Mooshi-Haroo's 1st Year Homecoming

It was one year ago today that we found our Mooshi-Haroo outside in the freezing cold, eating birdseed to survive, in our very own front yard...it was the eve of my honey's 1st big surgery, a deep resection of a highly aggressive bladder tumor and the worst possible night for a rescue but how could we just ignore him...we couldn't, there wasn't any second of a doubt.  The odds of us seeing him was a miracle really, I just happened to spy him from the front window as I was sitting down to eat dinner & yelled to my honey, "Quick, Jonathan hurry, there's a bunny in the front yard" and out I dashed in my socks, in the sleet and snow, only stopping to run back inside about 40 minutes later because I couldn't feel my feet!  A neighbor called out their door "Is that your bunny" and after we caught him, I went to talk to them and found out that Mooshi was actually seen running around the neighborhood for at least a whole month and apparently he had a friend! He was seen with a bigger white rabbit!  Well I'll tell you the rest of that story on Friday, how about that, it's quite the tale ha ha!.

There was at first a desperation to catch him because I knew if he left our yard, it was unlikely we'd see him again since this was the first time we'd seen him at all and I am a bird watcher so I watch out the windows often!  He was elusive and wiley at first and my heart was in my throat as we tried again and again to approach him with no luck, he clearly didn't trust people.  But I quickly realized that he would follow Jonathan and I said "Babe, go to the back slowly and open the gate" and he did so a few steps at a time and sure enough, like the Pied Piper, Moo followed him cautiously but surely and then went straight into the backyard which is when we were able to close the gate and feel some relief because at least back there he couldn't escape.  It took another 10 minutes to corner him and pick him up.  He wouldn't eat or poop for 3 days after, he just wanted to drink bowl after bowl of water.  It took everything in him to survive out there.  The next day and night was a freezing cold blizzard, one which he wasn't likely to survive, talk about serendipitous timing!  I didn't want to keep him at first honestly, I wanted to get him healthy & find him another home because things were just way too much with my honeys diagnosis (and mine infact) but my honey without a doubt said we had to, "He was meant to be".  I am so glad we did.  He's a chewer for sure but he's also so so happy & dances all the time for us, he comes when called and has such a gentle warm personality.  We sadly suspect he was an Easter present tossed outside.  I wanted to call him Haroo, Jonathn wanted to call him Mooshi so Mooshi-Haroo it became, a brand new family member.

Happy 1st year homecoming Mooshi-Haroo Saile-Peterson, we love you so much buddy XO  and everyone don't forget that you can see Mooshi-Haroo on our rabbit micro-sanctuary stream on Instagram.

 

It Was A Good Summer

It was a good summer...

Everyday I felt glad that we had a yard for us & the buns.

Hay In A Micro-Sanctuary

When the pandemic hit, our hay supplier was completely honest with us

and told us that he was having a hard time keeping up with his customers hay demands

and was also concerned with what was going to happen with the supply chain later on...

We appreciated that info, as the buns can go a spell without veggies & pellets etc

but they must have hay every single day, period.

So this is what $600 of top quality hay looks like!

We spend about $1400 at least on hay alone a year for 9 buns because we also supplement

this main kind here with other smaller bags of botanical, oat, alfalfa etc to liven up their options.

With 9 rabbits we go through 50 pounds of hay easily in about a month, sometimes more.

So we wanted at least a 6 month supply and

if any of our local bunny friends needed any we were able to share a little too.

We ordered only 2 boxes at a time about 2 weeks apart in consideration of the poor post carrier!

(Luckily our normal guy laughs and jokes with us when he brings these 50 pound boxes to the door).

We also got lucky in that the ladies at the store put bags of our usual Oxbow pellets aside for us too,

as apparently those flew off the shelves at the very beginning of this whole mess too.

We are staying on top of things, 6 month in, we still think there's going to another lock down!

It was scary at first, the ideal of not getting food for the babies and it was truthfully squirrely

for about 2 weeks at the beginning regarding fresh veg but we've managed...thankfully...phew!!!

Back To Posting

Lydia and I wanted to let you know that we're back to Instagraming on our art account!

I think the last year just threw me for such a flip, big time, it's been alot on top of just life in general, there's been new rescues & losses, a new disease for me, cancer for my honey!!!

It's been alot to deal with & whiles I have been creating, I haven't been sharing it in my usual way.

