Roo's Crib

My sister, brother, and I built this stellar rabbit crib for Roo a few weeks ago. Jess plotted the architectural design after I sketched out what I envisioned, Travis did all the sawing and nailing, and I did trivial yet important tasks that a non-construction type person might do. For example, I added charisma and motivation to the two and a half hour project. All the materials were purchased at Home Depot.

 It was a very sturdy, quality built cage to start with, but I wanted to make the hutch look more like home, so I added a few designer touches.

In case you didn't notice, Roo's house is basically a mini version of mine, as both are painted the same exact shade of brown-gray and have white trim. I nailed on protective roof shingles to shield against the incessant rain Oregon has, added on a flower box, a tiny turquoise bird house, and a mailbox on the right. Let's take an up-close look at that mailbox.

His mailbox is white just like mine.

You can mail Roo a carrot or an apple, or seeds for his garden.

Roo is really into gardening. He likes to watch his strawberry plants get ripe.

The roof of Roo's house lifts up so that I can get him out. The enclosed box on the right is his bedroom and has a mattress of hay for him to nest in. The mesh wire part is his kitchen and living room. That gray thing in the corner is his bathroom. Roo is a very clean rabbit and only drops raisins in his litter box.

Just about every day I bring Roo in for cuddle time. We sit on the couch and I pet his fluffy rabbit head. After cuddle time is play time. He loves to race around the living room, shimmy under the couch, and leap into the air like Michael Jordon. After a while he is plumb wore out. For some reason Roo enjoys lounging on the air vents in my house. There are three in the area that he hops around in, and he will plop down on any of them. When he rests, he never just snoozes on the carpet. It's gotta be a vent.

Roo's fur is the exact same shade as my carpet. This either makes him nervous, or it is comforting to him since he has good camouflage.

He may like it because the metal is cooler than the carpet.

Meet Roo

Someone new is living with me, and his name is Roo. I have recently acquired a pet rabbit, which I've been wanting for about forever plus three years. Roo is a 2.5 month old Holland Lop. I bought him from a nice Mennonite family who lives on 15th Street. So you know, he comes from a good God-fearing home.

Roo is such an incredible kick in the pants. He does the funniest things. Every day after cuddle time (insert "ahhhh" here), I let him hop around my living room. After he gets warmed up with about 15 jumping jack rabbits, he likes to race around the couch as fast as he can, then slide onto the linoleum in the dining area. He also likes to army crawl underneath the couch, and he's recently discovered a fort below the armoire that holds my crafting supplies.

"I'm ready for my close-up."

The other night it was pretty warm in my house, so I turned on the air. Roo was racing around on the carpet when he meandered over to the floor vent, nibbled on the metal, and then plopped himself down across the entire length of the thing. His fur was blowing upward as he enjoyed the cool air. Roo is also very adorable when he washes his face. I about die from the cuteness.

Roo may believe my slippers are another rabbit, because they are brown, about his size, and also have fur.

Is that not the cutest cotton-tailed bum you ever did see? Roo is on his way to hide underneath his fort.

One thing Roo and I like to do is perform tricks for each other and then rate them on a scale of 1 to 10. For example, I've been trying to perfect a straight hand-stand that lasts at least eight seconds. I practice this in the living room and Roo gives me a score. Then Roo likes to practice his hops. He's got mad skillz. He will be just sitting there, when all of a sudden he will jump a foot high in the air. It's amazing. He usually always gets tens.

My favorite Roo moment was this last weekend, when I was laying on my back on the carpet. Roo hopped near to me, then started licking my face right by my left eye. It tickled and I kept giggling. Then he thought my hair was grass and started nibbling it. At that point I rolled over and gave him kisses.

So readers, be prepared. Like a mom blogging about her kids, or a teacher telling stories of her students, I've now got a pet and I'm fairly sure he will be making it into many future posts. I made him his own label for upcoming stories.