A few nights ago, I was sat out on the front porch, and I saw a little cluster of something moving very slightly on the lawn. On closer inspection, it turned out to be seven tiny baby bunnies! Aaaaawwww! (Yes, they were Awwwwsome)
The next night they were there again! All six of them! I could see that their mother was keeping a close eye on them. I felt all warm and cosy just looking at them.
It seems they hang out on my lawn every night. The very next evening, the famous five were there again. Somehow, they didn’tseem to be taking up as much space as on the first night. Anyway, mother bunny gave a glaring stare at a racoon that ran along the neighbours driveway. No problems there, she obviously has things under control.
I can’t wait until those little guys grow up, they are way cuter than the birds that I have stopped feeding since I found out that I was just creating a buffet for sparrow hawks! Nothing shakes you to your senses more than watching as a cute little finch chirps happily away on your fence, and is is then suddenly scooped up by a dive bomber amid a load of strange birdy squeals.
Gardens here in Ohio are a lot more interesting than any I had in the UK, but for someone of my sensitively sensitive sensibilities, I wish I just had a blue tit’s nest and maybe a hedgehog.
Do you have any similar tales?
PS. What I am experiencing all too often looks a bit like this:
A week or so ago I spent the night sleeping very fitfully in a fucking field – it’s a long story that I don’t feel inclined to share at present.
The only upside was that as dawn broke a Barn Owl flew over me and as it became lighter I noticed a Little Owl staring at me from a gate post only about 10 feet away from where I lay.
We have a fox that comes into the back garden here. S/he appears to use the back garden as a place to relax for about 10 minutes before heading off into the London night. Apologies for poor photo, Taken on my mobile.
In answer to rabbits v kittens.
We had a rabbit as a kid. It wasn’t that friendly. We had 2 cats. One lovely old tortoise shell and a rather wild tabby. About 10 years ago I got a house rabbit. We called her Ellie. She turned out to be a he (hopefully this wont start a t-boy thread!). We continued to call him Ellie. He was a great little rabbit. He would wait for your return home. He’d be at your door in the morning and follow you around the house. He’d sit on your knee like a cat. We only had him a year as he died having an operation but if all rabbit are like that I’d have another one. He did chew a lot of cables though and pulled wall paper off the wall.
And if you want more cute animals there are some great videos with sloths having a bath which are pretty awwwwwwsome. But I don’t seem to be able to work out the posting of videos at present.
Yes bunnies can be…“quite nice”. I live in a semi rural location and walk my dog 6 miles a day in all weathers, across fields and through woods.
I carry either my digital compact or digital SLR camera every day and record the wildlife I see. Most people have little idea what kind of wildlife surrounds them. Over the last week I’ve photographed, butterflies, moths, beetles, deer, horses, slow-worms, grass snakes, toads, shrew, wild flowers, landscapes…it’s a wonderful world
Bunny rabbits are very cute out in the countryside at night when they get caught in the headlights and just try to out run you. No, silly bunny rabbit!
I used to have a slow worm living in my back garden as a kid. Hed was a great friend for a kid! I’m amazed that so many people don’t even know what they are!!!
For the record, I also spent a lot of my youth as a legless lizard.
On closer inspection, it turned out to be seven tiny baby bunnies! Aaaaawwww! (Yes, they were Awwwwsome)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup buttermilk vegetable oil
Directions
Pat rabbits dry. Combine the salt, flour, black pepper, and cayenne in a large, shallow bowl. Dredge the rabbits in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Set aside for about 15 minutes. Pour the buttermilk into a second shallow bowl. Dip the rabbits in the buttermilk, then again in the flour mixture.
In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (preferably cast iron), heat about 4 inches of vegetable oil over medium heat until the temperature registers 360° F on a deep-fry thermometer.
Carefully place the rabbits in the oil, using tongs. (Add the pieces slowly, so that the temperature does not drop, and work in batches to avoid overcrowding.) Fry the rabbits until golden brown, turning once, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Check for doneness by piercing the meat; the juices should run clear.
Drain the rabbits on paper towels set on a wire rack. If desired, the cooked rabbits can be kept warm in an oven set on low.
Here’s a rare sight from a couple of weeks ago. On our morning walk my Cocker Spaniel found a little furry creature laying in the middle of the track. I thought it was dead but when my lad put his nose on it, the little furry critter started to waddle off down the track…
If you like cute then I suppose this fits the bill. Friends were visiting from up north so we took them to Marwell Zoo for a day out…No introduction needed…
Yeah, it’s heart breaking. Well, that was how I felt when that finch got scooped up in my back yard while I was just sat there admiring him. It’s an even worse feeling when you see it live! Gotta love nature, but nature is also brutal.
Oh yeah, we also have a koi pond. When I first built it we put our oranda in there, cute little guy called Angus. He was way too trusting, and would come up to my wife and even let her stroke his head. Yeah, I know it’s just a fish, but they had bonded!!
One day wifey went to feed the fish and noticed angus wasn’t there. Then we saw a pile of heron poop on the deck by the pond. All kinds of crustacion remnats in it. Crab claws and stuff. We are on the outskirts of town for fucks sake, do these animals have any clue about boundaries and etiququette?
Listen, nature. Man is supposed to be in control here, our fictional god has given us domain over you…The very least you can do is respect our boundaries!! Keep that stuff in the country, motherfuckers!! I’m a simple city boy with no comprehension of the way nature works, but if you live in town, buy your prey from the fucking supermarket like everyone else!!
Well, that was how I felt when that finch got scooped up in my back yard while I was just sat there admiring him. It’s an even worse feeling when you see it live! Gotta love nature, but nature is also brutal.