Bunfest 2013!

Eek, it's been a while between blog posts!  I will catch up on the marine-related stuff soon!  For now, I shall blog about the hopping good time known as Bunfest.

A great many of us crazy rabbit people had been looking forward to Florida Bunfest at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast for quite some time now.  Whenever I told non-rabbit friends that I was going to Bunfest, the typical reaction was, "Bun...what?"  Yes, there are events (several around the country) to celebrate our beloved house rabbits.

That's right.

This year was extra-awesome, in that many bunny friends I already knew were going to be there, PLUS many friends I knew from Facebook, but had never actually met.  Several traveled from out of state (from as far away from New Jersey!) to celebrate bunnies and hang out with fellow bunny people.

I left my place the morning of the event.  I live on the opposite coast of Florida, so I got up at 6:30 to get ready to go.  My dad was thankfully in town for a bike race (he is as passionate about cycling as I am about bunnies!), so he was staying at my place and could watch all my critters!  I loaded my stuff into my trusty Hyundai and headed for S.R. 70.  I sang loudly in my car, so my bunnies were probably glad they weren't with me.

Upon arrival, I met up with two friends who were already making a trip back to the car with armloads of loot for their bunnies (they have some lucky bunnies!)  I headed on up the path, and my eyes locked onto the Pet Rabbit Toys tent.  They make some pretty awesome bunny toys, and they sure did some good business that day.  I eventually found some bunny friends I had previously only met online.  It's a little hard when most everyone's profile pictures are their bunnies!  We all eventually found one another and introduced ourselves.

Everyone had a great time.  Lots of people brought their bunnies.  There was a big "Bunny Olympics" area with tunnels and jumps.  There was a bunny toy making station, games for kids, and all kinds of fun stuff for sale.

Bunny in a tunnel

Lots of fun stuff for sale!

We looked around at all the adoptable bunnies.  A few bunnies (and a guinea pig!) even found permanent homes, which is always a happy occasion!  Several of these critters found homes with my new-found bunny friends!

It really was great to hang out with fellow rabbit people, since nobody really "gets" rabbit people aside from other rabbit people!  It's nice not to get weird looks when you talk about binkies or nose bonks.  You knowingly joke with one another about rabbit poop, and totally get why we all praise our bunnies for making nice poop.  Most people look at me disbelievingly when I tell them I have three rabbits (oh, by the way, I recently adopted a rabbit - more on her later!)  Not at Bunfest!  One rescuer at Bunfest thought it was great when she told someone else she has 20 rabbits in her house and they said, "Only twenty?  I have thirty!"  We all shared rescue stories and frustrations.  We talked constantly about the things our rabbits do, and nobody judged us!  We LOVE to talk about rabbits!

Me and my friend Allison - we hadn't seen each other in a while!

All of us hardcore bunny people stayed the entire day.  We had to see who won the raffle of course!  I didn't win anything (I never win raffles!), but lots of other people won some great prizes!  The best thing was that all the money raised (over $3000!) went directly to the rabbits at the humane society.

After Bunfest was over, it was time for the Bunfest After Party!  That's right.  Bunny people know how to have a good time.  We all met up at a local grill & bar.  Yes, the conversation was dominated by the subject of rabbits.  It was awesome to network with other rescue people and get to know them face-to-face.  We had so much fun and met so many great new friends.

Why yes, of course there were bunnies at the restaurant with us.  (These two travel everywhere with their people and are used to these situations)

All in all, it was a fantastic day.  Of course it was a day to celebrate bunnies, but it was also a day to celebrate friendship.  Everyone there came from all different walks of life from different parts of the country, but we are all united in our love for pet rabbits.  Now I am trying to figure out how to pay my way to Midwest Bunfest in Ohio in November!  It is HUGE and so many people are going.  Maybe I can sell bunny poop...

A Tale of Two Catfish

As if I didn't see enough fish at work, I'm crazy enough to have two fish tanks at home.  I have a saltwater tank, which currently only has some estuarine inverts in it (need to re-stock), and a freshwater tank, which I've almost finished re-vamping and re-stocking.

I started with just a handful of fish in the freshwater.  I've had this tank for years, so it's already cycled, but I didn't want to throw in too many fish at once!  (That doesn't typically work out very well!)  For a few weeks, I've had 3 sunset platys and an albino corydoras catfish.  They've all been happily swimming around the tank, and today I added a handful of zebra danios and a green corydoras.

My freshwater tank

I had read that corydoras like to hang out with conspecific buddies, but these two have been inseparable since I added the green cory to the tank!  It's so funny to watch - it's as if they're long-lost friends!  They follow one another around - left, right, up down.

