Rabbit talk

It is easy to read the rabbits' body language once you have figured out the code. The secret is in the ears. 

Here, Blackie's ears are drooping slowly, his eyes are half-closed. The boy is really relaxed and sleepy. 

A sudden noise gets his attention. The ears perk up, scanning around to pick more further sounds. He isn't alarmed, but he is alert now, in case there is danger around.

The real deal

If one wins an election by pointing out all the flaws of the opponent, I wonder what he or she would do once the seat is actually won, and rhetoric has to be turned into action. To continue to criticize is a safer strategy, but the more worthy thing to do is to show how much better you can do things.

More BusyBunny Moments

I can see why they call this a mini maze. If a rabbit is determined to hide inside, it is very difficult to get him out. He would hop into one hole and slink out through another, jump upstairs and then escape through another  window. Just when you thought you finally him out, he decides to continue the merry go round by dashing back right into the maze again. 

You naughty boy! It is time to go back to your cage. You aren't getting treats until you behave.

Co-driving

Amazing how the party created a fool-proof position for themselves, offering to "make the government work harder" and slapping the main driver. Why does the language remind me of slave-driving?

I baulk at a political stance which is inherently based on another's work, instead of one's own efforts. Hence if the ruling party does achieve more, it is to the credit of the co-driver. And if not, the whip comes out. How easy it is to be an effective co-driver! 

The injustice of such a strategy can easily demonstrated by translating it into our workplace. Imagine that your colleague decides that his sole duty is to ensure that you do your work. Whenever you do well, he hurriedly claims that it is because he has been watching you. Yet any lapse in performance is solely your fault. I would love to be in that colleague's situation. Surely no fair-minded person accept such a lop-sided distribution of responsibility! 

Has this position been self-appointed to hide the genuine lack of alternative policy proposals and new ideas? If all the co-driver does is to look at the main driver, why do we need so many of them around? 

 

Home away from home

If I am not careful, this blog is going to turn into a free advertising site for BusyBunny. The two furballs simply love it! As soon as they are out of their cage, they eagerly dash into their mini maze, gnawing it, digging, then resting inside. It is hard to persuade them to leave it. 

Blackie: "Do you mind? We are having a private moment here." 

Window view

Blackie is so attached to his BusyBunny maze that he refuses to leave it, even for food. I have to bring the vegetables to him so that he can poke his head out of a hole and nibble the leaves. 

Haha! Whitty decides that she wants the window view too. She chases Blackie away, and grabs his vegetables from his mouth too. Poor Blackie!

Election...again

Voting is turning into a habit.

In this outlier political season, we seem to be going to the polls all the time. As this is a single-seat constituency, it is rapidly turning into a multi-corner fight. After all, every man (or woman) in the street deserves the right to their 5 minutes of fame.

Though we have come to accept that it takes all sorts to make up the political scene, this time, SDP has quite outdone itself in making our jaws drop. First they asked WP not to run, then they huffily decided that since their request wasn't entertained, they will pull themselves out instead. They even threw away their campaign posters, which they prematurely printed. Fie! Do you think this is theatre of the absurd?

Besides, doesn't this party claim to champion democracy? By horse-trading and negotiating pre-polls deals, it has shown us that its real aim is to get into power, never mind betraying the democratic principle of allowing voters to choose their preferred candidate.

It is just as well that this campaigning season is going to be a short and furious one. All the rhetorical fireworks always seem so damaging to social cohesion. As it is, our society is already too quick to anger.

Balcony Scene

With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls, 

For stony limits cannot hold love out...

Balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet

Blackie is always grooming Whitty with love. Isn't this such a sweet sight? 

Then of course, he makes his MOVE, and Whitty hops away. Clever girl! She never gives him what he wants *wink*

PS: They have both been neutered, though it doesn't seem to stop their courtship behavior.

The greatest investment

The greatest investment one could make is to forgive.

Investors all want to get the highest returns for what they put in. Every investor dreams of netting the much vaunted "multi-bagger" stock, which yields profits many times the original capital. Yet we all admit there is no investing instrument to guarantee such gains, and have to accept the risk of potentially painful losses.

In our personal life, I discovered that there is one investment we can make with God, which is an unbelievable deal - to forgive others and in return, receive all of God's forgiveness. In contrast, harboring grudges against others leads to estrangement from God, and possibly prayers that are not heard. God's word says, "when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your father in heaven may forgive your sins (Mark 11:26)."

Isn't this a straightforward offer that one cannot refuse? In our lifetime, we would inevitably get offended and hurt in many ways. Naturally, we hope to be able to pay these people back for what they have done. Perhaps they really deserve retribution. The unfortunate truth is, very often, even if the offender repents, he may have no way to compensate us for what he has taken away. Yet our forgiveness allows God to intervene supernaturally and bless us in His own way, for God promises that if we sow mercy, we reap mercy (Matthew 5).

Put in these terms, I find it much easier to make the decision to forgive. What is 80 years  worth of offenses in comparison with an eternity of forgiveness from God? If this isn't a multi-bagging deal, I do not know what is.

Stubborn

Tell me that he isn't being stubborn. 

Blackie has been amazingly naughty about his vegetables. Whenever I put the vegetables into their play area, he would dive into his tunnel, so I have taken to chasing him around, waving leaves and stalks at him. But to my surprise, when I give up and go off, he would emerge and eat on his own! He is just being very willful about not eating when I tell him to eat! Who could have guessed that rabbits can be so stubborn? 

Here he is, eating when he thought I wasn't looking. 

Resting after a hearty meal. After my recent rabbit bite experience, these two rotund furballs look even more cuddly and innocent, haha. At least they have never seriously bitten me.

The Almost Adoption

She was an adorable lionhead-lop mix, and the fosterers kept assuring me that she was docile and gentle. Holding her in my arms, I was ready to carry her home when it happened. The bite was swift and unexpected. Blood started oozing out only seconds later, and by then, my would-be adopted rabbit had been hurriedly returned into her pen.

Such a pity. I do like her very much, but I can't have a biter around my rabbit village. Blackie and Whitty wouldn't know what to make of her :( And that's the end of my attempt to adopt another rabbit.

Rabbits at meal time - a study of contrasts

Whitty, munching her veggies with gusto.

 She even licks up the juices that dripped down! 

Blackie, hiding in his BusyBunny. I have to persuade him to nibble some leaves at least. 

Healthy Bread Pudding

Drenched with milk, sugar and vanilla essence, bread takes on a comforting, rich taste. I love bread pudding, especially on cold days. Baking the dessert personally means I can make a healthier version so that I can indulge in it without feeling guilty. This is what goes into my bread pudding:

• Multigrain bread
• Banana
• Egg mixture consisting of low-cholesterol eggs, fruit sugar and oat milk

Couldn't resist slathering on some peanut butter onto the bread though, to give it extra flavor. 

Before:

Final results