Hodge, Yoshimi & Acorn

This statement will not surprise anyone: I completely adore my pets- and the pets of my friends- and the pets that walk past me on my way to work- and the entertaining pets that make up much of my internet fun time (I'm looking at you Cute Overload). It takes an effort to edit myself and not just coo over fluffy creatures all day. But sometimes, it is Friday night and you are coming down with a cold and your bunnies are sleeping nose to nose in a little heart shape and you need to just let it all out.


A few days ago, I had some friends over and Acorn got a bath before they arrived so he could look presentable. He still had no manners but at least he wasn't offending anyone's nose. The picture looks like I'm being all mean and splashing his face with the water but the silly guy just walks right under the stream and gets all huffy and mad. The photo up top is post-bath drying session. Please note the back foot in the air yoga action. So after he was all washed and dried, I let him waddle around the kitchen for a few minutes and made a beeline straight into the dustpan and got his quills all wound up with Hodge and Yoshimi's shed fur! I'm beginning to think he likes being dirty.


Hodge and Yoshimi are the opposite. They love being clean. They lick themselves and each other for the better part of the day. Sometimes they offend me by cleaning themselves after every time I pet them. My hands are perfectly clean guys!


As pretty and tidy as she is, Yoshimi isn't above jumping on top of my belly and stealing a bite of my banana.

And Hodge eats hay that he finds under the bed. So, whatever dudes.

After I finish writing this, and watch Maru fit into a small box and a Corgi tresspass on a golf course, I'm going to go drink some tea sitting down on the floor hoping some bunny friend will join me.

Recently, my friend's pet rat passed away and someone else I know has a dog that they love very much who is currently missing so I'm appreciating my animal family even more than usual... which is a whole lot.

This post is gross.

When Justin and I started thinking about buying our first home I read somewhere that renting in general was better for the environment than home ownership. What a buzzkill! So, being the contrary type and the earth-loving type, I have been on a mission to be the exception to that generalization.

Our first act of defiance has recently become my favorite. We purchased an Earth Monster brand compost bin with a green subsidy from our town (way to go Salem!) and have been waste-reducing and good-soil-making ever since. Well, truthfully, the bin did get off to a smelly/fly-infested start. We were making lots of rookie mistakes (not stirring the bin & adding too many veggies and not enough dry material) and I had just about decided to quit composting.

Our compost stopped distressing us when I realized that Hodge and Yoshimi's used bunny litter could be just what the bin needed to balance itself! This was a huge revelation. Bunnies are one of the few pets that makes waste which can be composted because they are herbivores and their poop is nutrient rich for plants! The Carefresh recycled paper pulp and hay we use as litter is perfect for composting too! Contrary to what one would expect, adding the litter to the bin has made it smell so much less and I can't tell you how happy we are about that. The compost bin is located outside our bedroom window and you can well imagine what a rank stank like that can do to seduction attempts. This is especially true when you mistakenly suspect your mate is the source of the stink. Oops!

In conclusion, if you have a bunny... compost it's waste and save your marriage!

Double Disapproval!

My mother-in-law sent me a jubilant message the other day letting me know that she'd seen my "Danger For Breakfast" print on DisapprovingRabbits.com and that I was now probably famous. I was, of course, ecstatic to see my illustration on one of my all time favorite blogs. My excitement doubled when my video of Hodge and Yoshimi sleeping was posted to the Disapproving Rabbit's blog shortly after! Double feature! Wowee!

My head is spinning a little (in the best possible way) from the sudden influx of orders that come with such a stupendous feature. It has made me reassess my shipping and packing procedures for maximum efficiency in rush times.

It has also made me realize the true power of a blog mention! Disapproving Rabbits found out about my prints because someone sent them a link to my shop (Thank you mystery friend!) and I started thinking that I should take it upon myself to incorporate introducing my work to blog authors as a regular part of my rather spare promotion attempts. The process makes me feel a little awkward and self-concious but I think it will be worth it!

Bunnies falling asleep

I have been pretty stressed lately and though the source of my stress is a really exciting opportunity, I am still worrying about money and risk and time and all that loathsome stuff. Well, I was siting on my couch, using my list-making skills to try and break down my burdens into manageable chunks when I noticed that Hodge and Yoshimi had fallen deeply asleep under the coffee table. Their faces twitched simultaneously with bunny dreams and Hodge woke himself a couple of times by letting his neck loosen and consequently faceplanting into the floor. This scene made me very content and I felt my blood pressure lowering and the jumble of tasks untangling in my mind as I enjoyed their bunny magic. 

I even managed to catch a short video of the end of their nap so I could share the therapeutic effects. If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath and press play. If you need a higher dosage of sleepy animal sweetness, allow me to direct you to my new favorite blog, "Cute Things Falling Asleep".

"Bunnies Adrift" is back in blue

I have just finished the second edition of "Bunnies Adrift" and I've changed it up a bit. I chose a cool colorway this time around and it really gives the drawing a different feeling. The first edition was a bit sillier using traditional party balloon colors and this one has a more calming feeling of gently floating through a blue sky. I actually think this edition is more aligned with my original intentions for the design and I may even like it a tiny bit better. I'm curious to hear your opinions. Version one of this design can be viewed here.

strawberry-munching mini bunny love notes

I can add my newest card set to the long list of items that Hodge and Yoshimi (my bunny companions) have inspired. They are endlessly producing adorable scenes that I feel compelled to share. The formation illustrated in these bunny-heart cards is seen pretty regularly in my home when Hodge and Yoshimi are sharing a treat. Though, they look only vaguely heartlike in real life because Hodge is more than double Yoshimi's size so their heart shape is awfully lop-sided (heh. Hodge is a lop-ear as a matter of fact).

