After eating more grass than we thought any bunny could hold, he (or she) moved on to her flowers, tasting almost every plant that had been so carefully grown. He munched his way through a variety of leaves, but when he reached the raised bed where the veggies were starting, and stood on his hind legs to investigate, I said loudly (but gently) "No, bunny, no!" and he casually turned away and went to eat more grass. The fact that he responded to a gentle redirection and didn't take off cracked us up. He then made his way to a corner of the yard and scratched the earth under a little tree, stretching out to rest and digest a while. A little bunny nap. In our children's book analysis of the yard, this spot is now named "Rabbit Corner."
After a bit, he again got up and hopped to a newly placed bird bath that was low to the ground and sipped a bit of fresh water. Then, the munching began again, This cycle was repeated several times (including the "No, bunny!" reprimand) and we sat watching like first graders at the beauty of this big, gorgeous hare that chose to spend his suppertime with us. He was then joined by another brown rabbit, who was less confident and didn't relax the way he did. Then, off in the distance about fifty feet or so away, an "itty-bitty bunny" (Anne's description) appeared. It was so tiny we could barely make it out unless it twitched its little ears. We estimated that it would have fit in our palm with room to spare. So beautiful to see so much life and nature in our yards! It doesn't take much to make us happy, I guess.
All of this rabbit activity was supported by a chorus of busy robins and cardinals that were being their industrious selves, gathering food for their kids before nightfall. There seems to be an overabundance of robins this year -- always in the wings (pun not intended,) watching for trouble, gathering things that lay unseen to the human eye. Our backyard is thriving and healthy, and in such a techno-virtual world, I am happy that I still find sitting outside for an hour and watching rabbits do their thing so entertaining. May I never grow up!
Off for a busy day of non-school to-dos. Tim is having oral surgery today and I am hoping for as little pain as possible. It's a rough one...I'd rather we both would be watching rabbits. Cheers.