

Next week I have an appointment with our building manager over the phone. He will be doing my annual re-certification over the phone and he is now working from home. I am wondering if our maintenance man will be back next week. He does all the cleaning through out the building as well as repairs and upkeep. Cleaning is really important.
 
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I believe if all I see or read about is the COVID-19 all day long, it depresses me. My whole apartment building is full of elderly and disabled tenants. We are all fairly close friends. Now it is just very quiet. If someone is on the elevator, usually nobody rides it with them. Yesterday was my shopping day. There was no way I could just skip it. I am the payee rep for my adult disabled son's SSD check also and his rent needed to be paid, as well as my own. I get money orders for both at the post office every month. My bf (boyfriend) takes me shopping and he went in the post office for me (big hassle getting my walker out of the car. just easier for him to do it). Usually our building is the bus stop for the transit bus and people use it go shopping. I am not sure if it is still coming, but I don't think anyone from here used it. Usually from the first to the third, there is a lot of activity here. Not now.

Our Walmart did not have any toilet paper, paper towels or much in cleaning supplies. It had what I needed. I still don't need toilet paper since I bought a large package of it back in February and still have enough for this month. I bought my meat at Aldi's and they had pretty much everything except I noticed the canned soup aisle was just about empty. I am making my own so that does't affect me either. Though sometimes I buy some for my son. Walmart had plenty of fresh produce which is what I needed.

bunny_table.jpg

On a good note, my bunny, "Rabbit" has taken to his new play table I got for him. He chews on it some (which is okay, that is why I got it) but he likes to sleep next to it at night.
 
Oh you are a wonderful bunny mommy. 🥰
My Maltie loved oats, granola, trail mix, fresh grass, spinach, kale, carrots but I hadn’t thought of spring mix. What an excellent idea. Your rabbit must be super healthy and super spoiled. That’s so cute

We had a harness for ours and trained them to walk on it and they did quite well. He went on camping trips with us and our German shepherd was his biggest fan. She adored him. We had a huge fenced off area at the side of our property that we would put him in spring, summer and fall. We made him his own bunny house.

And you’re going to think I’m making this up but my first bunny I named Rabbit, Rabbit only cause he got so used to the name that I didn’t want to change it. When I called him he came running.

Rabbits make great pets. We have a cat now and I’m not sure how they get along. She’s an indoor / outdoor cat accustomed to hunting and I wouldn’t trust her.

I hope you don’t mind me sharing my bunny pictures in your bunny thread. View attachment 91225View attachment 91226View attachment 91227
LOL. I think the dog is drooling while he's eyeing that snack.........
 
I know a lot of people are going crazy staying home. Since I lived in the country most of my life and having lived here in a small city for only two years, I can understand city people in apartments feeling caged up. In the country, or at least in houses that have yards, you can go outside and sit in the yard or work on a garden depending on your weather. I do miss the forest and working in my garden. I had 16 raised beds made of rocks. Every year I canned so many jars of vegetables I grew. And I'd buy meat locally and can that also. Now my life is completely different but I refuse to be depressed about it. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Today I am making a chicken soup in my Instant Pot. Fresh vegetables. I am going to listen to music while I work. Tomorrow my herbs are coming for my preventative tea I make and use. So today I need to get some of my canning jars out of the storage room so I can put the tea in those to put in the refrigerator. I have my window open and fresh air coming in. It is cool, about 45 degrees right now, but feels good to me. I am always too warm.
 
I have always been an introvert so staying home and not seeing anyone in person for days is pretty normal for me. If it wasn't for Facebook, I probably would not have any contact with family or friends I know, or anyone else for that matter. Living in a senior living apartment building does force me to have friends and I love them all. But we do not socialize every day, unless you count everyone downstairs by the mailboxes waiting for the mail. I use "Informed Delivery" so only go down there if I know something has been delivered. I am not a game player, but I play Bingo twice a month with a small group of friends here. No money or prizes involved. Just a lot of talking and laughing. I miss that and our once a month potluck dinner. Everyone brings a dish to pass. My bf comes to it and sometimes he cooks up something special. Some people visit others in their apartments. I don't do that myself. I have three friends who stop by my place every now and then. Now though, everyone is keeping their distance.

I have been reading on my Kindle a lot. Lately I have not been working on my family tree but am thinking of getting back to it today. I can do that and talk to my bf on the phone. I am not a "phone person" at all. Never was. But he is and he is an extreme extrovert. So this is tough for him. His doctor spoke to him about it and now he has calmed down about distancing a bit. So last night his daughter had to take him to the ER because his knee had swollen up and was afraid he might have a blood clot. He didn't. But the blood work showed he has gout. They gave him some meds and a walker and sent him home. Sounds like it is very painful so I think he won't be on the phone so much today.
 


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