Now Playing: The Hay Diaries Choice
It was FIVE years ago today that Belinda Bunny sat down at Maman's 'puter and decided that HouzRabbits should have their Ownliest Voice onna Werld Wide Web - and that that Voice was going to be hers!
Yeah!
And so, she created the Furst Entry in The Hay Diaries bunny blog, typin' 'bout her 'speriences in Life assa HouzRabbit frum her ownliest Perspektive - frum where she actually viewed life - which was almost hextactly Frum Wun Foot Offa Ground.
And the Werld looks pretty dif'frunt from Our Perspektive, lemme tell you! Not hextactly Whut Hoomins allus fink it should be, and not allus hextpressed in language hoomins approve, but as Belinda said, "If you don't like it, get your own blog. This is mine!" (and then she would continue on and mutter about how nobunny was breaking ennybunny's arm to make them read Whut She Typed, and all - but that was Belinda!)
Belinda was pretty much All About Self-Responsibility and Self-Regulation and she was def'nitly against Outside Innerfearance Frum Blockheads Who Lacked Respekt-As-Well-As-'Tellygince.
But, as she pointed out, as long as they have a 'puter anna tellyphone line, Stoopit People Go Ebberywheres Without Ever Leaving Home.
"Dadda said that before the arrival obba Railways, every village had it's Idiot." Belinda told me. "And now they're exporting dem. So sumbunny has gotta ged in there and reppysent da Lagomorphin Point ob View. It doesn't matter if ennybunny accepts it; Whut Matters issat it is there to be seen Just In Case sumbunny wants to accept it."
Belinda was Big on Choice. According to her, bunnies allus have Choices. That's why there are allus several exits and entrances to a Warren. That's why bunnies bond with Wun Bunny, but might choose to have kits wif anudder bunny. It's why bunnies are great Companion Pets, because we Choose. Dawgs live by Roolz. Catz are just a bunch of Opportunistic Elitests in fur. Bunnies make choices.
We heer at Our Warren live inna Multu-Species Warren, so we get to see close-up how dogs, cats and bunnies are dif'frunt and how we are alla'same. In sum fings, we're alla'like. We are all spayed-and-neutered. We all have our ownliest food-and-water-crocks. We all get Well-Critter Vet-Checks ev'ry year. And ev'ry wun of us issa Rescue or 'Dopshun. But living heer Alla Us Togedder in Wun Warren points out our Dif'frunces-Among-Species, too.
There is Wun Dawg and he's a Border Collie and his life is All Roolz Alla'Time. His Biggest Rool issat he's Gotta Have A Job. It doesn't matter Whut the Job Is, Marc has just Gotta Have A Job. Even if it's just going On Patrol inna Back Gardin ev'ry morning, Marc hasta be a Dawg Onna Mission, and he's not happy with Just Wun Mission! He's a Border Collie, so he hasta have Multiple Missions - Border Collies are the Marines of the Dawg Werld, lemme tell you!
So ev'ry morning, Maman opins the Back Door to the Gardin and Marc heads out On Patrol. And In His Mind (admittedly tiny) he won't be a "Good Dawg" unless he can accomplish the following: count his squirrels inna oa
k tree, see off any Intruder Catz; re-mark alla boundaries obba Compost Heap (until he runs outta pee); have a Bark to let the udder neighbourhood dawgs know that he's up and about, stop atta Gate to make sure nobunny is using his sidewalk; have a look at alla bunnies inna Stone Warren; trod inna mint-patch; 'vestygate all noo smells that might have snuck unnneaf obba fence over-night - and he's gotta get alla this 'complished before sebben o'clock inna morning! - because then and only then can he sit onna top step onna Back Steps and Be The Good Dawg, Lord of All He Surveys.
I'm telling you, the Navy only finks they get more werk done before eight o'clock inna morning than most collie-dawgs, and that's onna'count obba Fakt they gots more people werkin' onnit!
Atta udder end obba spektrum are The Catz. Uppystairs we gots Cokie and Beep and they don't do ennyfing udder than Hexpect. They Hexpect to be fed. They Hexpect to find fresh water in their crock at all times. They Hexpect Dadda wants them to sit on him when he sit down wiffa a book. They Hexpect Maman unnerstans ev'ry chirp and meow (and she doesn't even speak Feline!). They 
also Hexpect they each hab their ownliest Footon. And Cokie-the-Fat-Cat Hexpects ev'ry Burger King bag has Chikin Fingers innit that were ordered expressly for him!
There is No End to alla stuff they "Hexpect"!
And Downnastairs, there is Phil's Chowder of Five - KayCee (who is twelve years old and used to live in Our Warren while Phil was inna Navy), Toby, Munchkin, and Lily-an'-Oscar who fink they are brother-and-sister but who are just rescue-kitty inseperables. They arrived with Phil and Alla Them Togedder were only gonna stay a few weeks while we were all gonna Moove but Maman said then the "Bubble Burst" (whutebber that means!) and now we're all heer for As Long As God Wants, and that's hokay as long as Maman doesn't go falling downnastairs again. Dadda rilly wants her to live All On Wun Floor, but 'till then, Phil volunteered to watch her anna Chowder of Five is gonna watch Phil watch her.
