Update on The Warren Bunnies

We've had the bunz for about a month now and, all together now, "Haven't they grown!".  Yes, indeed they have, which makes me wonder how big exactly they intended to get.  Did I mistakenly get those giant Netherland Giant giant things?  They are only 12 weeks old and well, they were bigger than fully grown dwarf buns when I first got them.  Oh dear.

Nosy

 Spike

Today I decided that they would be 'pellet-free' bunnies.  They don't need these commercially available foods, least of all the 'treats' the pet stores sell.  Bunnies in the wild eat grasses (dried and fresh), bark, leaves, flowers and herbs.  So, that is what mine will eat from now on.  I've tried them on 'treats' - trying to find something irrisistable so I can reward them for doing things, but they are having none of it.  Clover is the favourite, with Parsley a close second.  Their digestive systems should be all the better for it and I want them to be as healthy as possible.

They are getting used to living with us, although, being prey animals, they are very way of being held, let alone being picked up.  There is plenty of time to work on it though, and I'm having fun gaining their trust, even though it is a case of 'bribary via clover'!

A death in the family

 We kept him in the fridge as it was such a hot day.  Sticky the Stickleback was no more.  He died with one little stickle up - a testament to his slightly agitated nature.

I feel that I should say that he was kept in the fridge after he died, not 'kept in the fridge'.  That would have killed him for sure.

We decided a funeral was the right thing to do.  A matchbox was found, sprayed a suitable blue and a small cross cobbled together.  Youngest Son, and owner of said fish, dressed in suitable attire.

A few words were said and Sticky was laid to rest under the oak tree, by the vegetable patch.

Youngest Son was obviously traumatized by the cold, harsh realities of death as he spent quite a while afterwards trying to make red pepper stick in his ears.

It's a funny old life.

News From Summer Bun and Basil in Florida.

Summer Bun went to live in Florida a little while ago, closely followed by Basil.  Something to do with his very smart tie, we think.  It took a little while for them to arrive because 'Merica' is a very long way away, according to Widget, but, we have just received a message from them .......


Hello to everybun at The Warren!  

This is Summer Bun with Basil and we are happily settled into our home in Florida.  Everyone was excited and very happy when we each arrived!   

When I arrrived,  my family had a Welcome party for me and gave me my own toy bunny.  I  met a new friend named Skipper and his dog Scooter.   When Basil arrived there was more excitement and we had a Welcome party all ready for him!  

 Basil and Skipper have become best friends and spend their day talking about everything and anything.  Skipper liked to hear all about the famous Widget and the other bunnies at The Warren. Skipper is very impressed with Widget and says Widget is a bon vivant and bunny about town--actually anywhere and everywhere!  

Today Skipper and Basil were discussing chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) and agreed walnuts should NOT be added; extra chocolate chunks are okay but no walnuts!
We have our very own travel basket and like to go for a ride in the car and do errands.  

We hope all The Warren bunnies find families to love them like our family loves us.  

Happy Summer Days to everybun at The Warren 

From  

Summer Bun and Basil!

The Best Stripey Monsters

The Bunny Maker came home the other day and found these little fellows on her doorstep.
 

They said they had come from The Stripey Monster Shop having heard that The Warren was a place full of weird and wonderful creatures who had a lovely life having adventures with The Bunny Maker.
The BM immediately welcomed them with squeals of delight and rushed them off to have a celebratory coffee and cake with Widget.  Into her bag they went and off to the cafe.

On the way to the cafe the monsters told The BM that their friend Clement had been left back in the shop and they missed him.  She screeched the car back round, headed back home ....

..... and bought him too!  Now she is worried that Dexter looks a bit lonely there in the shop.  Well, we can't be having lonely monsters now, can we?

A problem with greenfly.

It's that time of year.  The roses are coming into leaf and the buds are forming.  That means one thing.  Greenfly.  We have an Albertine outside our front door, which fills the air with its luscious scent throughout june.  I have to spend most of May squeezing the greenfly off the flower buds.
The other day I went out to have a general poke around and found that we had the biggest greenfly problem of all time ...

Wah! He was HUGE!  I screamed.  He screamed.  I screamed.  He said "Is this number 3?".  I said it was.  He said that he had been sent to live with us and had come from Minxtures shop on Folksy.   He also said that he didn't really like eating roses.  Good news.

I asked him in and he showed me his two leaves that he'd brought with him to sleep under at night.  He said that he would try to not be too much trouble.  After hearing that he wasn't a rose-eating greenfly I was very happy to have him in the house.

So far he has been very quiet, every now and again having a little fly around and then settling down for a snooze under his leaves...

I'm hoping he will become good friends with Cheesy the Cheeselog, who also found his way to our house from Minxtures, a truly temptatious shop full of fuzzy creatures with 'take me home' eyes.  Although I did catch him sniffing a rose in the back garden earlier .... hmmmmmm

Smelly Sock Bunnies at The Warren

This bunny smells.

Yup - stinks, of Lavender!  The Warren had a lovely custom order for a 'lavender-filled bunny' to go and live with Barnaby B. Bun, Sailor, probably to counteract the smell of Rum!!!

