A few sweet updates I thought I’d share to keep up the Astrid Chronicles and document her bunny garden progress. This morning finds us with 52 of the 72 seeds I planted late Saturday afternoon/early evening sprouting away in just under 5 days already. Astrid discovered them yesterday on the floor, as I move them to different spots throughout the day, and tried to get at them, chewing the little revolving plastic window at top of the mini greenhouse. She did manage to get it off, but I stopped her in time and told her to wait until they’re big plants so she can enjoy them more.

She’s SO smart and knows how to get into anything, including gated off areas we have downstairs so we didn’t have to bunny proof the room. And, she relishes in delight to show me just how smart she is, as each time I come up with a new way to keep her from opening the gate, she finds her way through it. She will actually wait for me to discover her and then springs in the air with glee and as I laugh, she darts around the room and then leaves and dashes part way up the stairs where she stops and waits again. Once I leave the room, she goes back and does it again. She’s discovered it’s a fun game to play with mom.

Needless to say, I decided to just go ahead and bunny proof the room, as the gate bothered me, so now she has full reign of the area and perhaps was her plan all along, as the Queen that she is. 😉

Anyway, it’s been exciting to watch the sprouts literally sprouting before my eyes, as every day more and more appear and even within a couple of hours. Plants are incredible! And I know these will be incredible delicacies for Astrid once they’re big enough to plant in my Garden Tower. Likely some of the outdoor bunnies will enjoy them too. So, I’ll have to think on that. Perhaps provide them their own plants on the lower level of the Tower so that they can have some too and tell them that those are theirs and the rest are for Astrid. We’ll see.

It will be another couple weeks before I get that going, especially since this morning we woke to a couple inches of Spring snow. I was excited yesterday to see that my daffodils already had yellow buds formed, but as you can see they are covered in snow this morning. It will likely melt off by end of today or tomorrow, but sure is pretty!

Nature is amazing! And that includes her children like Astrid.

She continues to reveal more and more of her magickal self and abilities. I keep noticing how much she reminds me of Nestor too, which feels like another full circle experience for me and very healing and special. Her fur continues to reveal amazing and ever-evolving symbols, just like Nestor’s did too. Currently she’s sporting a half Chakana symbol, as you can see in this photo of her coming out of her second castle tunnel to commune with her Faery friend.

She really loves her big sleigh bed that sits next to my desk and enjoys the afternoon sun there. I received a beautiful Swarovski crystal octagon prism for my birthday that hangs from my sliding glass door and creates rainbow light from the sun. It just so happens to fall on Astrid now and then too. Or is it that Astrid knows just the precise location, like a grid worker, to be in the line of its light and energy? OR, is something being revealed to me in this alignment? I love how it falls on her ears – telepathy connected.

She often sleeps in this bed as I write, keeping one eye open with awareness even though she is away in Dreamland. This is the way she reaches my Pisces subconscious. She keeps a stream of telepathic energy flowing between us and channels of communication wide so she can send me thoughts to assist with my writing. We are a team and together our work is more potent than if done alone.

Just as in life, cocreating and community is where powerful change is. 

She’s such a dear and wise helper and our bond exponentially increases by the day. We are inseparable and we understand each other clearly.

I love our snuggle time and I love our play time. She makes me laugh out loud and my voice fluctuations of her name let her know it’s time to play. She’ll flip her ears, twist her head quick, and take the ready stance when I add a tone of excitement to my voice.

And other times it’s the love voice that beckons her to come to me for a snuggle and kisses.

Then there’s the treat voice that calls her name, as I send her thoughts of goodies she’s about to get, and she comes running.

And of course there’s a more stern “Astrid” voice maybe followed with a “no” if she’s about to do something naughty. This one doesn’t happen that much, as she really is a good and smart bunny.

In general, though, there’s a huge difference from how she was in the start.

I’m happy to share that there is no more charging anytime you approach her. She only does this if she’s under something or in her tunnel and someone tries to put their hand there, which makes sense. Hey! No one wants to be cornered or bothered when they’re trying to be alone.

I try to let people know how she likes to be touched, which is on top of the head and stroking along her back, which also avoids the element of surprise. Often people want to put their hands under her nose and mouth and she doesn’t like that. Rabbits can’t see directly in front of them, so it’s also startling. Every bunny is different, and can have different moments of being okay with things and then not. But she’s doing amazing with no more defensiveness and the only grunts I hear are when I get her her favorite foods and treats, if I’m not doing it fast enough. She sounds like a little piglet grunting in anticipation and delight.

But another huge difference is how she sleeps.

When I first brought her home she would always remain on alert and just sleep in a ball on all fours or lay down stretched out, but not on her side. I wondered when she would get into that relaxed bunny sleep, which indicates feeling safe. Sometimes I’d see her start to fall asleep and almost get there, but then wake herself up when she realized.

And now, we have this.

She would never have done this in the beginning. Throwing herself on her side and sleeping vulnerably is a huge trust and comfort thing, which makes me so happy. I love when she throws herself at my feet when I’m at my desk and goes to sleep. Those little silver dipped paws and tummy are precious!

She keeps me on my toes too, and makes sure I’m keeping up with my writing. I’ll often find her sitting in my cozy chair in my office – Queens like their thrones! She’ll nudge my feet and ankles and makes sure to wake us in the morning by racing around the master bedroom to rise for her greens feeding time!

