Migration is really kicking in. We started last week with a couple of red-winged blackbirds behind the store. Today when I came into work we had a flock of about twenty and two mourning doves were under the feeders. I haven't seen any mourning doves behind the store since last December. This means that grackles aren't far behind and sales will be picking up at the store because people will either go through more seed as a result of the ravenous blackbird throng or switching to safflower with is more expensive than oilers.
Non-birding Bill had a scare with Cinnamon this weekend. It started when Bill and some of his friends had a bad movie night party in my absense and Cinnamon refused dried banana. Bill felt that she quit eating, which resulted in Bill taking her to the vet emergency room and being sent home with bunny antibiotic and a powder to mix with water for force feeding if neccessary, even though they couldn't really find anything wrong with her at the Vet ER. Of course as soon as I came back from Nebraska she started eating normally.
It's best to err on the side of caution with rabbits, things can go downhill pretty fast if something goes wrong with their digestion., but I have a feeling that this was more of a bunny protest gone wrong. Since I was in Nebraska, Cinnamon was away from the store for three days where she's spoiled rotten by my employees and customers who give her loads of dried banana, raisins, dried cranberries, cashews and Deer Mix. I have one customer who gave her a bag of fresh parsley for Christmas. I think after being at home for three days she decided, "Hey, I'll quit eating the boring hay and pellets at home and then dad will freak out and take me to the bird store and I'll get my own dish of Deer Mix!" Alas, her plan went awry when she ended up crated and sent to the vet where she was poked, prodded, needled and whatever else goes on in the back room. Then to add insult to injury she was force fed two kinds of medicines and sent right back to the boring old apartment.
For the last two days at the store she has been very demanding of treats so I think she has learned her lesson not to freak out poor Bill anymore.
Today was an exciting day, I got a love sack off of overstock.com and it's now sitting in the living room morphing from and uncomfortable lump of polyurathane foam wrapped in denim into one of the most comfortable pieces of furniture I have ever sat on. Cinnamon is very curious about the whole business. She keeps climbing the lump to explore it. Just a second ago she did this thing (that is supposed to be a sign of bunny relaxation but looks frightening) where she will fling herself over on her side or back with all four paws in the air. It's looks like she either was just shot or had a heart attack. Anyway, she just flung herself up against the sack, so I think she is as excited about the new furniture as I am.
Okay, I am officially using this blog to avoid finishing my first draft of my book. I need to get to work.