Spiders: Brown Recluse

The most common spider around here is the Brown Recluse, also known as a Violin Spider. These spiders love to hide in loose piles of debris, like wood piles, corners of a garage, under your lawn mower or if indoors - in furniture, closet corners and folded clothing. I found one last night just outside of the Bunny Barn in our pile of sticks we give to the bunnies to chew on. I'm not usually that jumpy around insects, but this spider in an exception as they are poisonous to humans and these pesky insects tend to strike when disturbed or threatened by humans. I wasn't bitten, it just put me on the defensive to find it and kill it, which I did.

If you are bitten by one of these spiders, seek medical attention immediately. This is not to be taken lightly, as the wound can take months to heal and it leaves a deep crater like shape on you, if not treated properly. This picture of a bite on this man is horrible looking, but you will look the same if not treated. You have been warned.

Use common sense when moving anything outdoors, as they are usually close by even when you might think they are not.

This image is not a fake to scare you any!

Rabbit in La-La Land

This was written by a friend over on the House Rabbit Society's website and I wanted to share it here with everyone, mainly with Caryn, as this story reminded me of what your bunny was doing while you were away. lol Not that it's funny when a bunny rips up your carpet and puts you further in debt, but this story from the rabbits point of view is very funny.

Rabbit in La-La Land
Written by Helen Weiss

Hello, I'm Wabbit, and I own two lovely humans--Sotos and Helen. We all live in a comfortable apartment with a balcony which I also own. When Helen brought me home four years ago I was just a dainty little dame. I let my humans know right away that I was feisty and curious, and with a few exceptions I have always been given free reign of our living room.

When I was young, I gave Helen and Sotos plenty of work around the house. I kept Sotos busy patching carpets and repairing phone cords. For some reason they were constantly devising techniques to prevent me from doing my work. I took great joy in outsmarting them. Oh, I liked chewing on the little pieces of wood bought for me, but nothing was more fun than digging up the carpet or jumping on desks and bureaus to chew up papers and clothes.

I'll never forget the time they tried to prevent me from hopping on the bed. You see, the bed was rabbit heaven: soft blankets and pillows good for hours of cuddling. The only problem was that the blanket and sheets were without holes and required some work on my part. Strangely, Helen and Sotos couldn't see the value in sheets with hundreds of holes. They seemed embarrassed to hang such sheets on the line.

The humans tried draping a barrier of fabric from the ceiling and tucking it under the mattress. To them it looked formidable, but when they were asleep or away, I just untucked the drapery with my wonderful teeth and went about my shredding business. They got irritated and took turns shooing me off the bed, but as far as I was concerned they slept too much--and there was work to be done. Five- foot board barriers were next. That was easy. Using the nightstand as a springboard, I jumped over the boards and landed plop in the middle of the bed.

In my mature years I give Sotos and Helen less work. I still teach slow people the right way to play Scrabble, but whereas I used to flip their racks into the air, sending their tiles flying into a real scrabble, today I am content with gently lifting the corner of the board. I have even stopped chewing on the phone and electric cords. Mellowness, though, has not diminished the amount of love, licking and laughter that I give.

All in all I am happy and healthy, and gets lots of attention. I do wonder what life would be like if I shared it with a long-eared short-tailed darling. I daydream about bunny love in my spare time--on breaks from my busy schedule.