The bunnies all gathered round to have a sniff.  They all agreed that he did smell wonderful and that The Bunny Maker should make a whole lot more.  She said that she would, having bought a bag of it from Pembrokeshire Lavender.  It is a lovely, lovely blue, no dust and very very smelly - perfect!  In fact, it was so perfect that the BM has put a link into the sidebar as she thinks that all her smelly bunnies should have lovely British lavender in them.  She also says that she will only make them if they are not for knicker drawers!!

Smelly Bunnies are now in the Widget and Friends shop!  Woot Woot!

Special Offer for Bunny Lovers

It's been sooooo cold lately.  "Much too cold for May", says the Weather Bunny.  To try and force the weather to turn the corner the bunnies have decided to launch a spring offer.

When you buy a bunny from the Widget and Friends bunny shop you will receive a free packet of carrot seeds in a cute packet, tucked into your bunny's travelling box.  An excellent idea as those buns can certainly chomp through a few!

This, of course, leaves a dilemma.  What do the snakes come with?  Sunflowers?
Any suggestions gratefully received...

Coming soon:  Lavender filled bunnies.

A Message From Barnaby B. Bun

 Remember Barnaby B. Bun, The Warren's sailor bunny?  Well, he was very quickly bought and he set sail for his new home.  Fresh from the high, salty seas of his journey he writes.....

dere bunni maker,

i has arrived at new ome.  Miss other bunnis but new owner has lettus sanwichs n carrot cake so v. happi. Shes put the rum out of reech tho so no yo ho ho for now. Must go as eers are hurtin from this typin.

Barnaby b bun 

PS (from bunny-adopter) - thank you, he's gorgeous. 

We'll keep in touch - possibly after Barnaby's had a few English lessons.

Thanks for letting us know that you got there safely Barnaby!  We can't wait to hear about your adventures...

Mrs Happy

According to my 6 year old son who made it, this is Mrs Happy ....

Not much more to say really.

The Warren gets bunnies!

It has finally happened.  We haz bunz.  Real bunz.  Two twelve week old boy bunz.

They are almost identical - even down to their not-quite-lopped ears.  Therefore, I do not know who is who in the pictures above!  The top one is probably Nosey, being very nosy.  Actually the bottom is probably Nosey too, being more gregarious than Spike.  Spike is a tiny bit bigger and less nosy (!) and  not as keen on being touched.  Their personalities were blindingly obvious from the moment I opened their traveling box back at home.

Nosey indulges in some comprehensive ear-cleaning.  I never knew that anything could be quite as cute.  I am totally in love.  Widget, on the other hand is having a bit of a rough time of it.

Widget meets The Warren bunnies

It was time for introductions.  Widget, after sulking for a whole four days, was dragged outside and told to get on with it and say hello.  For those of you who haven't heard, The Warren has two new residents, Nosey and Spike.  Real bunnies!

Widget hopped into the bunnies' run and waited.

He waited in a kinda harumphy way.  The Bunny Maker had been spending way too long with these new bunnies, sitting in with them, stroking them, talking in a stupid voice to them, feeding them freshly picked clover,  brushing .....GRRR Widget was getting angrier and angrier just thinking about it.

Nosey rushed over and sniffed.  Nosey nibbled and nuzzled and nibbled and chewed on Widget's scarf.
"Mwmwmfffllllffffffllll" protested Widget.  Nosey decided that Widget was not very tasty and pouffled off to find something tastier.

Widget was humiliated.  Poor bun, we spent the rest of the day resolutely NOT TALKING to the BM.  Things are a bit frosty at The Warren.

Munkeh Bunny gets a warm welcome in Ann Arbor, USA

Hi Widget and Bunny Maker,

I am writing on behalf of all the plushies in the house.
Munkeh arrived last week (April 27), making wonderful time considering the volcano ash.
Munkeh got a warm (and somewhat confusing) welcome from the gang  (George, Gund, and Nigel). Gund actually was not confused by the mix of Monkey and Bunny since he is a Rhino with a monkey for best friend.  

The Ann Arbor Dashing Daring Danish Bunny Sled Team came around to welcome Munkeh as well, they are excited to see what wonderful ideas and skills he will bring to the team.  

 In honour of Munkeh's arrival they had tasty treats from a special cupcake shop, Cake Nouveau.

Fridays are known as Pintday for us since Nigel (our PG Tips monkey) joined us from England 3 years ago.  Nigel felt that taking Monkeh with us on Pintday was only right since he is from England to and might enjoy a pint.   We started the day with a 'Biggest Biggby Coffee' and toasted dounut. 

Nigel loves Biggby's. One of his good friends is Biggby Bob Fish, CEO and Co-founder.  At Naner Lady's work Nigel actually offered to share a naner snack,  he must really be taking to Munkeh.  

After The Hand and Naner Lady are out of work Pintday really begins, and Munkeh is introduced to our tradition at our favorite townie tavern... Casey's.  

