Binkies in the Drawing Room is a weekly journal, filled with rabbits, binkies and the challenges that is the learning curve of raising a new pet.
DAY ONE
"But look at how fat Ra Ra belly getting?!"
One after the other, the family 'considered' the bunny's growing roundness. She's not fat, she's pouffy! Healthy! (Hopefully) She doesn't even eat all the food I give her sometimes, just goes and lies flat down in a corner after eating. Ah, yes, here, in Trinidad, we call that 'macajuel time.'
She and the baby are getting along better not because the 'crazy bee' has stopped being so well...crazy, but because the smallest, my nephew has topped the list on being the #1 Dangerous Baby to Ra Ra's welfare which just makes my niece the better option. My nephew likes football and one of the colours in a football just happens to be, you guessed it, white! Let's just leave it at that. This week was turning out to be quite nice, if only it would have stayed so.
DAY TWO
Today, Ra Ra was out most of the day. It was the weekend and I was home so I gave her a freer reign. She spent the day moseying behind the arm chair where it was cool and eating the pieces of watermelon I slipped her. Then I noticed something. On my way to clean out her cub, I saw a leaf cutter ant, waltzing casually over the ground. I killed it and moved on. Then I saw one waltzing towards the door with a bit of leaf in it's mouth. Without thinking of where an ant could get a leaf inside a house with no plants again I just killed it and moved on. Then I saw one, taking it's tender time across the floor with one of Ra Ra's pellets onto it's back. 'Great, I wonder where you got that?'
Yes, all, the ants are invading. Sneaky little devils and once they find a spot, they leave a trail and the troops march in. I spent the majority of my Saturday, sweeping ants out of Ra Ra's cub and crushing with little satisfaction as they just kept coming back! And Ra Ra didn't seem to like the look of her intruders on her munchies so she snubbed her food the majority of the day. I didn't think it wise to spray the ants as it might just irritate Ra Ra and the ant powder was a no-go as well. What if she licked it and she got sick? I even tried stopping up the hole by the crack they were coming in by. They found their way around it. Eventually, by nightfall, I gave in and used a bait of crushed pellets strewn around the entrance of the hole on the outside of the house, hoping that that would occupy their little workers during the night long enough before they ventured inside for more.
DAY THREE
Today was a busier day. With washing and cleaning and cooking in the forefront Ra Ra spent more time in the cub, and the ants seemed to finally give it a rest. I kept sprinkling the bait outside until I could find a safer way to get rid of them. It would have been easier if I could have just found the nest. Some hot water woulda deal with them sweet! The same evening I caught her nibbling the Christmas tree. The fake Christmas tree! And the cords for the DVD player! She was given a time-out in her cub for that. The experts say you have to be stern with rabbits when they want to chew everything in sight, especially the things that can be potentially dangerous to them and you. By the days end, the ants didn't come back but then the rains had been falling heavily for most of the day. Is it possible for ants to drown? What, wishful thinking?
DAY FOUR
Bodi. A Caribbean vegetable that looks like a foot long string bean. I love it and so does the rabbit! It holds a lot of water as well so it's perfect for my water-hating baby! I did some more research on that and everything they had suggested I had already tried to get her to drink any water at all. So, I came to the conclusion that a rabbit that pee-ed that much MUST be getting enough water!! I guess I'll just leave her 'cover' bowl in there for if she ever decides to inspect the contents.
DAY FIVE
After pinpointing certain spots outside her cub that she liked to do her thing over the past weeks I laid paper down in the 'acceptable' spots (by acceptable I mean my mother wouldn't kill me for letting her pee there, threaten yes, actually kill, maybe not) and banning her from the other areas for the two weeks and by golly! (ha! I always wanted to say that!) it's working! She has virtually stopped 'doing her doo-doo' in the kitchen, even though she still runs through there every now and then and even in the front room which is mainly her space, well for now. She only does it in the spots I've put paper on, which is her cub and the back hall. Now there are still some hmm...'mishaps' but that's never going to be perfect.
DAY SIX
We've got a jumper! On the chair, on the outside table, and then binky all the way down! Ra Ra's been exploring and developing her agility. I tried to get a picture of it but 'blur'. Cause she's too fast! Speedy's (another nickname for her) been burning up the rubber on the vinyl floors, and loves to sleep behind the chair covers hanging over the drawing room couches, laid out flat on her side, her mouth open, ha! happy rabbit!
DAY SEVEN
I've started crumpling up paper, big wads of newspaper for her to play with. She rips them up, attacks them and then runs off like it will come after her. Normally I don't let her in my room but given the fact that she's gotten more control of her bowels or rather where she lets it down, I decided to let her browse through while I run in and out quickly. The new surroundings sent her crazy and in no time she was on my bed and in my CD's and on the clothes hamper! Phew! If she wasn't so bloody cute. Down, girl, down! Literally. Get off the books!
For next week, well, we'll see if we can get outside even though she is a bit of a scaredy-cat. I went looking for her nibblies on Sunday and when I came back my parents were frantic because they'd left the door open and she was no where to be found inside. Frankly, I knew she was inside, somewhere. I've been outside a lot of times and she's never followed me but just to be sure I checked the whole yard and around it but she was just sleeping in a corner by the couch (hidden by the chair covers!). Maybe when she's older I'll have to worry about her exploring outside territory and given the fact that MOST of our neighbours have dogs, that won't be funny. But I'll worry about that then. Until next week.
