Saturday, March 6, 2010

Rabbit Habits (Part I)

Productive though they may be, the chickens fall short when it comes to social rewards. As much as we enjoy the sustenance of their eggs and the entertainment of their interactions, we must allow that Harriet the rabbit steals the spotlight when it comes to pure cuddly companionship.

Harriet was a gift from my husband for my 30th birthday. If being presented with a cute little baby animal is not an pet-loving wife's dream come true, then I don't know what is. Little Harriet, a Californian/Rex cross, offers the comfort of a velvet hot water bottle, the antics of a court jester, and the aesthetic appeal of a basket full of kittens. Harriet's photo appears in the American Heritage Illustrated Dictionary between cutback and cutesy. She is adorable.

Harriet is full of personality, and just this morning we found her to be a person in a foul mood. Tempermental fits, in my opinion, are reserved for the higher organisms, and Harriet's emotional sophistication was demonstrated this morning as she grumped and growled. I had served the dogs, cats, goats and mules before I had served her, and by 8 am she was rip-roaring mad. Her pellets were a full ten minutes late, and she would not accept the comfort of my argument that she still, as it happened, had remaining pellets from the night before. It was, she said, a matter of principle.

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