Of course Nigel has to show off to Monkeh that he is a celebrity because all the staff know him.  I'm not sure what he thought of it all, there is a lot to take in when being shown around by such a pal as Nigel.
Munkeh will be exploring the arboreum with the Naner Lady as the weather gets nicer.  I think the calm walks might be more his pace.

Thank you for the wonderful addition to our home,
Kate (Naner Lady)

Carrot growing for small bunny lovers.

The Bunny Maker is really pleased to be able to list these carrot growing kits on Folksy today.

A bunny of your choice from The Warren Shop, complete with hand-painted seed labels and carrot seed packet (with seeds) designed by The BM.  With your bunny will also come a natural jute tote bag, two enamel garden tools and some childrens' sized gardening gloves.

All the bunnies think this is the perfect gift for EVERYONE and you should all rush to get one HERE because The BM doesn't have very many of them.

Summer Bun gets ready for her trip to Florida

Summer Bun has been chosen!  Carefully picked from The Warren shop, she is off to Florida.  What a treat and so exciting.  She fussed around for ages getting ready and the Bunny Maker found her this morning messing around in the ribbon tin.

Summer said she wanted to look her best on arrival and could she please wear a ribbon?  A suitable one was chosen.

Very pretty!

Summer is now all snuggled up in her travelling box (she insisted on a ribbon on that too) and about to be taken off to the post office to begin her journey.  Everyone here hopes she arrives safely and sends messages and photos soon.

The Warren gets a message from Mini in Arizona

Dear Widget and Bunnymaker,

Happy day!  Minimum Bun (hereinafter called Mini) and the newly christened Bunnie (never give naming duties to a 2 year old) have made it safely to Arizona, despite all efforts to thwart the journey by Mt. Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland.  The bunnies, although seemingly hungry, had even saved one last carrot – presumably in case we were unable to open their box in time.

Oh the excitement! The children could not wait to get the box opened.  Once we got the bunnies out, they were promptly snatched by little Rowan, our 2 year old alpha-girl.  Big Seth, our 4 year old, merely got a glimpse. Resigned as such to his sister’s dominance, he said, “Mom, I want a blue one next time” and left her to her love-fest with Mini and Bunnie.  He will have his day.

First thing first  (after kisses of course) – Rowan realized that these bunnies needed a castle to live in at their house.  She promptly built them one. She has not yet gone to architecture school so her castles often need to be renovated.  Attached is a picture of her with Mini and Bunnie at the castle. 

Next, we felt it important to give the bunnies the proper tour.  She immediately got into her ballerina gear, pink patent leather shoes, and jewelry.  She gathered up Mini and Bunnie and away we go. Uh oh, Bunnie!  We’ll get you right side up in no time!

Firstly, the garden.  The bunnies were disturbed to find a lack of ready carrots there in the garden but we quickly explained that we always keep a supply in the refrigerator.  They were appeased. I think the readiness and accessibility of the spinach and sweet peas helped.

Please ignore our unsightly holey spinach – inchworms have snuck in overnight.
Mini had a bit of a look-round and also found something – jellybeans! Go on and dive right in, Mini! 

Finally, after a bike ride, some stories and other adventures (including meeting two unimpressed cats and a snuffly dog who gave them entry to the family’s inner circle), the exhausted bunnies fell asleep with their new best friend.  

Tomorrow – on to new adventures!  

Best wishes, 

The Collie Family
 

Cheesy, Widget and the fight over the curry house.

As you may know already The Warren now has a Cheeselog living at it.  Cheesy came to us from Minxtures on Folksy.  The problems were not with Cheesy himself but with his rather lovely traveling box.... 'The Curry House'.

Ikea Woody Woodlouse (kids are so creative with names) wasn't too sure what to make of Cheesy.  There was a lot of feeling with feelers and eyeballing with eyeballs.  Cheesy sat totally still, not knowing quite what to do.

Woody wanted to know if Cheesy 'would fit'.  Poor Cheesy, being the new boy he had to go along with it.  He was almost totally zipped up.  Luckily Woody can only digest small bits of fruit and didn't look to happy with a fuzzy fellow woodlouse in this mouth.

Widget came  to his rescue, unzipping Woody's mouth and helping Cheesy out.

Whilst all this was going on Murky, Isabow and Meep had moved themselves into 'The Curry House'.  Fed up with being stuck, homeless, on The Bunny Maker's shelf they had staged a sit-in, claiming squatters' rights.

 Cheesy didn't know what to do. Woody lurked.  Widget faffed about worrying.  The BM coaxed the meerkats out.

Widget tired to reason with the meerkats but the were very adamant that 'enough was enough' and it was time for their own home.  The shelf was all very nice, with access to bunny bunk beds and cosy fabrics to lie on, but it as not a proper home.

Murkey and Isabow said that The Curry House was just about perfect and could they have something similiar?  So, this week, the BM is tasked with finding something suitable.  It is on her 'to do' list, which is rather long and she has something VERY important and exciting happening this week ........... (what could that be?).

Murky, Isabow and Meep are made by NiftyKnits and she has lots of others in need of good homes HERE.