Mysteries of the Animal Kingdom
The rabbits can always come up with something to entertain, charm, or frustrate me. Or just baffle me. Why, for instance, did they avoid jumping on the couch for quite some time after I put the cover on it (the busy pattern, perhaps?) but have now decided the couch is just as fun as ever to sit on? Ms. Spots, who was not greatly interested in the couch before, has recently decided that the cover needs digging and pulling on. I had begun to think she was limiting that kind of play to the two old rugs in the kitchen.
Orion prefers bedding, and evidently the stronger the scent of his human, the better (this seems to put him into a state of strange ecstasy). I would not really care about his interest in bedding if he didn't chew on it, but as he likes it even fresh from the laundry, there is not much to be done to keep him away.
Then there is the lapine passion for nuts. Nuts are not a normal part of the lapine diet; rabbits are not squirrels, after all. But perhaps wild rabbits eat more nuts than we realize. Someone ought to research this, assuming it has not already been done. Something has to prompt rabbits to go gaga over nuts. If Ms. Spots were the only one who craved nuts, I would put this down to her adventurous palate, but Orion, who is a picky eater, will wrestle with her for a nut. It is true that only Ms. Spots goes into a wild frenzy of dancing and begging and pleading when she perceives that nuts have come onto the scene (do not try to eat peanuts, walnuts, or mixed nuts around her), but she is a more extroverted character who acts everything out just in case some lamebrained human didn't get the idea.
On a less entertaining note, this evening I discovered the first carpet beetle larva of the season. It was in my bed, apparently having been feasting on my wool blanket. I was disgusted and hope that it is some sort of late-hatching survivor of the 2005 infestation rather than the product of a new cache of eggs. None of the anti-carpet-beetle information I've seen reveals what the eggs look like, only the larvae and adults. The little abominations had better not be in any of my winter clothes that I've been so diligently trying to clean and protect. Let me say it to the carpet beetles of the world, yet again: carpet beetles belong outdoors helping rid the world of excess old fur and feathers. There is no need to come inside and eat my sweaters and blankets and paintbrush bristles and silk scarves.
Orion prefers bedding, and evidently the stronger the scent of his human, the better (this seems to put him into a state of strange ecstasy). I would not really care about his interest in bedding if he didn't chew on it, but as he likes it even fresh from the laundry, there is not much to be done to keep him away.
Then there is the lapine passion for nuts. Nuts are not a normal part of the lapine diet; rabbits are not squirrels, after all. But perhaps wild rabbits eat more nuts than we realize. Someone ought to research this, assuming it has not already been done. Something has to prompt rabbits to go gaga over nuts. If Ms. Spots were the only one who craved nuts, I would put this down to her adventurous palate, but Orion, who is a picky eater, will wrestle with her for a nut. It is true that only Ms. Spots goes into a wild frenzy of dancing and begging and pleading when she perceives that nuts have come onto the scene (do not try to eat peanuts, walnuts, or mixed nuts around her), but she is a more extroverted character who acts everything out just in case some lamebrained human didn't get the idea.
On a less entertaining note, this evening I discovered the first carpet beetle larva of the season. It was in my bed, apparently having been feasting on my wool blanket. I was disgusted and hope that it is some sort of late-hatching survivor of the 2005 infestation rather than the product of a new cache of eggs. None of the anti-carpet-beetle information I've seen reveals what the eggs look like, only the larvae and adults. The little abominations had better not be in any of my winter clothes that I've been so diligently trying to clean and protect. Let me say it to the carpet beetles of the world, yet again: carpet beetles belong outdoors helping rid the world of excess old fur and feathers. There is no need to come inside and eat my sweaters and blankets and paintbrush bristles and silk scarves.
posted by Karla at 9:11 PM
2 Comments:
Oh yuck, yuck, yuck!!! I was reading that apparently carpet beetles are particularly active in CA (where several varieties live and wreak havoc), so perhaps you brought some back with you on your last visit? Begone, beasties!
I'm surprised to hear this. I thought carpet beetles were an east-of-the-Rockies pest. But I very much doubt I brought any from California. I've never seen them there and apart from ants and the occasional spider (the sudden termite problem has been dealt with), my parents' house is pretty much devoid of the 6- and 8-legged kind.
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