Wemembering Wiley Wabbit

Long before the rambunctious rodent came to live here, a cute little bunny rabbit arrived. Wiley was a well known and well loved feral rabbit drifting through friendly back yards in an upscale urban neighborhood. It soon became clear that he didn’t belong to anyone, and with winter approaching, his protectors grew concerned. A friend of the Funny Farm heard about Wiley, and the next thing you know, he was at the vet being “fixed” and then he was here!

Wild and crazy Wiley Wabbit

This was a big surprise for both Wiley Wabbit, and little Nosebud, the Rabbit in Residence!

Lonely no more

She was very excited to share her palace with such a handsome gentleman rabbit.

Portal to the palace

Wiley’s adjustment to captive life was instantaneous. The few times I had him indoors he was curious and inquisitive, not panicked, so I am quite certain he once lived with a family.

A youthful, athletic Wiley Wabbit

He was a gentleman and a quick learner. He came to me readily and leaned into me when I picked him up.

“Make him get down!” – Nosebud

He was in fabulous condition and was a showoff, too. Wiley took full advantage of vertical elements in the palace.

Not dead

He was so relaxed he scared me half to death sometimes. (Those are Nosebud’s calling cards. Wiley was fastidious.)

Where’s Wiley?

He was a trickster, though, and would hide from me. Can you find him in that photo above? (The answer is at the end of the blog.)

Little rosemary plants getting littler

When Wiley Wabbit first arrived, he and Nosebud would hide together under a huge rosemary bush. It died in a hard freeze, so I planted new ones, and used wire to protect the baby plants from chicken scratching and bunny bites.

So dignified

Wiley Wabbit was the Gentleman King of the Funny Farm.

Wiley Wabbit meets Rambunctious Rodent

Until Prince Dobalob arrived. Dobby got along just fine with Nosebud and Wiley, while he was small enough to enter the palace.

“Keep him OUT!” – Wiley and Nosebud

The rabbits were happier when Dobby turned into a bull and I stopped allowing him into their china shop.

My happy guy

Time passed and Wiley seemed ageless. We didn’t really know how old he was, but only his accumulated wisdom hinted at his years. Eager to join the afternoon garden party with the poultry, he also learned to return promptly to the palace when I went in to refill the dishes.

Garden Party time – check out the one-ear salute!

Sweet little Nosebud would get confused about returning to their pen, and Wiley would gently get her attention and coax her in.

Loaf

And just two weeks after I took her to the vet, Nosebud was gone. She had E. cuniculi, I treated both rabbits, but she didn’t make it. Wiley Wabbit was devastated.

So sad

Animals do mourn.

“This is a food dish, right?” – Wiley

After about a month, he returned to his trickster ways, but it wasn’t the same without Nosebud.

This is how ducks ruin the pasture. (Video courtesy Ducks and Clucks)

Wiley had plenty of friends, if you include birds. In the photo above, he is helping to re-seed Dobby’s mudhole back yard pasture. The chickens, geese, and ducks destroy it seasonally.

Autumn is apple season

Wiley had plenty of treats. The apple tree drops enough for everyone to share, and they all love to forage.

Wiley’s Wabbit palace

Wiley’s palace had plenty of hopping space. Two more rabbits came, but one named Bonnie Bunny claimed Mr. Wiley Wabbit for her very own.

Bonnie Bunny & Wiley Wabbit

Wiley taught her to navigate the garden, and how to find her way back to the pen. Bonnie is very bossy independent but was a serviceable companion for Gentleman Wiley.

The rabbit garden

When he had been here 7 years, he developed allergies and had sneezing fits, but the veterinarian recommended a supplement that worked miracles. He loved getting his “cookie” every day. He also developed cataracts and gained some weight. Wiley wasn’t running around like a maniac any more.

Wiley Wabbit, the older version

He had lived here 8 years when he refused his last cookie at the end of the day. Bonnie Bunny was attending him and he was very still. I knew he would be gone when I awoke the next morning and that there was nothing more I could do for him. Bonnie would have to take him the final distance.

Photobomb by Wiley

Cute little Wiley was even in Dobby’s magazine article, a fitting memorial.

Guinea Pig Magazine

Wiley was here for so long . . . I keep expecting to see him come around the corner. I swear I heard his ghost up in the palace: there is nothing quite like the hippity hop of a rabbit. They really do make that noise, you know. So, I heard a hippity hop across the length of the palace, but turned to see Bonnie just behind me, in the garden.

