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Monday, October 31, 2011

Backyard bunny...

The October days in central Oklahoma can be spectacular and Sunday the 29th was just one of those days. Nessie Ray routinely goes outside for a morning period and then again around 5:30 in the afternoon. This past Sunday afternoon was exquisite, absolutely no wind, temperature around 60 degrees F. and the last sunshine of the day spilling like gold over everything. The mums are blooming, there is still plenty of green grass and the dirt is soft and inviting after some recent rain.

Some photos of Nessie enjoying that afternoon.
Nessie looks for some tasty grass or roots.
Nessie eyes the photographer.
Nessie poses.
Resting on the rock.
In the above pic at the upper right you can see the terracotta bunny peeking out a bit.
Maybe my favorite shot of the afternoon.
The photo just above really grabbed me when I viewed it. I can easily see her age there...she isn't a youngster any longer. She has lived to the equivalent of her 50s in human years and I can easily see the weight of those lived moments in that photo of her.

There is something about the face of some rabbits that remind me of the face of an elephant...I would not find it strange at all to imagine a trunk on her face. Maybe it is the big ears, but I do think too that the big round forehead and large wide-set eyes evoke that image with me.

She behaves quite differently in the mornings versus the afternoons. Mornings are sometimes accompanied with a binky or hop and a skip, almost always with several bouts of playing chase or dancing but afternoons are mellower, usually some digging and some laying down and soaking up the sights and sounds and just existing on this planet. Being her escort on these outings is a privilege and a pleasure. She's a nifty being and having her live with us has enriched everyone.

Enjoy the pictures, enjoy your October and the rest of last days of this year...and help all the other beings enjoy theirs by going vegan.

11 comments:

joan.kyler said...

It's interesting that rabbits make you think of elephants. I've long thought the two are similar. For me, I think it is their shapes, the rounded backs, the defined, powerful haunches, and the big ears. I collected rabbit and elephant figurines for years and find looking at them to be calming.

veganelder said...

Thank you for commenting Joan. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that think rabbits are reminiscent of elephants. At least there are two of us. :-)

Annie said...

Nessie is beautiful - and in fact looks quite wise in the last photo. So true that living among animals is a joy and a privilege. They have so much to teach us.

Christina said...

I remember Nester quite well from my very fist time at Heartland. She was so shy when I reached in to give her a piece of banana. Look at her now, she is large and in charge. So happy for all.

Nicola said...

Ahh Nessie looks like my bunny, Frank! And we always call him elephant head! Haha! She certainly looks like a wise old Bun :-)

x

veganelder said...

Thank you for commenting Annie. I'll pass on the compliment to Nessie...she's always happy to hear good things about herself. :-)

veganelder said...

Thanks for commenting Nicola. Ah Frank, that's a good name for a bunny...hmmm...obviously I'm not the first to notice the bunny-elephant thingee.

veganelder said...

Thank you for commenting Christina. Nester (Nessie Ray) has taken that shyness and put it away...has she ever! Large and in charge indeed...the Nessie rules!!

Bea Elliott said...

I concur with Annie... I see wisdom too. Especially the photo of Nessie on the rock - It looks as if she's in deep contemplative thought. Who could not see that there is a someOne there???

I'm so happy for her that she's been provided with a safe routine to experience the seasonal changes. Being close to the cool earth is so much more fun than an a/c vent!

Nessie - You soak up all you can of this beautiful life you have... You deserve every piece of it! ;)

Bea Elliott said...

Me again... I saw this piece on a bunny hopping contest and it seemed to connect a lot of things regarding "domesticating" animals as opposed to just letting them be who they are for their own sake.

Sure, the bunnies look like they're having a good time but why the necessity of a contest? Why not just let the rabbits enjoy the obstacle course the way they want? Oh yeah, (sigh) because that's not the way humans do things. :/

Anyway, this confirms that Nessie is one of the luckiest rabbits in the world! :)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/european-rabbit-hopping-c_n_1067290.html#s443487&title=First_European_Rabbit

veganelder said...

Thank you for commenting Bea.

Comment 1: Nessie agrees that flopping in some dirt is major good stuff.

Comment 2: Yep, if the trajectory for bunnies is similar to that for horses and dogs then soon money will enter the picture, "breeders" will try for better hoppers and bunnies that don't make the cut will be killed as youngsters. It may be that one of the defining characteristics of our species is that we can make a travesty out of anything.