Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Curious Looking Insect

I didn't think school would ever end today. Slow day!

I was over at my friends house last night and they were moving a hot tub from the rear of the house to the side of the house. I was just watching. hehe Anyway, Megan - my best friend - called me over to where she was standing and asked me what this bug is that was under the hot tub. I got down closer to it and I had no idea. I had never seen one like it before. My friends are always asking me what things are as I like nature - including bugs - but this one puzzled me. I went out to my truck and got my magnifying glass so I could look at it better. By the time I got back, there were now about 20 of these little bugs.

I decided to take one with me when I left and take it over to a man I know who knows all about bugs. He knew what it was right away. I knew he would. lol He said it was a "Boisea trivittata", or in normal talk a "Boxelder Bug". He said they were very common around houses that had pressure treated wood nearby and were always found in direct sunlight. I have been around pressure treated wood before and I had never seen this bug before and it was dark out when I first saw it. I think the lights that were being used to move the tub may have attracted the bugs, as he said they don't usually come out in darkness.

Also, Boxelder bugs will secrete a staining dye when crushed, so don't crush them indoors or you might stain something that can't be replaced.

This is the best picture I could find online of them. The are not very big at all. 1/4" to 3/4" long is about as big as they get. Cool looking aren't they? BTW, I returned the one I took. lol

Monday, April 5, 2010

Rabbits: World Total

"How many rabbits are there in the world," asked a friend of mine?

That's a good question and I had no idea when this was asked of me last month by one of my curious friends. All I said was millions. I got to thinking about it more and decided to do some research on it and it has not been easy finding out the true number. I really don't think anyone knows the true total except the one who created them all, being many are in the wild and we don't keep track of them all.

From what I have found out so far, rabbits range from 20 to 500 individual species per square mile. The land area of the Earth is 57,500,000 square miles. Being no one really knows the exact number of rabbits per square mile, you can do the math above and see that there are more than most would have ever known about, including me, even if there were only 20 per square mile. That's alot of rabbits! Being rabbits do not populate the polar regions of the Earth, the land area would be reduced dramically, but still, that is alot of rabbits even without the polar regions included.

Now you know, or atleast to the best of my research and knowledge you do. lol

Happy trails!

Busy Day Sunday part 2

I came home today and called the animal shelter about the lady that came by yesterday, the one who claimed she lost her letter from them, and wouldn't you know they had never heard of her. That just irks me to know she lied to me and was intending to steal one of my bunnies. They are free you know? Why do people go this route in there lives when something is free anyways? We have rules we have to follow through the county that states potential owners have to obtain a letter from them, which is done through the animal shelter we do business with, and all of this is done for health reasons only. It makes me wonder what she had in mind for the bunny now. We do have cameras here so I sent her photo to the animal shelter and the county, then filed a complaint with each. I dont bend the rules for anyone. I would rather just keep them all if people want to be like this person was.

It's alot like going to the SPCA for a cat or dog. You have to fill out paperwork, show who your are, and pay for any shots the animal might need, etc. We waive the fee an owner would have to pay and pay it ourselves. I care about these rabbits. They are like family to me and having someone here that seemed to want to maybe harm one, that just makes me very pissy. You would feel the same if in my shoes, right? I would think so anyway.

How was your day? Good I hope. So far may day has been good with a few more hours of my chores to get done before dark. I took a break to come in here and check up on my blog. I will return after my chore list is complete. See you then.

Happy trails!

Its Monday!

It's hard to believe it's Monday again. No chores until after school today, so that is good news. I don't unsually do them on Monday mornings anyway as I have to be at school a little earlier on Monday's only. Private schools and there rules can really stink sometimes. I wouldn't trade it for anything anyways, as the school has been apart of my life since first grade. Yep, same school and this is my last year. I know I will miss it and my friends as we all head into different directions afterwards. That has to be the hardest part of going to one school your whole life.

After graduation this year, my best friend and I are going to Ireland for 4 weeks. Woohoo! We have been planning it now for close to two months and I'm looking forward to it. More on this later when I have more time to discuss it in details. It's going to be a blast, I know that much. :)

Time for me to get ready for school. I will drop in afterwards.

Happy trails everyone!

Calvin and Hobbes: S#x Appeal

This is too funny.
I would have never thought of putting the words sex appeal and Calvin in the same sentence.



Sunday, April 4, 2010

Flemish Giant Rabbit

What's the biggest rabbit? You guessed it, the Flemish Giant. I think the Giant name gave it away. lol I have seen maybe ten of them in the time I have spent caring for rabbits. I wasn't sure what it was when I first saw one either, as they are big. Most average around 15 pounds and can get up to 30 pounds or more. There are seven known colors that I know of; black, blueish, fawn, light gray, steel gray, sandy brown and white.

We don't have any for adoption at the moment, but we did have 2 of them here last year. They were both adopted as a pair. I was happy that happened. I was hoping someone would get them both at the same time.

I'm posting this picture to show how big they really are. This picture has not been photoshoped or anything like that. This is there real size. BIG! Oh, and they love LOTS of carrots. :)

A Busy, Busy Day

Today has been one busy day. I got up earlier than usual to get all my chores done being it's a holiday of sorts, went to church and arrived just as service was starting, went out to eat with friends and family afterwards, then came home and jumped right into the middle of an adoption that someone wanted to make happen today. I only jumped in because as I listened in on the conversation between one of our volunteers and the potential new owner from afar, I needed to make sure the new potential owner was right for the bunny. I have this knack of feeling out good people and something didn't sound right about the person wanting to adopt. I don't just let anyone adopt a bunny.

Most that come to our place for an adoption have some sort of message or letter from the animal shelter we do business with, which can't be obtained on a Sunday as they are closed. To make this short, the potential owner said they got a letter from the animal shelter today but they lost it. Sorry, but that don't cut it with me. I told the person they will have to obtain the original letter or get another one on Monday. The person got huffy then. I just turned around and walked the other way. The person then started yelling at me telling me I knew nothing of rabbits and that no kid was going to just walk away from 'her'. I told her that the bunnies were mine and my rules stick. I then told her again, either show me the original letter or get another one on Monday, then I will speak with her, being the shelter was CLOSED today. She left in a huff.

As I sit here now, I doubt she will be back and I don't want her here if she does come back. This is the first time I have ever had an experience like this with a potential owner. I can only imagine what she would be like with the bunny. No, I don't think I want her back and I sure don't want her mean spirited way around a bunny either. I want our bunnies in a good home. I hope this is the end of this with this mean person.

Other than that, it's been a great day. The bunnies are tucked away for the night and now I'm free! Woohoo!

Happy trails!

Happy Easter

Easter Bunny, soft and white,
Hopping quickly into my sight.
Thank you for the eggs you bring,
At Eastertime we welcome spring.
Easter Bunny, soft and white,
Hopping quickly out of my sight.


Happy Easter Sunday to all my readers.
From all of my bunnies, family, and friends,
we wish everyone a safe and fun filled day.

Happy trails!

Easter Funnies

I found these cute comic funnies in my searches this week while doing some research for homework assignments. Some people have a wonderful talent for making others smile.

We all love chocolate don't we? I sure do and today is the day for all the chocolate bunnies everyone gets to eat. WooHoo! Which part do you eat first? I usually start at the top and work my way down, depending on how big the chocolate bunny is. Even my pal above wants some chocolate, and that proves chocolate is loved by everyone, even the bunnies.

It's also the day to eat many different colored jelly beans, but as my pal above states, don't eat the brown ones. I can't imagine they taste too good. No! Not at all! lol

Energizer Bunny.
This one made me laugh out loud when I saw it. Pooping out batteries is a classic!