Wiley’s garden: blueberry bushes and rosemary

A Wiley Wabbit Ghost haunts the Funny Farm. Perfect.

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So, did you find Wiley in that photo way back at the beginning? He’s right smack dab in the center of the photo:

Wild and crazy Wiley Wabbit

Daily Drama 20

My Saturday volunteer, Kim, started with a fun job: filling this new guinea pig toy with grass.

Give me that!

It is suspended over their cage from a bird feeder hanger that clamps to the table.

It is a very popular toy!

That took about two minutes and then I hauled her out to the rabbit pen. Wiley Wabbit is STILL sneezing, over a month after the vet checked his lungs. I decided it was time to clean the pen and throw away that old dusty rug.

Bonnie Bunny (black) and Wiley Wabbit (gray) and the dusty rug.

We hauled everything out and Kim swept out the hay and dust bunnies.

Kim and one of the piles of hay she swept out.

For obvious reasons, Dobby was fenced off of the deck. The rabbits were able to come and go, and they high-tailed it for the garden.

“But I want to help!”

The rabbit pen was full of dusty things. Some favorite older boxes had to be thrown out and were replaced with nearly identical boxes, un-chewed and un-dusty.

It’s a big pen with a lot of stuff.

We threw out a couple Giant House Spiders, too.  He’s about 1-1/2″ across, wish I had put a penny down for scale.

Bigass Spider

Dobby really wanted to help. Help, in this case, means “mess around with the rabbit stuff.” He’s not allowed in their cage anymore. He used to fit, but he’s so darned big, now. And his feet aren’t always clean. And he . . . I’ll just stop here, okay?

Not for Dobby!

It’s a pretty big pen for two bunnies. They get “garden time” every afternoon, when the ducks and Guard Geese are out.

Kim swept and then vacuumed.

Not yet, Dobby!

Waiting patiently

I even took down the curtains and washed them.

Curtains in the rabbit cage is part of what makes this Farm Funny.

Then I moved all the food and boxes back in, and hung the clean curtains back up.

The door on the right makes a nifty tunnel, helps shade in summer, and blocks the winter weather, too.

I haven’t hear Wiley Wabbit sneezing since. He’s been here seven years since he was picked up downtown- an urban feral rabbit. He’s very friendly, so no doubt an escaped pet. He had been visiting homes in the neighborhood for several months but no one claimed him.

Wiley loves his litter box.

In other news, the Great Blue Heron is back. Dobby’s swimming pool is deep enough to keep the fish safe. The smart ones that remember to dive, that is.

Don’t eat my goldfish!

One more wild visitor: the mole! He pushed up a crazy tunnel in the grass. I’d love to see him in action!

He failed the sobriety test.

Daily Drama 12

You’ll be happy to hear I did NOT stop to take a photo of yesterday’s first event. Dobby’s swimming pool pump has two filters, one in the pool and one just in front of the pump. The one by the pump has a clear plastic dome and I was surprised a couple days ago to see an orange flash in there, but decided it was a reflection off my shirt. I clean that filter out only occasionally because the entire pool tries to empty out through that opening when you pull the filter basket out. Fortunately, I decided to clean it out yesterday and, yup, there was a fish in there! I quickly tossed him into the pool (no photo!) but he was in there while the pump was on for 4 hours the night before, spinning like a top! This morning there were three dummies in the POOL filter basket. I’ve never had even one in there before. Must be the season when goldfish migrate.

Darwin Award Candidates?

There is a Turtle Story coming but it is to complicated to go into right now. Anyway, here is poor little lonely Quasimodo, enjoying a sunny moment. The tiny goldfish I got him are not the same as having a turtle friend. Maybe another one will need sanctuary here some day.

Meh. Goldfish.

That  large wilted gray-green stalk on the ground was a beautiful tall upright sunflower on Tuesday. It managed to sprout and grow and survive until then. Dobby doesn’t really go into that area. I have it fenced off so the rabbits can go in there without him bothering them. So what happened to my beautiful sunflower? It was almost ready to bloom!

Wiley Wabbit says he has no idea what happened to it.

Dobby never fails to amaze me. I was in his pen, scooping equipment in hand, looking around for something to scoop. Like guinea pigs, capybaras are prolific- big eaters for sure, but more seems to come out than goes in. So as a capybara owner, nothing to scoop could mean digestive problems or even a blockage. Oh, look! There it is, IN HIS WATER BOWL! Maybe he finally noticed that those are fire hydrant decorations.

“I’m not a dog!”