Spring, Are you here yet?

Imagine my surprise when I went out to do my weekly animal chores and I happened to notice this up in the banana tree.  I was so excited!  It was an actual banana blossom with little bananas.  I don't know how we could have missed such a treasure when it was at its peak of beauty but how exciting that we actually had our banana tree fruit!  The extended Fall and the protection against the house must have made this possible.  You can bet that next year, I will be scouring under every banana leaf hoping to find a bloom in its prime.


This blossom measures a little over a foot long. 

Litte bananas.  I can't get over how beautiful this must have been.
 

Getting ready for Spring.  Oh, I just can't wait!  I can't wait for Spring colors, and growing things, and blossoms, and seedlings popping up, and fresh veggies growing.  I pruned up the ferns and hydrangeous this morning on a bit of a whim.  The sun was peeking out it was dry under the eaves so I just tackled this small project and it was a perfect jump start to Spring Cleaning. 

My Flemish Giant Rabbits.  I got these wonderful rabbits 5 years ago and they have been, by far, my favorite urban animal!  They are so friendly and curious and very easy to keep. 

On to plan D with fiber rabbits.  Plan A, buy rabbits and move the little rex's into new cages so the fiber rabbits could have the larger space.  Fail, the rabbits died from exposure and we learn that fiber rabbits are actually a very high maintenance animal.  Plan B, buy fancy cages with wire trays (used) and make stackable shelves for them in the Flemish rabbit shed.  Fail, this was a huge pain to clean and the hair and poop stuck and didn't fall through the wire very easily and it was unsanitary.  Plan C try a litter box in the cages.  Fail, one rabbit only peed in it, the other used it for a couple of weeks.  Plan D, partition off the floor space of the shed and let the fiber rabbits have half the space.  We shall see how this goes.  It is the ideal rabbit situation (having experienced this, regular outside cages, and tray cages).  My only concern is that the straw will get caught up in their fur.  I gave this rabbit a good clipping before I put her in her new space.

Unfortunately, the continual health issues of the white fiber rabbit finally led us to the decision that it was most humane to put her down.  She was growing thinner, her fur was in poor condition, she was constantly stressed and pulling out her fur, and her teeth were growing worse (despite regular clipping) and making sores in her mouth.  She was born with a genetic defect called malocclusion which means her teeth don't align and she can't naturally grind them down.  It became clear that what we were doing wasn't enough to keep her happy and healthy. 

The two sided rabbitry 

Spring is just around the corner! 
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