I think I just needed space to be creative in a quiet solitary way in order to heal & re-calibrate.

I am still healing, still re-calibrating...big time!

Things aren't perfect but they never will be, things are still scary & I am still struggling

with my new diagnosis and with a new round of cancer treatment for my love starting next week.

But I am feeling the pull strongly to share again, so I am diving back into showing you what

we're up to in the studios and I really hope you'll continue to join me XOXO.

Missing You Betty-Loo

Betty-Loo...

Today marks 2 years since we lost her unexpectedly during routine dental surgery...

I am haunted by her little imploring face, in the carrier, as she was carried away from me...

she didn't understand what was happening,

I wish I could have had her know for sure that she was SO loved...from the first moment we saw her.

I promised her that she'd be okay & we were waiting to bring her home before she knew it.

We had adopted her less than 4 months before...

we didn't have a chance to make up for all the awful things this poor soul had gone through.

I am haunted by unfulfilled promises.

It was nobody's fault, her heart gave out, but it still makes me angry.

I miss her so much.  These are the very last photos I have of her...our Betty-Loo White.

I was just starting to get to know her...she was a quiet sweet wonderful princess in elegant white fluff.

Benefits To Being A Hermit

Oh sorry guys to disappear for almost a week...

my head has been awful, I had a bad fibro flare Tuesday, Wednesday and well life, you know!!!
I am reminded today though at how lucky I am to be a homebody/hermit!

Jonathan says my default is Social Distancing, ha ha!

(Although my friend just dropped off vegan cheese & it was hard not to open the door to hug her)!

I think that's natural, as an artist, a sanctuary mama, a chronic pain sufferer, I love being home.

I am happy here.  If I have Jonathan, the bunnies, my art supplies, books, plants and movies, I am good but I realize alot of people are having a hard time with staying put at home away from people.

Hang in there guys...if we all shelter at home, we'll get through this alot faster!

What are some of your happy things that your concentrating on to help you get through isolation?

Come On Spring

Winter is feeling very long all of the sudden, long and extra cold!...

I am getting as anxious as the buns to start to see things melting!

Prsent In Pain

This has been a hard week...well a hard month really.
The weather is my biggest trigger & it's been very constantly up and down.

I've spent more time horizontal than standing up being productive this past week...
which I find really difficult because whiles sure the pain sucks big time, I love getting things done.

BUT as much as it sucks, I think I am still mostly able to be 'present' in my life
during and despite the pain and I really do think that that attitude of 'being present', helps me out.

It's a scary statistic of something like 40% of migraine sufferers also suffer from serious depression.
But I think I stay away from getting too down by being "present".
How do I do that even when in great amounts of pain?

I make sure I am concentrating on all the beautiful things happening around me as I am suffering.
Even if I can't open my eyes, I make my ears zone in on the 'happy sounds' like;
my honey moving about the house & having a whole conversation with one of the 9 buns;
Stacks of books by the bed that I can jump into as soon as the pain passes;
The sound of the buns eating or my hon cooking is one of the best sound whether I am in pain or not.
I think about a new image I can't wait to make progress on once I can get back into the studio.
I stay present by basking in the beauty of all the sweetness around me despite the pain...
like knowing when one of the buns is on the bed and reaching out to touch a warm precious body.
The buns keep me present, they are like angels, literally standing over me concerned, watching, loving, supporting, waiting for me to get back to my normal self
and no amount of pain can knock the beauty of that away from me.

I might have a life riddled with difficult pain sure

but my oh my there's so so much beauty mixed in there as well....SO much.

Snugs, Plants & Scones Oh My!

I hope your having a cozy cozy weekend all wrapped up fully in your favorite things...

For us it's rabbit snugs, movies, homemade scones & Sundays are my plant care day.

Still An Infection

In 26 years of being a caretaker of animals, this past month was the first times ever that I had to go

to vet visits by myself because Flynn was suddenly sick and my honey was stuck in a hospital bed.
(and for Higgins because it looked like he had a slash on the top of his eyeball but he was just fine!).

Well today we had another visit for Flynn & I was so happy to have my partner back by my side...

This guy will move everything around so that he can be at every rabbit appointment,

so I know to be stuck in that bed & having me rushing Flynn to the vet that one night by myself would have been even more stressful for him that it was for me.

To say he's one dedicated Papa doesn't cut it!

Let's hope he never misses another one again!

