Baby Bunnies en route to Florida - in search of some sunshine.

Hello everyone - Cy Bear returning to the Blog for a session again.

Isobel is taking a rest from Hedgehogs for a bit (although I shall probably refer to some of the things she has been working on "behind the scenes" as it were).  However, she's been poorly over the past few weeks, and a couple of weeks ago was diagnosed with pleurisy.  Last week, "the Muse" as she likes to call her ability to create these posts - both on behalf of  herself  and me - was a bit low, which is why there was no bulletin from us.

This week, though, she's picked up somewhat, been able to finish some of  the Yellow and White Baby Easter Bunnies she'd been sewing as replacements to our bunch of  Baby Bunnies (of many colours) and actually parcel up two who have recently found Forever Homes in Jacksonville, Florida.

So, this is a photograph of the two White Plush Baby Bunnies we had in stock when MsDM contacted Isobel early in February.  When shown the photograph, she chose the one on the right, but

then asked if she could have one of the Yellow and White Plush Baby Bunnies too.  Apparently, these Baby Bunnies reminded her of the childhood in England, when she had a White Baby Bunny and her sister had a Yellow one.  

As all the Yellow Bunnies we had were already on display at "The Artful Buttoner",in Kirkby-in-Ashfield - where we live now,  and because Isobel is currently staying up the road with her Grandson and his family, she collected the fabrics to make some more, and this is the result so far:

A second all yellow one is currently being worked on, but as MsDM asked for a Yellow and White Chested Bunny - with either a Yellow or Green ribbon (with or without check or dots) - Isobel chose the Baby Bunny on the right of the above picture (as it looks most similar to the chosen White one) and proceeded to find what suitable ribbon she had in her stash.  

Most of the ribbons now in stock are too big - because of some new offerings Isobel is working on - but she was able to find some suitable self-colour yellow ribbon, which she promptly sewed on to the Baby Bunny bound for Florida.

The two travellers are now safely, individually wrapped in chemical free tissue paper, ready for their journey to Jacksonville - scheduled to start on 14th March.  They've then both been wrapped together in bubble wrap and slipped into a polythene airmail envelope.  All that remains to be done is for the Customs label to be filled in, and the journey paid for - and both Baby Bunnies will be on their way to their Forever Homes.

The Hedgehog story is in limbo at present, until Isobel is back home and able to organise herself once again.  In the meantime though, there have been two Petitions to Parliament which could well have a bearing on the future of the UK Hedgehog population.  Both have been signed by Isobel - on behalf of herself and us Coldham Cuddlies.  One seeks to save a special Wildlife Police Unit from being closed down for lack of funds, and has been successful in persuading the current UK Government to find sufficient funds to allow the Unit to operate until 2020.

The second petition is still on going and aims to get Protection for the UK Hedgehog population in an effort to halt their decline.  It has been proposed by Oliver Colville, MP - who is the Member of Parliament behind the move to get the Hedgehog made the Official UK Animal.

The exact wording of the petition is as follows:-

Give the hedgehog better legal protection in order to reverse its decline.

The petition of the residents of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland declares that the British hedgehog population has declined by up to a third over the last 10 years.The petitioners therefore urge the House of Commons to endorse the practical supporting measures of 'Hedgehog Street' and ensure the hedgehog is given better legal protection including adding it to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act by the Government and in particular the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

So far, the petition has attracted 25,238 signatures.  The procedure in the UK for petitions is that all with more than 10,000 signatures have to receive an official response from Government, and 29 days are allowed for that to happen.  It has been proposed by Oliver Colville, MP - who is the Member of Parliament behind the move to get the Hedgehog made the Official UK Animal. 

The countdown for the Government response  is still in progress. 

 In case you are interested,  you can learn more about "Hedgehog Street" and the work being carried out by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society by clicking on this link  http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/.  The Press Office there were most helpful and encouraging to Isobel when she started the Coldham Cuddlies Hedgehog fund raising efforts, and we'd like to help them too, where we can.

So that's all from me for this week:  do hope everyone is well and it's been good to be back "chatting" with you again.

Your Friend:  Cy Bear.

PS:  If there are some strange "squares" and things on this blog when published, it's because of the technical difficulties experienced in "copying and pasting" the petition text from the Government site to this blog.  One day, maybe, Isobel will get the hang of it and be able to present these things without strange things happening in the process!