At just over two weeks, Astrid continues to adjust and settle in to her new home here with us. The journey continues to be one of patience, tuning in, and gauging where she’s at and what she’s ready for. As mentioned, although she is not physically challenged like Cosmo was, she is still quite challenged with special needs that call for an internal massaging of her emotions, conditioned behaviors, and adopted patterns that have been cultivated by her past. It is a tough journey, as any time I see things pop up I can feel where it is coming from, which is saddening, and the only way through it is to love her even more, not take it personally, and help to re-establish new patterns that support her into her more natural essence behind all of this.

Time, heart, and intuitive investment is necessary to help her through it all. And it may take months, a year….I don’t know. It could also happen more quickly, but I have no expectations or goals to meet, other than to do my best. I remember that it took 6 months to bond Joy and Cosmo, but it DID happen. And a daily investment of love, nurturing, and physical devotion also helped Cosmo to get stronger as well.

At the same time, Astrid is naturally an extremely sensitive empath, as well as highly attuned to energy and the frequencies she picks up all around her, seen and unseen.

Last night I watched these two moths resting on the outside of the window right above her sanctuary area of our bedroom. She was sitting under the window and facing toward me, however it was incredible to see how she could pick up the vibrations of their wings through the thick glass and outside in the dark – it was dimly lit inside the house too. One moth started to slowly move from one spot to another on the window, gently fluttering its wings and I watched, as one of Astrid’s ears slowly started following the flow of its flight pattern by moving in the same direction as the moth.

Vibrational resonance is her gift, but can also be her challenge, as she will mirror and take on whatever is around her.

That said, she also is blessed with an incredible strength and power that has seen her through it all and helped her to endure the pains and traumas, as well as supported her to thrive, and ultimately, to manifest a way out of what could have been her end many times.

I took Astrid in for her first wellness appointment on Monday to establish getting a handle on her physical health, since there are many unseens with rabbits.

It’s important to keep on top of your animal companion’s health, especially where rabbits are concerned because many things go unnoticed with them and if caught early can help avoid major challenges later. It’s also key to be very present and aware with them, noticing any little shifts in behavior, eating, and eliminating. Often times challenges are due to teeth issues so make sure to get them checked regularly.

But in general, check in and learn to understand and communicate with your sweet ones, as you will learn so much and create a stronger bond for overall well being and spiritual evolution and connection. They have so much to teach and so much they want to help us with, just as much as we can help them to also come into their fullness.

Astrid came away from her appointment with flying colors. The sweet, gentle, and incredibly knowledgable vet – I just love her and all of my bunnies have at one time or another been to her – said she was in wonderful health, perfect, healthy weight for her at 6 pounds 12 ounces, and in general she said I’d chosen well.

I feel that was a mutual thing however, and in this case since Astrid was a surprise, I feel this was Cosmically written in the stars for us and she’d chosen me for reasons I have yet to see.

The vet is exceptional at seeing and understanding the needs of rabbits and made note of very tiny points on her right bottom teeth that we’ll just want to keep an eye on. She has no problems, nor may this ever become a problem, but for precaution we will have her rechecked in 3 months instead of the normal 6 months to ensure nothing starts developing. Being proactive is important where bunny teeth are concerned. Likely she’ll wear them down on her own with continued good eating, but I like knowing that my vet is on top of things, as Astrid’s health and well being is my priority as her mom and guardian.

And good eating involves feeding them the right things that are healthiest for their sensitive digestive systems and healthy for strong teeth and helping to keep these always-growing-teeth naturally filed down.

I only give my sweet ones the very best. If it’s something I wouldn’t eat then they don’t get it either.

So that includes a variety of organic greens (cilantro, parsley, dandelion greens, carrot tops, spring mix, small amounts of kale, etc.) and small bites of fruit like strawberry or apple now and then and bits of carrot, the healthiest 2nd cut timothy hay, timothy pellets (in small measured quantity – 1 -2 tablespoons tops), drops of goji juice in their water, herbal blends of superfoods for general health and immune support (an echinacea blend and a calendula, chamomile, dandelion leaf, dandelion root, elder flower, flaxseed powder, goldenrod, hawthorn leaf, hibiscus flower, lavender, milk thistle powder, nettle, oat groats, green oat tops, plantain, raspberry leaf, red clover flower, rosehips, rose petals, strawberry leaf vita-licious blend I give her), and small (because you don’t want to overdue the sugar) natural, untreated pine cones (like these pictured with Astrid below) coated in healthy botanicals that support their natural foraging instincts.

I also provide a variety of chewy balls and twists of natural things like meadow, maize, willow and even mini logs/bits of tree to work those teeth and feel like they’re out in the fields and forests.

Here you see Astrid enjoying her cherry hibiscus pine cone (you can actually see her tongue out licking her lips in the photo below). There’s also a blueberry parsley pine cone as well.

She’s so good at grazing and not inhaling her food all at once like my other bunnies would. They’d be crazed when I brought stuff out and it would be gone quickly.

Astrid is much more calm about food and takes her time, but still loves her food. This pine cone she just nibbles on each day… So I don’t need to worry about her over doing things.

It makes me happy I can provide her with good things to make up for never having a forever home and all the past torment, pain, and grief I know she’s seen and experienced.

I will continue to work with her to help her through her challenges, while also listening to what she has to share through them about herself and for me too.

She has already given me a big piece of wisdom, which I shared at the end of my last blog post, but I know this will only continue to increase the more time we spend together.

I have loved seeing her relax into things here and watching her enjoying her freedom as she runs and jumps around like crazy. 

On her good days she runs to me when I come near to say hi and nudge me with her nose. She’ll follow me and there are little to no grunts or attacks that take place.

But that doesn’t mean that is gone, as with everything, it’s all a process and while she has great days and moments, she’ll have the past creep up unexpectedly. Any little shift can result in a shift in her as well, which then takes time to rebalance again.

She also is very sensitive to too much energy around and will mostly stay in the second bedroom or under the bed there if there is too much going on, like having guests over. Then the second they leave she comes out. 

She can’t take having too much all at once and definitely needs to be introduced to energies and other people slowly, as well as one at a time. Otherwise, her fight mode kicks in high gear. One reason why she’s so good at keeping the cats at bay, even if they are just being curious. Her attack mode is nothing to play around with!

She’s quite the guardian bunny.

But she truly thrives in and needs a peace filled environment and to be approached with utter purity of heart to help engage her to meet that with hers.

She is a special one and has also been helping me to work through more emotions around my bunny loves that have been cropping up since her arrival, including around Zephyr/Big Sur and my convictions around my path.

I love how we mirror each other and once again she shows me that the alchemy of togetherness with my rabbit familiars is more potent than me alone.