One person's pet, another person's pest

This weekend I spent time with old friends who at the moment are not enamored of rabbits. Their garden is presently being raided by wild rabbits who are apparently extra fond of the parsley my friends are trying to grow. I joked that they have to stop planting what rabbits love to eat. My friend responded quite seriously that she would prefer to kill them all.

I understand as someone who also gardens that having your plants devoured by animals is frustrating, to say the least. I have had more seeds plucked away by birds than I care to see, but my first thought for a resolution isn't killing. And what saddens me is my friends know about but clearly don't comprehend my love and devotion to rabbits. When I told them how my disabled rabbit Woodstock was faring and how I have to bathe him everyday, my friends, clearly thinking I was wacky to insist on keeping alive a rabbit who still eats and loves his mate, kept insisting emphatically, "put him down, put him down." Hurt and perplexed by this, I changed the subject because I did not want to turn a very pleasant day into a downer. But this conversation lingers in my mind.

I don't understand how, even if they have hostile feelings toward animals they see as pests, people can be so insensitive to another person's devotion to a PET. Woodstock is family, as are all my rabbits, but clearly my friends don't see him this way at all. He is a burden, an inconvenience I would best rid myself of--I assume that is how they see him. I will never understand people who do not love animals, I freely admit that, but I don't see how it should be so mystifying that you don't just put down those you love because of inconvenience. Taking care of elderly parents can be felt as inconvenient, but I know my friends would never put their parents down for such a callous reason--why should a beloved pet not be given the same consideration? Oh, yes, I forgot. It's the old " just a rabbit " scenario. Well, Woodstock will never be just a rabbit to me, and I feel very sorry for those who can't understand this. No one, no being should EVER be thought of as "just" anything. We are all deserving of a free and happy life devoid of pain and suffering, even those creatures some ignorant humans believe to be worthless pests.

The Rabbit’s Song Outside the Tavern

We, who play under the pines,
We, who dance in the snow
That shines blue in the light of the moon,
Sometimes halt as we go-
Stand with our ears erect,
Our noses testing the air,
To gaze at the golden world
Behind the windows there.

Suns they have in a cave,
Stars, each on a tall white stem,
And the thought of a fox or an owl
Seems never to trouble them.
They laugh and eat and are warm,
Their food is ready at hand,
While hungry out in the cold
We little rabbits stand.

But they never dance as we dance!
They haven't the speed nor the grace.
We scorn both the dog and the cat
Who lie by their fireplace.
We scorn them licking their paws
Their eyes on an upraised spoon-
We who dance hungry and wild
Under a winter's moon.

a poem by Elizabeth Coatsworth

A Bun and A Slipper

"Okay, somehow this does not feel the same. Where is my Ruby?" - Cocoa

Easter Greetings and Miscellaneous Observations

Happy Easter, readers and lovers of bunnies all! Whether you celebrate the religious or the secular side of this day, I hope it is a special day for you. As always, I pray that more parents are giving their children stuffed or chocolate rabbits this year. The real thing is NOT right for a child. And speaking of chocolate bunnies, am I the only one whose mother used to eat the ears off the bunny? Honestly, I don't recall ever getting to eat the ears growing up. What is up with that?

One totally unrelated observation: Vegan Essentials online store is now selling vegan calamari. Really?? I shudder with skepticism. I am all for veganizing everything we can to help new vegans not feel deprived, but how can one possibly replicate the chewiness of calamari? I grew up in an Italian-American home so I feel almost compelled to try it. Will let you know if I do.

Also saw recently a product called faux gras. Honestly, why would you want to make vegan a product that in itself is a morally despicable item? I suspect--and admit I could be wrong in thinking this--that people who relish the real thing aren't going vegan any time soon. So to whom is faux gras targeted? Just wondering...

Just a couple of observations

First: for a faux meat item, nothing beats Field Roast "meat" loaf. Splash on some ketchup or BBQ sauce, heat in a 350 oven for a half hour, serve with steamed green beans and rosemary potatoes and you have one hearty meal! It is late in the evening as I write this, and I am craving another slice.

Second: why is it that every time I make a conscientious effort to return to a life of yoga and exercise my right knee goes on strike? Tendonitis stinks, that's all there is to that. But I will persevere, especially with the yoga. My rabbits Ruby and Cocoa love to participate.

Remembering Polly

Three years ago 4 April, I lost my beloved rabbit Polly after a sudden and brief illness. (She is the mocha-colored bun in the photo above.) Yes, I blogged about her this time last year; please indulge me in taking more blog space to remember her sweet tough personality and her face, nicked from fights with siblings in the home she was rescued from. Her nose was scarred: one ear had a small chunk taken out of it. These marks only made her more endearing and distinctive. Even after three years, I still miss her attitude. I called her my Jersey Girl for good reason. She never hesitated to head butt you when she tired of you being in her face. I will never forget the day my rabbit Ruby had the audacity to approach Polly's territory. Polly was having none of it. Like a bull, she tucked her head down and charged the cross pen. Bang! I watched Ruby hop up and backwards before running downstairs. That was the last time Ruby ever attempted a visit to Polly.

Polly was as sweet as she was tough. She loved to sleep in our bed with us, at least for part of the night ( the rest of the time she snuggled with her mate Ghirardelli). She did this even the night before she died, sick as she was. Three years ago. Time has flown but not the grief. I will miss my Sweetpea to my dying day. Godspeed, my Jersey Girl. You left us too soon but I am deeply grateful we had you the few short years that we did.

Green Lemonade

I don't want to make this a recipe blog but I must share a smoothie recipe that is out of this world. Rev up your Vitamix'ers for this one. It's called Green Lemonade. All you need is the following:

4 leaves of kale
5 or 6 romaine lettuce leaves (NOT hearts)
2 Fuji apples
juice of 1 lemon
thumb-size peeled piece of fresh ginger

You may want to add an ice cube or two if you want it cooler. The lemon and ginger give this smoothie a refreshing kick. Delicious and healthy--how can you go wrong?