Bunnies

About a week ago, Jackie saw a bunny sitting in our backyard by the swing.

It was so cute how Jackie just stood there looking and watching that bunny.  The bunny stayed a long, long time.  We didn't think much of it because it was a warm evening and it was sitting in the shade of the swing.

Jackie, loved it.  And watched for the bunny to return constantly.

And return she did.  Last night she got even closer and sat right next to our back porch.  We let Jackie outside to sit on the steps by daddy and watch the bunny.  It was so cute to watch her try to inch closer and closer to the bunny.  Ms. Bunny would hop a few feet away when Jackie got close, but never take off.

Odd.

Even more odd.  She was there and stayed there the entire time that Ethan was mowing the lawn.

Then he saw it.

A little fur-ball sitting in the grass by the slide.

So he got down from the mower and took a closer look.  Sure enough, he saw a little baby bunny.  He investigated further and found the little nest where mama bunny and the babies had been staying.  Right under the slide.

Jackie and Katerina came out to peek at the bunnies.  Kat cared about as much as a 9 month old can care and Jackie said, "ahhhh, cute!" 

Brings me back to two very distinct memories of my childhood and bunnies.




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First story.  Good.

My brother, John, (the creature lover...snakes, frogs, salamanders, anything else slimy or found in a creek...) found a baby bunny that had fallen in our window well.  It was a regular task for him to check the window well for any of the above creatures that may have fallen.  A bunny was a super cool find.

For some reason, my mom was gone.  I don't know if she was coaching volleyball or out for a walk, or just running errands, but in the days before cell phones John decided to call my dad at work to ask if we could keep the bunny.  This was a gamble.  We NEVER called dad at work so we didn't know how he would appreciate us bothering him, BUT when it came to asking for things (cake for breakfast, ice cream while at the grocery store, etc...) dad was the easier target.

It paid off!  He said we could keep it!  John scurried off to get the bunny while I tried to find something temporary to put it in.

John with Bugs

I'm not quite sure what mom's reaction was, but she came home to four very excited kids and a new baby bunny we dubbed "Bugs."  Real original, I know :-)

The next few weeks found us feeding the bunny from a bottle. Really...mom went to the vet and asked what to do, gave us milk and a teeny tiny bottle to feed it.  We played with him as we watched him grow.  Our dachshund at the time, Fritz, caught Bugs once on the butt.  Bugs was fine and we thought it was hilarious that he was bit on the butt. 

Eventually Bugs got to be a really good jumper (imagine that...) and he wouldn't stay in the laundry basket home we created.  It was decided that he should be set free.  So we found a little wooded area around the creek John liked to play in and said our good byes.  I like to think that Bugs lived a happy, full, Rabbit life.

Me with Bugs shortly before we returned him to the wild.

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Story Two.  Not good.

This story won't take too long... But I will say, that had Google been around at the time, a quick search on the smart-phone would have given this story a much better ending.

My best friend just happened to live across my back yard.  I like to think that I could still walk to Jessica's house in the pitch dark missing all the trees because I had memorized the path after so many years...but between the shops and boats and campers our parents have acquired after we left, I would probably struggle.

One day we found a nest.  A cute little group of baby bunnies in her back yard.  We watched all day and mama bunny never came.  Of course we decided they must be abandoned.  Thanks to the recent success of Bugs I told her that we could "save" the bunnies. 

We went to the vet.  Got bunny food and those teeny tiny bottles.  Rescued the bunnies and started working on getting them ready to be set free.  Her mom refused to let us keep them in the house, so we set up their little home in their garage. 

Then my family set out on vacation. 

And a few days later, so did hers...

I will not go any further into our story, but I will say that her parents were very mad at us when they returned.  And I still can't go in their garage without thinking of that smell...

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After searching Google on my smart-phone today we now know that the baby bunnies in our back yard are perfectly cared for, and probably a week or two from being out on their own.  So for the time being, Ethan will not be mowing under the slide and we'll continue to go check on the babies each day while watching for mama bunny in the evenings. 

:-)