It's funny.  I work with fish all day, but watching them swimming around the aquarium at home is so peaceful.  Don't get me wrong - fishkeeping is a LOT of work.  Be prepared for water changes, filter cleaning, water quality testing, etc.  It's not cheap either!  The end result of a nice, peaceful aquarium to watch is worth the work in my opinion.

I'm looking forward to re-stocking my saltwater tank.  Both of my aquariums needed some work, and I just haven't had the time lately.  I'm ready to get this going again though!  Even though I don't currently have fish in my saltwater tank, I do have some invertebrate friends.  I hear my huge snapping shrimp (that I've had for over 3 years now!) every so often, various gastropods make their rounds, the sea stars cling to the side, and my red hermit sifts through the substrate.

My hermit crab chillaxin on the sand

Like any other critter, you have to look into what kinds of sea critters are compatible with each other!  In a saltwater tank, for example, you don't want to have fish who think invertebrates are a tasty snack if you want to keep your inverts around!  And sometimes, fish want to have buddies...like my now-inseparable corydoras catfish.

Maybe the piece of seagrass that formed a perfect number "2" on my leg at work today was a sign.

Ah, the mysteries of the sea.

Bunnies...and fish...and bunnies...

Haven't had much time to blog lately!  I've been on the water quite a bit at work!  Plenty of 4 day field weeks for me, which has been rather exhausting.  My brother came to visit a little over a week ago though, and he got to come out on the boat with me at work!  It was fun to have "bring your brother to work day".  He flies jets, which is pretty exciting, but I think he enjoyed his day with the fishes!

Me and my little bro at our lunch spot on North Captiva.

In between water sampling (lots and lots of water sampling...) and regular fisheries sampling trips, I finally got to run a sawfish research trip again.  It's been a while, but I haven't lost my touch.  We caught this cute little boy around the east side of Hog Island.  He was quite frisky.  We named him George.  He looked like a George.

Yes, that's me rocking the pink Buff.  I make science look good.

Today I put on the bunny rescue hat and attended an adoption event at the Brandon Petco.  I was up until the wee hours of the morning last night doing last minute things.  I thought I had pre-prepared the day before, but I kept thinking of more things we needed!  This morning I loaded up my trusty (FINALLY paid off) Hyundai with Hershey my foster bunny, a guinea pig I recently picked up at Suncoast Humane, critter pens, litter box, water bowls, and a bag of miscellaneous things that come in handy at events like notecards, pens, binder clips, and the like.

We actually had a surprising turnout!  We weren't expecting so many people!  Five (!) bunnies were adopted - two bonded pairs and a single who met his match with a bunny who was previously adopted from us.  Yay!

R.B. was one of the lucky buns to find a family!

Hershey, my foster, did remarkably well.  I thought he would be a little more freaked out.

So all in all, it was a good day!

I also recently took Halloween portraits of my fuzzies.  The piggies are easy to photograph.  They pretty much let me do whatever I want with them.  Chloe kept trying to beat up the pumpkin, and Kahlua just wanted to go do something else.  I got a lot of action shots of Kahlua trying to run away.  Hershey was a perfect gentleman.  Maybe he knew he needed a good Petfinder photo.

My girls were so well-behaved.

Chloe...not so well-behaved.  But look at that face!

Kahlua had better things to do.

Hershey was incredibly photogenic.

So...that's what's going on in my world of fish, bunnies, and guinea pigs.

R.I.P. Pinkie, Hello Stripey

Today was a sad, sad day.  My lunchbox, Pinkie, met its end today.  When I got to work, I realized that the zipper had had a blow-out.  I had nursed it along for a while, but it has now met a catastrophic end.  Of course I didn't see it over the weekend.  I was forced to improvise with a plastic bag.

Pinkie :(

Every field biologist has that special lunchbox or dry bag...that carryall that gets you through the hard days.  Pinkie had been with me for years.  Pinkie was actually Pinkie II - its predecessors were Greenie and Pinkie the First.  When Pinkie the First died (cause of death was also a zipper blow-out), I was devastated.  I never thought I would find a lunch box like that - it had great compartments and it was pink!  Then I found Pinkie II.  I use my lunchbox not for food (that goes in the cooler on the boat), but for all the crap that I find necessary to have in the field with me.  Pinkie was with me through many travels - from the Myakka River to Everglades City to Biscayne Bay.

My necessary crap

Now, a new day has dawned.  I went to Walmart in hopes of finding Pinkie III, but alas, it was not to be.  They had changed the design and all they had was black.  I need to have a few girly things in this male-dominated profession.  Then...I saw Stripey.  It was new.  It was different.  An insulated bag as opposed to a lunchbox.  But...it could work!  It was still Igloo brand.  I must give props to Igloo.  Those lunchboxes survived years of abuse and salt spray. 

And so, Stripey is joining the fold.  It's got a lot to live up to.  I need something to carry my titanium spork in, after all.