Well, mainly KayCee is gonna watch Phil onna'count obba Fakt KayCee Hexpects Phil to be where she wants him to be when she wants him to be there. Which is with her, alla'time.
So, in addition to alla Reg'lar Cat Hexpectations, KayCee comes with her ownliest built-in set of Prior Hexpectations - like, Ev'rything Belongs to Her, 'Peshully and Inklooding Phil. If Phil goes out ennywheres, then KayCee comes toda door and calls Maman and Hexpects her to produce Phil outta thin air, like, well, a rabbit-outta-a-hat. And if, for some totally-absurd-and-insufficent reason Maman can't produce Phil when KayCee wants him, then KayCee Hexpects Maman to pick KayCee (and only KayCee - nebber mind those udder buggers) up and carry her innu the Sitting Room, set her onna sofa, let her snuggle innu the blanket and go to sleep until Phil returns!
Can you believe that?
Oh, and when Phil gets back, KayCee Hexpects him to pick her up and carry her downnastairs, set her on his bed and go directly to sleep with her (no video games, no moovies, no watchin' teevee, just pull uppa blankie so she can get unnerneaf obbit and GO TO SLEEP NOW!). And then, when she wakes up and is 'nnoyed for Wun Obba Million Reazons Known Only To Her, she Hexpects to pee on Phil's pillow and he is hexpected NOT to get angry abouddit...
Yeah.
And that's Catz for you!
But rabbits make choices. For hextample, we choose who rescues us. Like Belinda chose Maman. It didn't matter to her that Maman and Phil came to the Rabbit-Rescue with Heatherington so he could go on "dates" to choose a bond-mate for himself. Belinda decided she was going home with Maman and that was preddy much, that. She didn't bother to growl or nip at Heather until Maman alreaddy got her home and there was No Chance Maman was going to "take her back". Maman's not that kind of person (once you're heer, you're "part obba Warren") - and Belinda alreddy sussed that. 
There were fifty bunnies in that Rescue, and Belinda chose Maman and let Maman pretend she'd picked Belinda. Actchually, Belinda just stood up in her cage and started yelling, "Hey, lady!" and she didn't stop.
Even when Heatherington (who wassa confirmed bachelor) was giving her the RBB and yelling to Maman, "No. Not that one. Especially NOT THAT ONE! Lady! Whuttsamatta with you? It's an English Spot! It'll take over our lives! No, Lady! Are you nuts? NO!" - it didn't matter onna'count obba Fakt, Belinda was yellin' lounder.
And so Maman put Belinda inna udder carrier and she rode home onna back seat obba car nextest to Heather (who was sulking; he knew when he was beat.).
And Heatherington was right - Belinda took over the Houz.
And afta she got the hang of running the Houz, she took on running the Warren, then running Maman, then running everybun inna Warren. Then Dadda arrived frum Inkland and Belinda made up her mind to run him, too. And pretty soon, whatebber Belinda chose to do, she did. Dadda says that the Reazon alla furries get their ownliest way is onna'count obba Fakt Mamn can't say "no". The Fakt issat Maman can say "no". In fact she says "no" alot obba time. It's that Belinda chose nebber to hear the werd "No" unless she was The Wun saying it.
So when Belinda chose to start her Ownliest Blog and to add a Bunny's Voice to the Werld Wide Web ("To give a voice toda voiceless" as she said.) it happened.
Because bunnies make choices. It's Whut We Do.
So that's Whut We're Celebrating Today heer at Our Warren - Belinda's Choice. Five years ago today, Belinda Bunny chose to sit up at the 'puter keyboard and begin typing about Life assa Houzrabbit. She wanted to share her 'Pinions and Observations with hoomins and with udder bunnies, onna'count obba Fakt she believed that if everybun shared hextperiences, they would eventchually share Respeckt. 
And she did get sum crittysissum - for her spelling, and use of language ("my rabbits speak perfect English" wun person bragged to Maman. And Belinda sed, "Yeah, notice that their their hippo-critical hoomin is allus talkin' FOR them! Poor, mute bunnies livin' wiffa control-freak who nebber lets them type a werd on their own. Shame on her!") - but it nebber bothered her.
Belinda chose to deddykate her life to helpin' hoomins unnerstand HouzRabbits. She didn't choose to live in such a way as to be called "Good Bunny" or to perform Jobs, and she didn't choose to live constantly Hexpecting ennyfing udder 
than Salad and 'Nanners (wif Craisins if Maman was outta 'nanners). She chose to be Belinda Bunny, blogger, HouzRabbit, Companion Bunny, TopBun and my Furstest Friend at Our Warren.
To Belinda and The Hay Diaries! From 2004 to now, and beyond. Hoppy Noo Year, Ev'ry Bun!
--------------------------------------------------- By George