Today will be rabbit-centric as I have also decided to begin printing my second (and a little different) edition of "bunnies adrift" as well. Bunny days are my favorite kind.

Happy Hodgiversary!

I hope my fellow countrymen had a pleasant Thanksgiving. Due to my work schedule, Justin and I were not able to celebrate with our family this year but instead we celebrated something else. Today was our Hodgiversary! Four years ago, Hodge (our big gray bunny) joined our family. Today we made him an extra special salad on a plate with apples and dried cranberries. Yoshimi ate most of it but Hodge got all the goodies first. I am very thankful for Hodge's soft fur, frumpy personality and his signature nose bumps. I hope we have many more Hodgiversaries together.

I love my bunny

I just have to gush about Yoshimi. She deserves a tub of dried apple sticks and a whole day of snuggling for being so wonderful. She is normally pretty fantastic but lately she has been exceptional. I want to shout my love for her off the rooftops!

Last month (to our horror) she gouged her pretty eye on something. We took her to the vet and our doctor prescribed a twice daily eye cream. Easier said than done! Poor Yoshimi had to be caught, held (not her thing) and gooped in the eye every morning and night. I thought she would never forgive us for such repeated invasions but after the first few applications she became a perfect patient! She stayed still and even licked me a couple times after I'd finish. She was very sweet at the vet's office today too. What a girl!

Her eye is much much better now and the treatments can cease. Hooray!

bunny day

I have had a bunny-centric day today. That is usually my favorite type of day but unfortunately, my bunny time was spent worried at the vets office because Yoshimi scratched her cornea (we suspect it's due to her furious hay burrowing). We received some drops and she is expected to have a good recovery if she doesn't fuss too much. Strangely, I can relate because I also scratched my cornea on some hay a couple of years ago and had to wear an eyepatch (don't I look mysterious?). The vet said it's strange how often she sees clients have the same afflictions as their pets.

I also printed up a ton of thank-you bunny cards from an older design that I'd sold out of. Reprinting is always kind of a drag because the screen is usually tough from the ink drying out and I just don't find much enjoyment in repeating a task. I love printing new designs but reprints are just plain work. At least printing gives me a chance to listen to my favorite programs. Whenever I work I'm listening to Radio Lab, This American Life or the TED talks. They keep my mind busy while my body is occupied with repetitive tasks and they keep me from getting lonely when Justin works late. I've been barreling through these show's episode archives so I need to start branching out to new programs. I'd love some recommendations!

nom nom nom is what bunnies do best.

Maybe I'm spending too much time on cuteoverload and icanhascheeburger because those sites seem to have infiltrated my creations. I am a little worried that this new thing I've made may make Argyle Whale "jump the shark" but I love it so much that I'm risking humiliation and sharing my first interspecies collaborative design.

The photo above is of a Gocco print I made in orange and white ink on cement colored cardstock. I wrote out "nom nom nom" and then my bunny collaborators, Hodge and Yoshimi, took care of the delicate edge nibbling. They are busy nomm-ing more prints as we speak. For once, their insatiable appetite for paper can be put to use! I think their selective bite patterns are producing lovely pattern variations.

Well, I'm off to put up a listing for these in the shop and I can't stop giggling.

Bunnies are BOSS!

Remember when I found all those antique handmade doilies at my parent's house? Well, I found another handiwork marvel that has given me inspiration for a new design.

The photo above is of an unfinished cross-stitch that my Dad's first wife made. The design honors their beloved black pug dog named Klinka. I think it's a really charming pet tribute and I wanted to make a similar design for the bunnies. I printed "Bunnies Are Boss" on pale yellow cardstock with hand-pinked edges (admittedly slightly wonky) in pink, blue and green ink and then mounted the image on dark green cardstock. Anyone who has a house rabbit will understand that they really are boss of the house but I meant boss in the retro slang kind of way. Bunnies are boss as in bitchin' or rad!

I also have been wanting to make an item to use for fund raising for a bunny rescue group. I always wanted to volunteer at a shelter but there are none close enough to me and I don't think I'd be great at it anyway. I probably would have the my apartment overrun with bunnies in no time. So, I thought it would be a good idea to have a fund raising item in my shop so I could help out somehow.

I'd like to make these "Bunnies Are Boss" Gocco prints in an open edition in hopes of generating as much money as possible for the rescue. I'm planning on selling the prints for 15 dollars each and sending 10 dollars from each sale to Hop-a-long Hollow which is a bunny rescue in Norwalk, CT that is outstanding. I'm just waiting to hear back from them regarding using their name in my item listings and then I'll get going. I am very excited to do this because I always have such good intentions and rarely follow through.

Scarf bunny!

I've decided that scarf bunny will be my unofficial Argyle Whale Etsy shop mascot. I have made it my avatar and added two scarf bunny listings to the shop. I printed the bunny on a Moleskine journal a few times and that is now up for sale. I also made a new gocco print of a bunch of floating scarf bunny heads. I'm pretty excited about this new print because I added yellow hand-colored elements so each print is really different and special.

I made the new print because I drew so many sketches of scarf bunny to get her right that my notebook became populated with bunny heads. I ended up liking the way a cluster of floating bunny faces looked even more than one perfect bunny. I printed 16 and have made 15 available here.

Yoshimi and Hodge

Ok, I can't proceed with this blog any further without a house bunny introduction. This is Hodge and Yoshimi. They are BFF and completely run our household because Justin and I love them more than if they were our human babies. I'll try not to talk about them too much but it will be a challenge.