Jeremy and Oswald have a "chat"

My husband is a big ol' softie when it comes to animals. He wanted to be a veterinarian, until he assisted the local vet with the spaying of a cat. When he nearly passed out, he figured he'd explore a different career avenue and discovered a passion for languages. He studied four languages in high school, won some award they never gave anyone else before in the history of our Alma Mater, and enlisted in the army as a translator, Russian.  Years later, that gift for languages turned into a gift for programming computers and an ability to be able to move from one language to another with little difficulty. So I shouldn't have been too surprised that his natural curiosity, combined with his interest in languages and communication led to his laying on the floor with Oswald attempting a bunny conversation.

"I've always wondered why Rabbits wiggle their nose," I said off-offhandedly while watching Oswald run through his 'obstacle course.'  Oswald has a preferred path through the living room that he takes over and over: behind the step ladder, under the entertainment center door that is never closed, hop up on the couch, get gently pushed off said couch, leap side ways as if something spooked him, run up two steps, hop back down two steps, repeat until tired.  I didn't notice Jeremy typing on the computer. He's always typing on the computer. It just didn't register in my mind.
"It says here that wiggling is a form of communication," he started to read from a page on the net, "

"Most rabbits at rest will be wiggling their noses. Rabbits don't need to do this to smell things, and they don't necessarily do it in time with their breathing, and they sometimes stop completely. So why do they do it at all? A rabbit's nose is like a thermometer for how interested it is in what's being observed. The faster the wiggling, the more attentive or agitated the rabbit is. Nose wiggle signaling is generally only used by rabbits that are already moderately relaxed.

A fast wiggle doesn't necessarily mean a rabbit is upset. It may just signal interest in something being witnessed, or some passing thought. A slowly wiggling nose indicates a calm rabbit. Rabbits usually use nose wiggling to indicate fine gradations in their mood. If you start moving around or doing something odd, that nose will start moving faster, and the rabbit may also turn its ears to focus more upon you. If a rabbit is considering fleeing, though, it will usually stop wiggling its nose completely.

One way to help calm a rabbit is to do the equivalent of whispering "there, there, it's all right" using slow nose wiggling. Of course, humans can't really wiggle their noses properly (OK, maybe you can), but rabbits will understand if you just use your upper lip. If you roll your upper lip under your top teeth and back again, this looks much like a rabbit nose wiggle. It's especially effective if you happen to have a mustache. On the other hand, some folks can actually wiggle their noses enough for the rabbit to recognize it. Experiment to see what your rabbit responds to."

Knowing Jeremy as I do, my first thought was, oh no. He's going to have to try this. So it was no surprise that within minutes, my husband was on the floor, facing Oswald making strange facial contortions in attempt to engage the rabbit's attention.  Oswald hopped off. Jeremy changed locations with the rabbit, laid on his belly again, attempted to face Oswald and tried again. Oswald stood up on his hind legs, sniffed the air, and then hopped away.  After several attempts Jeremy pushed up from the floor and said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to practice that and try again some other time. Apparently my nose wiggling skills aren't up to par." He wandered off to the kitchen for a snack. Oswald, completely unimpressed, decided to hop back into his cage and give himself a bath.

So much for rabbit/human communications.  For now.