Happy Birthday Beatrix Potter!

July 28,- Today is the Beatrix Potter’s birthday –  Many admire Beatrix Potter because even though she was the creator of wonderfully illustrated children’s stories, she was talented in many other ways. Despite growing up as a daughter in a Victorian era family she was an artist and writer, and known as a gifted natural scientist and botanical illustrator. In her later years she bought farmlands and became a sheep expert. She was also a conservationist and left her lands in a national trust.
 But most of all Beatrix loved animals and the 'real' Peter Rabbit who was a Belgian buck rabbit she called Peter Piper. She said of Peter that he was 'bought at a very tender age, in the Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, for the exorbitant sum of 4/6'. This little rabbit she called her 'affectionate companion' gave his first name to one of the world's best-loved fictional characters.

for more on Beatrix!
here too!

Beware of Overheating During Summer MonthsSummer is in full swing and we want to remind everyone that bunnies do NOT tolerate heat well. If they get overheated it can quickly become fatal. Imagine if you were wearing a fur coat in hot weather!

Please protect your bunny from becoming overheated by keeping them indoors and making sure the temperature does not exceed 78 degrees. Any time the air temperature gets to 80 or above, it quickly becomes dangerous, not to mention very uncomfortable. Another way to help keep your bunny cool is to provide a couple 12" x 12" squares of marble, granite or even just ceramic tile for them to stretch out on. These can be purchased for a couple to a few dollars each from a home improvement store. You can also fill a plastic water or soda bottle with water and freeze it, then put it on a mat or towel in their living area for them to stretch out next to if they are feeling too warm. Fans are good for circulating the air, but don't set them so they are blowing directly on your bunnies.And of course, never leave your bunny unattended in a vehicle even if you think you might be 'just a minute or two' with a quick stop at a store. It only takes a couple minutes for the inside air temperature of a vehicle to soar well beyond what bunnies can tolerate. 

Here is a link to an informative article by the House Rabbit Society .
source
art by Erin Kravchenko

Patience  

Chocolate Easter bunny  

In a jelly bean nest,  

I'm saving you for very last  

Because I love you best.  

I'll only take a nibble  

From the tip of your ear  

And one bite from the other side  

So that you won't look queer.  

Yum, your'e so delicious!  

I didn't mean to eat  

Your chocolate tail till Tuesday.  

Ooops! There go your feet!  

I wonder how your back tastes  

With all that chocolate hair.  

I never thought your tummy  

Was only filled with air!  

Chocolate Easter bunny  

In a jelly bean nest,  

I'm saving you for very last  

Because I love you best.  

                                 Bobbie Katz

A Rabbit Parable 
 

In Wildwood, a socially eminent Rabbit,
Of dignity, substance and girth,
Had chosen a suitable hole to inhabit–
An excellent burrow of earth.

When up came a Woodchuck, a genuine Groundhog,
Who wanted the place for his lair;
The Rabbit, impressed by a seventeen-pound Hog,
Abruptly departed from there.

But shortly thereafter a virtuous Badger
Slid down from the neighbouring shelf;
The Woodchuck he slew as a robber and a cadger,
Bequeathing the hole to himself.

 A Fox who believed in the law of requital
Appeared through the bordering fern;
He questioned the Badger’s Manorial title
Demanding the burrow in turn.

A battle ensued in a terrible smother,
Affrighting the hardiest soul;
The Fox and the Badger abolished each other,
The Rabbit returned to his hole.

So here is appended the mildest of morals,
Accept it for what it is worth:
“When all the Haughty are killed in their quarrels
The Meek shall inherit the earth.”


                                                  Arthur Guiterman
 

My Rabbit Habit


I have a rabbit habit.
I collect them constantly.
I hardly dare go shopping
in case there's one I see.
I love all bunny statues
made of pewter, wood or glass,
and rabbit-patterned kitchenware
with bunny demitasse...
I like to cuddle bunny toys
stuffed and fluffed with fur,
and even rabbit lingerie
holds quite a strong allure.
I favor rabbit ornaments
to hang around my home.
I've wondered if there's
such a thing as bunny
shaving foam...
If someone were to ask me
to a genuine masked ball,
I'd go as Br'er or Velveteen--
no contest, none at all!
OOOOOh, I have to have my bunnies.
It's a rabid habit, see?
You haven't heard the half of it.
Help me -- rabbitly!


                         Cheryl Hawkinson

art-daria lvovsky

What Is It ? 

  

Tall ears, 

Twinkly nose, 

Tiny tail, 

And -- hop, he goes! 

  

What _is_ he -- 

Can you guess? 

I feed him carrots 

And watercress. 

  

His ears are long, 

His tail is small -- 

And he doesn't make any 

Noise at all! 

  

Tall ears, 

Twinkly nose, 

Tiny tail, 

And -- hop, he goes! 

  

          Marie Louise Allen

The Bunny Boom 

  

Bunnies all around us, 

Bunnies so cute, 

Everybunny wearin' 

A little bunny suit. 

Bunnies on the rooftop, 

Bunnies on the fence, 

Pretty bunny ladies, 

Happy bunny gents. 

Bunnies in the bushes, 

Bunnies up a tree, 

Bunnies in the living room, 

Watchin' TV... 

Bunnies in the bathtub, 

What a frisky bunch, 

Bunnies in the kitchen, 

Fixing bunny lunch. 

Bunnies in the basement, 

Bunnies in their jammies, 

Saying bunny prayers. 

Thoughtful little bunnies 

Painting Easter eggs, 

Rowdy Little bunnies, 

Tapping bunny kegs... 

Bunnies by the busload, 

Bunnies by the dozens, 

Chasing bunny playmates,

 Kissing bunny cousins. 

Bunnies all around us, 

What a funny view -- 

Last spring I remember 

All we had were two! 

                 Ed Cunningham