what's in the box

This weekend was insane. First, I went camping. Sort of. I drove down to Ohiopyle on Friday night with a group of people, and then I set up a tent and ate a s'more and went to sleep. Then I woke up and drove back to Pittsburgh. I got a box, I went to Ren's wedding, I ate amazing food (that she made!) at her reception, and I stopped by the apartment briefly. Then I drove back to Ohiopyle and ate another s'more and went to sleep. Then I woke up, ate breakfast, took down a tent, and drove back to Pittsburgh.

Don't ask.

But, do ask about the box. I got a box!! Check it out.Can you guess what's inside? Seriously, take a guess.

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If you guessed an Angora rabbit from the Beaver County Humane Society, you're right!!Okay, so she doesn't look much like an Angora right now. Except for those crazy ears, she's missing the long hair that Angoras are known for. That's because she got all shaved to get rid of mats (and fleas) when she got to the Humane Society. So I'm thinking she's going to look very different in a few months.

Now, how did this all start? Did I just pick up one day and say, "Hey, I'd like to get a rabbit?" Well, it doesn't seem like I would do that, and I certainly do not think that people should do that, but in essence: I did. I had been thinking about it on and off for several months, but never very seriously. More like, "Hm, at my new apartment, I actually could have a cat or a rabbit of my own. Hm." And then last week someone mentioned me perhaps taking their cat that they were allergic to. And then, after seeing pictures of people spinning Angora wool as I was browsing the web for information on fiber festivals in the fall, I happened upon a listing for an Angora at the Humane Society, which is located about an hour away from where I live in Pittsburgh.

Begin ridiculousness... (Again -- I would not recommend anyone ever do this! It's not very responsible.) That was Thursday. I got home as fast as I could, jumped in the car and drove to the Humane Society to check out the bunny and fill out an application for adoption and check if I could wait until I get back from Europe to adopt it. Of course I couldn't. But I liked the bunny. So they told me it would get spayed on Friday and I would have to come get it on Saturday. When I was supposed to be camping/at a wedding. Ugh. And so of course I made the rash decision to go for it.

And that also meant I needed the zillion bunny things that any good house rabbit needs, the main item being a cage. And cages that have sufficient room and flooring are expensive. BUT then I found out about "NIC Condos" - these build-it-yourself cages that are made from inexpensive materials. So...Friday I went out and bought all most of the stuff I needed except for the floor because when I was at Lowe's to get the floor their saw was broken, so I would have had to take home a gigantic piece of plywood and an even giganticer piece of panelboard. I then raced to the campground to set up the tent in the dark.

I awoke at 6 on Saturday and jumped in the car and drove back to my apartment to assemble the cage. Then I stopped by a different Lowe's that did have a working saw to get flooring materials. Then I drove to get the bunny. Then I drove back. Then I put the bunny in the cage without the floor on the vinyl in the kitchen while I finished making the floor. The bunny thought this a great opportunity to urinate everywhere except in the lovely litter box. And then she flipped over her food and her water dishes.

I cleaned everything up, moved the cage to the new floor, and found heavier dishes for the food and water. Then I cleaned myself up and went to the wedding and the reception. Then I stopped by the apartment to change into camping clothes (and clean up after the bunny, since she was still not using the litter box...I was beginning to doubt that she was actually litter trained as had been reported)...and I went back to the campsite...and had to walk the half mile from the parking lot to the site in the pitch dark since I had not remembered to grab my flashlight at 6a.m.

Ah. Well, that is how to not acquire a bunny!

At any rate, this new addition to my household is great. She doesn't like being brushed or handled very much, so she and I will be working on that. That food-and-wather dumping thing continued even with the heavier bowls, so I decided to get a water bottle and a pretty cool clamp-to-the-cage bowl so she can't make such a mess. And she finally settled down and uses the litter box like a good bunny. She doesn't chew on the electrical cords, but she does seem to have a fondness for one corner of the couch slipcover. Again...some work will be done.

So...here's Joelle!!And here she is in her cage, displaying how she uses the litter box and has convenient access to her non-tippable food and is in view of the non-tippable water...And tomorrow I will answer the question: what's in the bag?