Shearing seemed to be my theme for the weekend! Today I spent some quality time with my long-neglected rabbits. Poor little darlings! With work and university studies, this past week kept me so busy that I had no block of time to spend with them. I admit it – I’m stretched too thin. Although spring registration is underway at the university, I am purposely *not* looking at the schedule. It’s going to be a busy spring around here, and that’s enough!
Today it was Caramel’s and Coffee’s turn once again. It was time for the rest of their fur to come off. I had resisted shearing them in favor of plucking them, but after much consideration, I decided to shear what was left. Both the boys 
enjoyed a nice long romp around the Bunny Barn. While Caramel was up on the table being sheared, Coffee ran free, and vice versa.
Of course, you can’t do this kind of thing all in one fail swoop. The rabbit gets tired of sitting still and gets squirmy, much like a small child. When you have him in your lap and he starts digging at your legs, that’s a sign he needs to make a “nature call” and you had best put him down. Quick. So I went back and forth between the boys, 20 minutes with one, then 20 minutes with the other, with lots of free roaming and exploring time in between.
Ken took advantage of my having both rabbits out of their cage duo and manhandled it outside for me to give it a good cleaning. Despite my best efforts to the contrary, these rabbits managed to get pieces of hay stuck here and there, and fur clinging to the sides when they are starting to molt. So it’s a good idea to take the cage set out and give it a good wash whenever they aren’t in it and the sun is shining outside.
Eventually, they were relieved of what fur they had left, and they are ready to start over. In approximately 3 months time, we’ll be doing this again. In the meantime, they are inside a climate-controlled space, so they will never know the chill of winter. If 
the pretty weather holds out, I may try to build them an enclosed run outside. If not this fall, then certainly in the spring. In the meantime, they’ll have to be happy running around in the Bunny Barn.
When I had finished with Coffee and Caramel, I took Lady Charlotte out, gave her a good brushing, and cut out some mats behind her ears. Now that I think about it, I haven’t introduced our English royalty yet, have I?
That sounds like a good subject for my next update! In other news, little brother and his honey brought his welding trailer and tools up here tonight. If all goes well, we’ll watch a new animal shelter come together here this week! How very exciting for us and the animals!