I transferred everything to Stripey after having a moment of silence for Pinkie.

Fisheries Science: Not for Sissies

Every two months, we sample Sarasota Bay for three days...and pull an insane number of nets.  Last Tuesday, I got my bi-monthly day on Sarasota Bay.  A typical Sarasota Bay day goes like this: wake up in the middle of the night (okay, 5 a.m.), drive over an hour, pull nets till your muscles start bleeding, count fish until your head spins, crawl back into the truck, drive over an hour, go home, and collapse on the floor.

I was in the field on Monday, but luckily we had easy pulls and light catches - not to mention a nice view at lunch:

Those are the days of which office workers really can be jealous.  Every morning of field sampling, we stop at the gas station.  On the beautiful days, everyone says, "Wow, I wish I had your job - get paid to go on the boat!"  Of course, on the rainy, windy, stormy, freezing (or all of the above) days, people say, "Wow, you have to go out in this???"  And we do, as long as we won't die doing so.  I've been out in the outer rain bands of hurricanes, people.

So - back to Sarasota Bay.  On a typical sampling day, we might pull 4 600 foot seines, or 8 small seines and trawls.  For Sarasota Bay sampling, we have to cram as many samples into a short period of time as possible.  A typical Sarasota Bay day consists of perhaps 3 600 foot seines, 4 trawls, and 10 small seines.  I happened to be on the record-breaking trip where we pulled 20 samples in a day.  We were in chest-deep water at the last site, and I was so tired that I feared I would not be able to haul myself back aboard.  I told the rest of the crew to save themselves.  Luckily they were a selfless crew and helped me up.  That's the way we roll.  Biologists saving biologists.

Public interactions on Sarasota Bay are often interesting.  It's quite a busy waterway.  Four biologists hauling in a 600 foot net tends to attract attention.  Oftentimes people think we are illegal netters, which I find funny because we would have to be the stupidest illegal netters in the world to do it in broad daylight close to a busy channel.  We are also often mistaken for Mote Marine, which is located in Sarasota.  In fact, we often see Mote vessels out there!  Sometimes we do get questions that make us giggle just a little.  Last time we got asked if there were sharks in the water.  Yes, I'm pretty sure there are sharks in Sarasota Bay.

If you ever wondered if there are plenty of fish in Sarasota Bay, I can assure you that there are.  There is also quite a large diversity of fish.  I am usually weary of counting pinfish, mojarras, and anchovies after a day on Sarasota Bay.

When I get home, the first thing I do is treat myself to a nice hot shower.  It's always interesting to see what flotsam hitches a ride home on me.  This last trip clogged up my shower drain with shoal grass (a type of seagrass) and a bunch of dead leaves.  I then put antibiotic ointment on my wounds and collapse on my couch.

Okay, that's a little dramatic, but it is a really hard day.  And I always feel a little bit stronger and a little bit more empowered after surviving days like that.  Fisheries science is not for sissies.

The day I met Edgar Hansen

So last weekend, I was chilling at home when I saw on Facebook that none other than Edgar Hansen of Deadliest Catch was to be at the grand opening of a new West Marine store in Ft. Myers.  If you know me, you know that I am a huge Deadliest Catch fan.  I've watched since season 1, and season 8 just finished.  Edgar works on the Northwestern, my favorite boat on the series.

Well, needless to say, I ran to my trusty Hyundai and headed for Ft. Myers - about a 50 minute drive from my condo.  I tried to contain my excitement as I battled traffic on US 41.  Soon, my GPS announced I was "arriving at destination".  SQUEEE! 

I walked into the store.  I must say, the new West Marine on College Parkway in Ft. Myers is quite impressive!  Lots of fun stuff for anybody who spends time on the water.  I wandered a bit until I saw a line - yup!  There he was!  I may have bounced up and down a bit.  I met a nice lady in line, and we had a good conversation almost the entire time.  She had just moved down from up north, and lives on a boat at the yacht basin in downtown Ft. Myers.  She hadn't quite adjusted to the Florida heat yet!

It was pretty cute seeing kids meeting Edgar.  Everybody was laughing as he joked around with the kids.  The wait in line wasn't bad, and it was a good experience since everyone was happy and nobody was complaining about being in line! 

Finally it was my turn!  I walked up to the table, he shook my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Edgar" at which point all coherent thought fled my mind.  I'm a scientist, for crying out loud!  I could care less about meeting A-list celebrities, sports stars, or musicians.  Well, have me meet a genuine Bering Sea crab fisherman (admittedly a good-looking one!), and apparently I swoon like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert.

