I’m trying hard to be patient, but Frodo and the parrots are doing my head in! The latter are obviously unfamiliar with the concept of being seen and not heard, and the former has personal hygiene problems, not to mention the omnipresence of the vacuum cleaner lately, thanks to all 3 of them!
I think the parrots are getting louder. My bedroom (which I let my mummies share) is right above the conservatory, where the parrots live, and we have a wooden floor which isn’t quite so good at buffering noise, and when the window is open I get it in surround sound! If they talked sense or sang something catchy it wouldn’t be so bad, but they just yell and squabble all the time, having only a brief interlude when Mummy El replenishes their food bowls.
Frodo and I had been getting along better since, for the most part, we’d been staying out of each other’s way, but every time I go into the living room where he resides (he’s too noisy at night to live in our room) to escape the squawking and get too close to his cage… Well, let’s just say when you get too close to Frodo you resent having nostrils.
Luckily, the stink is localised. Unless you’re right in front of him you can’t smell it, which is a relief, or my mummies would have a real problem on their hands. Who wants to live in a place that smells of rodent?! They take his cage apart every weekend and scrub it with antibacterial spray and hot water, but within hours of its reassembly he’s stunk it out again. They even give him a good rub down with antibacterial pet wipes at the same time, but it makes no odds. I think he was just born that way, poor chap.
The most disturbing thing about it all from my perspective though, is the amount of work the hoover is having to do these days. Being a very house-proud rabbit I understand that the vacuum cleaner (or Henry as he’s known in our house) is an essential tool in the fight against grime, and I’m mentally prepared for his presence a couple of times a week, but lately I’ve been seeing far too much of him.
Now, I consider myself to be quite a brave boy considering my size and lack of ferocity. I’m oblivious to creepy crawlies and take no issue with the dark or small places – in fact I positively encourage them! – but the hoover… The hoover terrifies me. As I said, a couple of times a week, whilst I’m safely in my hutch I can just about deal with, but it doesn’t seem to be away lately.
The parrots are, apparently, moulting again. I haven’t seen it for myself, but Mummy El said the conservatory looks like the scene of an explosion in a pillow factory on a daily basis, hence Henry, and Frodo insists on throwing saw dust all over the floor around his cage.
The parrots are a law unto themselves so there’s no point talking to them about the noise, and I’m quite the moulter myself, so I’d have no leg to stand on there, but I thought I’d maybe try to help Frodo out with his predicament a bit, and help myself and my mummies along the way. A little known fact about us bunnies is that we are extremely clean. I house-trained myself from being a baby and apart from when I’m trying to make a point I always use one of my 2 loos. Frodo, on the other hand, is fairly indiscriminate about where he goes, which I think is half of the problem with the smell.
Anyway, the other night I bobbed my head into his doorway to give him a couple of pointers and help him find a suitable place to go and the little blighter slapped me! Right across the face! No signs, no warning, just: smack!
Now, I ask you, is that any way to treat your brother?
I’m trying hard to keep my cool, but sometimes it’s a trial being me.