Bunny Sunday

98, 99, 100!

Turbo's secret for staying in tip-top bunny supermodel shape...

Isn't this the way it goes?

You go to the store, spend a small fortune buying all kinds of silly toys for your kitty... the squeaky, stringy, crinkly, and scratchy ones, furry little mice, bells with balls and strings and all sorts of other things hanging out of them and they prefer:

A discarded paper towel roll and an old holey sock!  And they act like it is the most amazing toy they've ever seen!  Geez.

Life is good for Rosie Kitty.

Rottie Angel

An Angel holding my Rottie Angel.  How perfect!

I found this beautiful watercolor the other day by artist, Cindi Lynch.  I was searching on Etsy for rottweiler themed items, not really sure what I was looking for exactly, I guess just looking for something to make myself feel better.  This artist also paints other dog breeds, as well as horses and cats.  You can find more of her work on her website.

And yes, this sweet painting does make me feel better.  :)

Angel

It's taken me a week to be able to write this post.  A week ago today we lost our sweet rottie, Angel.  She was 11 and 1/2 years old and had been with me for 11 of those years.

Her passing has left a huge hole in our daily lives.  She would wake up with us every morning and head out to check on "her" horses and goats.  She would walk along the fence making sure everyone was accounted for.  Then she'd find a nice shady spot to lie down and keep an eye on everyone.

All of our animals are special in their own way and losing any of them breaks my heart, but losing this girl so suddenly really hurt me.  I wasn't ready to say good-bye to her.

I still almost cannot believe she is gone.  I find myself looking for her everywhere and expect to see her in all of her favorite places. 

Angel was a great ambassador for her breed which too often is portrayed in a negative light.  Everyone who met her loved her. 

And she loved her bunnies and would even let them push her around and move her out of their way.  They had an understanding and lived peacefully together in our house.

The reality of loving and sharing your life with animals is that they will leave you too soon and always before you are ready to say good-bye.  And it hurts like hell and you will grieve and always miss them. 

But you will treasure the many happy memories you have of them and be thankful you had them in your life, even for what seems like too short of a time...

Thanks for the memories Angel.  'Till we meet again.

Bunny Sunday

The bunnies have been spending the night in their outdoor casita lately since it has been WAY too hot for them to be outside during the day.  This morning I brought my camera and coffee along when I went outside at 5:30 to feed them breakfast.

They're not really big on coffee, they'd much prefer a double shot of carrot juice.  This morning they had fresh mint from the garden to go along with their pellets. 

The Classic "bunnies around the bowl" pose:

These close-up pics are some of my favorites.  Makes you want to just dive right in the middle of them!

And yes, they are just as soft and squishy as they look.  :)

Happy Father's Day to all the bunny dads (and just plain 'ol dads) out there! 

Bunny Sunday

Fistful o' Bunny! 

This is baby Bulldog (aka Bully) at around 2 weeks old.  Just a little hamster sized bunny.  (I couldn't help myself - had to squeeze her!)

Look at those little feet -- so perfectly white -- hadn't even touched the ground yet. Baby bunnies are at the top of my list of cutest baby animals ever (right next to baby horses, puppies, kittens, goats... well, you get the picture)

Whenever I look back at pictures of these baby bunnies it makes me want another batch of them!  Somebody stop me before I rescue again...  :)

Saturday Morning Ride

Happy Saturday everyone!  Boy, this week flew by.  I can't believe it's already the weekend.  I have been really busy the last few weeks working with Piper, almost every day, either in the round pen or taking her out riding in the wash. 

Most mornings I'm outside working with her by 6am because the heat comes on quick.  It has been HOT.  Today though, the weather is actually on the cool side (only supposed to be 85 today), so Lee and I took a ride in the wash around 8am.  There was even a slight refreshing breeze, too --- nice!

Piper's view of Lee riding Chini:

We just cruise along in the wash and take in the sights and sounds.  Piper is not one to spook at much, although she is always very alert and curious.  She will stop and analyze situations first before reacting (MOST of the time).

The first time we rode in the wash and she encountered this rock outcropping, she stopped in her tracks, not sure what to make of it.  Then, she just continued on without a backward glance.

I'm still so amazed that I'm riding her!  She turns 3 this month... still a baby but really doing great with her training.  I am a happy cowgirl.  :)

Random Pic of the Day

Piper with her friend Charlie (who also happens to be Angel's boyfriend).  Apparently Charlie really has a way with the ladies.

They just can't resist him --- good enough to eat!  Or at least nibble on...

Bunny Sunday

I'm a big fan of the website Disapproving Rabbits.  If you've never been there, go check it out.  They post photos of bunnies everyday and add witty sayings to go with them.  It's always good for a laugh.

As I was going through the bunny photo archives this morning, I found this picture of Patches and immediately thought "wow, if this is not a disapproving rabbit, I don't know what is!"

I wonder what she would say if she could voice her disapproval???

Training Piper and Working through Obstacles

Piper has been home from her 30 days of training for a week now.  It's so nice to have her home, I missed her so much!  I'm really enjoying working with her, even though it is a ton of work (not to mention getting up and outside by 6am to work her in the round pen before the heat sets in).

On Wednesday Piper and I went with Colt to a facility on the other side of town that has an obstacle course (like those you see in the Extreme Cowboy Races).  EVERYTHING was new for Piper.  She was very alert and curious.  Some things were easier for her than others, but the goal was that once you committed to an obstacle, you had to get through it, no matter how long it took.

The water obstacle ended up being Piper's problem.  We walked up to it, sniffed the water, backed up, went back...over and over.  She even watched and "almost" tried to follow the little filly that Colt was riding go through.  I wasn't going to give up, but it did seem like she might not go through it.

And then she took one big leap into it!  And stopped part way through to taste the muddy water ~  yuck!

She made her way through the rest of the trench and up and out -- see Piper, I told you, NO CROCODILES! 

Overall, little Piperoni did awesome!  She was so proud of herself after coming out of the water that she let out a big whinny. 

More adventures to come!

Hot, Hot, Hot

The heat has arrived.  Forecast for the weekend is 104-105.  I'm usually OK up to about 100 degrees...anything over that is just too smokin' hot.

Snuffy (aka Cuji) knows what to do when the heat is on.  Hit the pool.

Dive right in, don't be afraid!  Actually, he's diving for his rock in this picture.  He has an obsession with rocks and is usually never without one.  Good thing we live on the side of a mountain, there's never a shortage.

Tomorrow we are planning to take Cuji and Angel down to Patagonia Lake.  For those of you in areas where there are "real" lakes, Patagonia is more like the pond you used to ice skate on when you were a kid.  But hey, it's water, and the dogs will love it.  Snuffy will spend all of his time swimming around and Angel will dip her front feet in and that's about it.  I might even dip my toes in... 

Happy Friday and Stay Cool!