I finally (sort of) got my act together, and he signed autographs and took a picture with me.  And yeah, while posing for the picture, my brain was screaming, "OMIGOSH Edgar Hansen has his arm around me!!!!!!!!!"  After the picture, I told him I was so happy to meet him, and to stay safe out there.  He thanked me for coming.  He was super nice, which I was glad to see.  It would be disappointing to meet someone you look up to and find out they're a jerk!  I wish I had had the presence of mind to talk to him a little bit more, but oh well.  I was just so thrilled to meet him!

I walked around the store for a little bit with a ridiculous smile on my face.  I made the entire drive home with the ridiculous smile on my face.  My autographed postcard and toy inflatable boat that he wrote "Northwestern" on are proudly displayed in my room.

Even though I don't exactly work on the Bering Sea, I think every person who works on the water feels some sort of camaraderie with others who work on the water.  Whether you're working on Charlotte Harbor, the Atlantic Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Great Lakes, or wherever else, you have to work as a team with your crew.  You've got a common goal - to get the job done.  No matter where you work on the water, there is always the potential for danger.  Granted, Charlotte Harbor is no Bering Sea, but we still face potential hazards - lightning, boating dangers, and critters that can stab, poison, or eat you.  Whether you're working on a 24 foot mullet skiff or a 110 foot crabbing vessel, things break down, and you have to pull together to fix them.  While it can be frustrating at times, I am glad to be part of this big conglomerate of people who earn a living on the water.

Deadliest Catch is awesome.  Now shut up and fish.

Hard Truths in Rescue

Recently at the rescue, we had to put a moratorium on intakes.  We were very much at our capacity.  It's difficult, because you want to save them all.  You want every unwanted animal to be safe and cared for.  However, every rescue organization has a responsibility to know its limit.  It is the first and most important lesson that every rescuer needs to learn. 

This year has been terrible for numbers of surrendered rabbits.  We receive dump calls and emails nearly every day.  As much as we want to, we cannot take them all.  The bulk of these calls are from people who bought a rabbit on a whim, and got tired of it after a few months.

"We got the kids a rabbit for Easter, and they're not taking care of it any more."

"We bought a baby bunny, but it's started biting and it smells."

"I have a rabbit, but I'm tired of it."

"I'm getting a puppy, and I don't want to take care of the rabbit too."

Oftentimes when we explain to people that we cannot take in their unwanted pet, they become irate.  "Isn't that what you're here for?" they ask.  Sure people.  Like it's our fault that they made an irresponsible decision, and we're terrible for not fixing their mistake.  They want to feel good about getting rid of their pet.  They don't have to feel as guilty giving it to a no-kill organization as opposed to the pound.

Well, the sad truth is that we cannot take them all.  We take in the ones we can.  A lot of time, we do squeeze in "just one more" - such as a special case of a splay-leg bunny or a bunny in danger of being PTS.

What would happen if we did try to take them all?  A rescue is supposed to be a sanctuary.  It's not a forever home, but it's a means to reaching one.  An animal in a rescue should by all means be in a sanitary environment, provided daily nutritional needs, and necessary vet care.  If this cannot be provided, there is no point to taking in the animal.  It's going from one bad situation to another.

Everyone likes the feel-good stories of rescue, but the fact that we cannot save them all is one that people would rather ignore.  You are the good guy if you can take in unwanted animals, but if you have to say no, you are the bad guy.  Rescuers can feel like the bad guy when saying no.  You come to the realization though, that you are not the reason this animal is not cared for.  Rescuers saying "no" are not the problem.  They are being responsible.  It is the irresponsible decisions of people that put these animals in jeopardy in the first place.

Will the overpopulation of animals ever cease to be a problem?  I highly doubt it.  As long as there is greed, ignorance, and poor decision-making on the part of the general populace, there will be unwanted animals.  We combat it by trying to educate people.  Don't breed your rabbits or other pets.  Don't buy a bunny for Easter.  Please be a responsible pet owner and research a potential pet's needs before acquiring one.  Adopt.

When we do say no, we offer alternatives.  We try to keep animals in their homes.  Correct behavioral problems by spaying/neutering.  Provide advice for destructive behavior.  Help people understand the needs of their pet.  We offer alternatives to taking their pet to the pound.  We suggest species-specific forums to re-home pets.  Give advice if they must use Craig's List (which we don't recommend - always ask for a re-homing fee if you use a website like CL).  Sometimes, that is all we can do.

People need to be more understanding when we must say no.  If you don't like it, then make a commitment to foster.  The more foster homes there are, the more animals rescues can save.  Donate toward vet care and daily needs.  Rescuers fund much of what they do out of their own pockets, and funds are sadly limited!

Please be a responsible pet owner.  Spay and neuter pets.  Don't make impulse purchases.  Above all, get it through your head that you are taking on the care of a living, breathing, feeling creature who deserves love, attention, and a healthy environment.