Day 127

My parents have abuot 10 acres of land. This is great in many ways, including being able to see a lot of wildlife that most suburbanites don't get the opportunity to observe. It's not uncommon to see upwards of 5-8 deer at a time on the property, and many other critters are regulars. Much of our awareness of wht kind of animals habitate the land comes from what kind of...presents....the family dog brings to the porch. Hawks, snakes, squirrels, groudhogs, rabbits, as well as nighttime rangers like possum and raccoon all call this piece of land home.  Coyotes have started to make themselves known after the last year or so, and an extra eye is kept on the family dog when she goes out at night...

Baby deer are seen every year, and we enjoy watching them grow up, giving them names, and trying to figure out who belongs to who. But this year, a new batch of babies has captured our attention- rabbits.

The rabbit hole (yes there really is such a thing!) was discovered, of course, by the dog. In fact, the babies were discovered by my step-dad who said he happened to look over at the dog when he heard a noise and saw that she had a baby bunny in her mouth....the baby was saved and returned to the hole, which is truly only about 4-6inchies wide in diameter.

The hole is directly below the dining room window, and we watched diligently over the next few days to see if Momma Rabbit would return. We finally saw her Sunday night, uncovering the hole with her big back feet and squatting over the hole so the babies could eat without being exposed. Afterwards, she woudld use those same feet to kick dirt and grass back over the hole for camoflouge and go away, most likely to help decrease any unwanted attention to the area by predators.

I will admit that I myself have checked on the new babies every day, and even took a stick to try and uncover the hole and see them better. One of the babies jumped at the stick, obviously assuming it was mom and her milk- promptly scaring the bejeezus out of me and causing me to fall back on my butt in the dirt. Yeah, I'm a toughie....

Today when I went over to check on Peter and the Gang, I was greeted by an open rabbit hole and two little faces. Noses were twitching, but they were otherwise completely still, most likely awaiting further orders from Mom. Looking closer, I could see a third set of eyes in the backround, and I had a moment of wonder that all three of them could actually fit in there- I mean, I had two sisters growing up and we could barely be in the same room without arguing, let alone stuck in a hole!

I have a feeling the babies are getting ready to leave the nest. Who knows if I will ever see them again. But at least I got the opportunity to see how rabbits raise their babies, and I can only hope that, like any good mother,  Mama Bunny has warned them about the dangers of the world and to beware of ladies with sticks in their hand...

Today's pic celebreates witnessing new life, and that pivotal moment when it's time to leave the nest.