Sometimes she’ll hang with the cats – the three of them in a row – as long as everyone remains at least a foot or two apart. Boundaries are a must! She also keeps the cats amused watching her race around the room.

She keeps a tidy realm here in Wonderland and sees to the happiness of all the beings that dwell here. It’s working, as everyone who walks into the room says things like, “this room makes me so happy,” or “this room makes me smile,” and most share that it inspires them in one way or another or definitely has the inner child vibe. We actually had four kids over recently with their parents and they of course went crazy over my room, which was a great sign of the innocence I’ve managed to reclaim and recreate here. That was a goal for me, to make this my inner child sanctum where all of my dreams could come alive – a world of pure imagination, as Willy Wonka says.

And that makes Astrid happy too, as she loves her room – spending the majority of her day in it. And the cats pretty much don’t come into it. They try occasionally to eat some of her hay on the top of her castle, but that’s as far as they get. They hardly come downstairs in general. Sweet Pea actually won’t come down unless her dad does. Both of the cats feel it’s safe if dad goes down, and then they follow. It’s pretty hilarious how much Astrid has established herself. And it’s only fair that she should have her own space too, as we know cats think everything belongs to them. 😉

Astrid is doing so good inside and out, and her health is testament to that. Monday I took her to her vet check up. This was the welcome sign for her – I thought it ironic with the cat on it.

We go to regular vet check ups every 6 months and sometimes 3 months to stay on top of any irregularities that could show up in her teeth. This is a must for bunnies since their teeth not only continually grow, but if not caught in time it can create huge challenges, or even be fatal with complications. I’m so grateful we have such a proactive vet who knows her bunny stuff and is just as sweet as angels come. She’s amazing!

And, so far so good. Astrid has continued getting clean and excellent bills of health. Marcy at SaveABunny had also said she never had issues as long as she was with them either.

We’ve been monitoring one tooth since the beginning but it’s doing well and no changes since the start. Sometimes a small irregularity is simply due to the way they chew so you just need to make sure it’s always maintained by your bunny or else will need maintenance. She’s doing well consistently maintaining it. We’re now keeping an eye on one other tooth where the gum is slightly protruding. She’s has no signs of problems, or issues in any way, and the gum and tooth is healthy, but the vet is staying on top of it to make sure it doesn’t turn into anything.

I love how gentle she is with Astrid and in general, she just has the softest energy about her, but not in any push over kind of way, as she has a strong presence, it’s just a gentle power. This vet has actually seen all of my bunnies (minus my first bunny Twinkie whom I had when I was in my teens) this to include Nestor, Joy, Cosmo, and now Astrid. So that also is pretty special given how much I’ve moved around. And this also makes Astrid number 5 – my fav magickal number.

Astrid did great and we’ll be back in 3 months to see how it’s all shaping up while I continue watching her for any slight changes. That’s simply a daily part of having a bunny…staying on top of knowing every little nuance since they can hide things well.

And that leads me to another Bundate – Bunny Update – from SaveABunny, actually.

You remember the white bunny, Big Sur (who to me is Zephyr) that I didn’t adopt. I mentioned getting a brief update from Marcy, but she had mentioned that she told his new mom to contact me directly. I hadn’t heard anything until yesterday morning and this was the beautiful news:

Hi Tania,

Marcy asked me to reach out to you and let you know that I formally adopted Big Sur. I know you had donated to help much with his care while he was at SaveABunny – thank you. In October we (my partner Ryon, my 10 year old daughter Dyllan and I) wanted to help out so we decided to foster Big Sur (we already had adopted 4 rabbits previously) Well months went by and we just couldn’t fathom the idea of bringing him back. So we totally foster failed. We love him so much words cannot express. He is such a special loving soul and we are so lucky to have him in our lives. Thank you for all your help and love. He found his forever home 

~Lisa

PS – I’m also an adoption coordinator at SaveABunny…I’ve always felt a draw to him since he first arrived.

And here was my reply:

Hi Lisa!! I saw your message first thing this morning and it made me smile so big. I had to wait until I could respond more in fullness to you, but I first wanted to say how VERY grateful I am that you took time to write to me about him. I have wondered so much how he has been doing, as like you had been so drawn to him and felt that love and connection. I was very challenged with my decision as to who to adopt when I did arrive there, but felt in my heart he was telling me to take Deja Vu – who is now Astrid – and that he was going to be fine, needed that time to heal, and everything would end up perfectly. I am SO happy beyond words to know you have him with you and that he is in the perfect home and you are all sharing so much love between you. It confirms what I had felt and it also speaks so much of the bond you both have and why everything turned out as it did. I am so grateful for all of the work you do for SaveABunny, giving so many homes to rabbits in need, and now loving Big Sur so dearly. And you are so welcome for the help with him. It meant a lot to me to be able to do that. I’m so glad you foster failed!  I’m glad to know you are the adoption coordinator…I can’t remember now as it was nearly a year ago I had first contacted about Big Sur, but we may have spoken via email. Marcy and SaveABunny mean a lot to me and Astrid is definitely my perfect partner. I couldn’t love her more and our connection has deepened so much since last June. She’s my second adoption from SaveABunny and likely there will be more at some point. So it’s good to know you! Thank you again!  Love and hugs to you

I love happy endings, don’t you? They lead to great new beginnings!