It's funny to us when people suggest that we have to take care of 'us' now.

That we shouldn't worry so much about the rabbits cause they are just rabbits...

These people clearly don't understand that the rabbits are part of us...they are our family.

So we will continue to find a way, no matter how hard, to take care of all of our stuff AND theirs.

There are days for sure where I doubt we can keep doing this...this rescue life.

But my honey reminds me that this/they are who we are & we have still atleast 9 still counting on us.

So Flynn is doing just fine...still a bit of an infection in that right ear unfortunately

so he's on another month long antibiotic protocol but he's doing really well and has put on weight.

Sunday Distractions

It's Sunday today and wet & snowy out so I am basking in simple lovelies inside...

watercolours, sweet bunnies & a christmas cactus flowering...how about you???

It's Back

The night of my honeys' 2nd surgery, I came home to find Flynn's head tilted & right eye

constantly scanning and I said "FUCK" because

a) I knew instantly that his ear infection was back and

b) it couldn't have come back with any worse timing, I was completely exhausted.

I called the vet right away, it was 12:30 at night and he didn't agree that it was an emergency

BUT we know our rabbits, we've seen just how fast the infection spread in Flynn last time.

So I had to disagree with the doctor and insist for an emergency visit (and yes that cost $300)

because whiles I do not want to piss our trusted vet off etc,

I will always first & foremost advocate for the animals under our care

and I knew waiting all night to get meds into him would just make things worse for Flynn.

So by 1am, with my honey worrying from his hospital bed,

I was at the animal hospital with the vet administering the meds Flynn needed.

He looked bad & wouldn't eat for over a week but just started eating today actually, YAY.

He was completely stressing me out though because he started to give us a really hard time

when it came to the critical care feedings. He's already 9, he's already skinny

and we couldn't afford not to have food in him tummy,

especially with such a strong antibiotic dose going in every 12 hours.

I don't know why the timing is always like this...

just when you feel like your at your ropes end, that's exactly when one of the rabbits will get sick!

The night of the first surgery, our newest rescue showed up (more on that soon).

The morning of the 2nd surgery, Leisel wasn't eating...then Flynn that night

(when I should have been checking myself into the ER for my heart, more on that later too!).

The other night we were tired from all the stress of what Jonathan is going through and were so

looking forward to crawling into bed early & of course, guess what!

Misa wouldn't eat so we were up with her ALL night.

This rescue life it hard...

and I could do without all the sleepless nights but even now going through everything we're going through with Jonathan, we curse often yes absolutely, but really at the end of the day,

we wouldn't want to be doing anything else, caring for these amazing animals together is just "us".
It's really unfortunate and sad that other people don't see the magic in it all.

Barnaby's Surgery

Our little wild wookie Barnaby Fizz went through his neuter surgery yesterday.  He's healing well.

Any surgery for a rabbit is dangerous because of how fast their precious hearts pump BUT

It's SO important to get your rabbits 'fixed' because their chances of reproductive cancers are so

much higher without & their hormones rule their little bodies so so strongly & unkindly if you don't.

Lydia & Her Room

Lydia and I are trying to figure out where to put our little pink Xmas tree this year...

Desk space is at a premium & we do have to keep light cords away from those nibbly teeth!

Lydia & ALF

Lydia was reminding me of somebody...

The long nose...the big black eyes...the perfect hair swoosh..

and it dawned on me, she was reminding me of ALF, so I dug out my ALF doll to compare,

 what do you think???

Filling In Lines With Misa

I have to use a chemical transfer to get my images from the paper to my linoleum

and I do have to do so because of how very detailed my designs are...

Sometimes it works really well, sometimes only parts transfer or they do but very faintly.

But I don't mind when I have to fill bits in because I grab a stack of linos in the pipeline,

I grab my Sharpie, a snack and I sit with my girl Misa downstairs and we re-line everything.

If life is about being in your happy place as much as possible, this is certainly one of them.

Summers End

We've been having a very difficult summer, starting with me, continuing most frightfully
with my honey the past month, we're still in recovery/cope mode right now, it's been hard...
Give me some time and I'll start to catch you up a little bit on what's been going on.

It's been a really hard summer, if I think about it I honestly want to cry!
I am feeling quite raw & emotional right now so today in efforts to cheer myself up, I post about some of the lovely days of summer, which yes, ha ha, is usually us out in the yard with the buns!