Ants and Slugs and Bunny Rabbit Food

 

We were picking tomatoes {again}yesterday. Our one tomato pest is slugs.

I suppose I could decimate the whole population in one night, but I am trying not to use harmful products in the garden. Some of the more natural methods kind of seem like a joke on patch of tomatoes of this size. Slugs do damage, but it's pretty much limited to the ground level fruit.

James and I were having a conversation about slugs. Slugs are just gross and slimy and disgusting.

I mentioned that a person doesn't ever want to be called a slug, {or sluggard} 

but that their characteristics could be applied to boys and girls who are 

slow and lazy and slothful in their work. 

Slugs are slow and people who are sluggish and lazy don't make good workers.

The conversation went on to why volkswagon beetles are called slug-bugs....

and I had no answer for that.

{Does a mom have to know everything?}

We've had some successes, and some not so successful episodes of feeding the rabbits in the last few days.

We've gone so far as to empty everything and have him start over for practice.

This morning before he headed out I called him to me and asked if he would pray with me for help to feed the rabbits right the first time. He was willing, but first I wanted to share a verse or two.

Whatever your hand finds to do, 

do it with all your might!

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Go to the ant, you sluggard!
      Consider her ways and be wise,
       Which, having no captain,
      Overseer or ruler,

{or watchful MOM}
       Provides her supplies in the summer,
      And gathers her food in the harvest.

{And faithfully does her work}.
      How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
      When will you rise from your sleep?
      A little sleep, a little slumber,
      A little folding of the hands to sleep—

{or allowing your hands to be lazy and unwilling to work}
       So shall your need sneak up on you
      and you will be hungry... {my simplified version!!)

Proverbs 6:6-11

At that last line he uttered a half chuckle indicating he got the connection!!

A slow smile spread across his face as I drew an ant on the back of his hand with the highlighter

and then he prayed a beautiful prayer for HELP to feed the bunnies right the first time and to be an ant and NOT a slug.

And he went out and did just that.

Chippers has been around for awhile. He's officially Vanessa's bunny. She got him when she was 7 years old, but when an animal has been the family over ten years it is considered a family pet.

When he was about a year old he contracted a fatal disease which made his head tilt all the way over to the side. He was a VERY sick bunny. All the "rabbit experts" warned us to put him out of his misery immediately and to quarantine our other rabbits and to watch them for signs of the disease.

You never saw a little girl pray with such earnestness for a bunny's life.

Her daddy couldn't stand it and disregarded the rabbit lady's advice 

and instead took the bunny to a vet -

A vet who treats cats and dogs and never rabbits.

He wasn't very hopeful but he gave them a prescription for antibiotics 

and said if he survived the first couple days then he had a chance. 

Keeping him hydrated was of utmost importance.
We fed him baby food with an eye dropper for at least a week.

Never was a bunny more prayed for.

And a caring and loving Heavenly Father answered.

Chip has a crink in his neck to this day.

He's old and he went blind in both eyes this summer. 

There might be a little vision yet on the outer edges of his right eye.

He outlived any other bunny we have ever had.

He's the great-grand daddy of a number of bunnies who are no longer living.

He's a prayed for bunny.