Bunny Wars

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about all of the birds and animals in our backyard and how pleased we are to see them.  I wrote that we sprayed to keep the deer and rabbits away.  The spray has worked for the deer, so far, and we had some success with the rabbits until little ones came along.

Two weeks ago, a small rabbit, without fear, showed up and started eating our plants, starting with the flowers and then the leaves.  A couple of Aloma’s prized perennials were stripped bare.  We would go out to the flowers and yell at the rabbit and wave our hands; he just watched us and kept eating.

I decided to take action.  I bought a slingshot on Amazon to shoot ice from our ice machine at the rabbit.  Ice didn’t work.  It hit the edge of the slingshot and shattered.  So I tried cherry pits.  I could shoot them but the rabbit wouldn’t pay any attention, even if the cherry pit landed a few inches away.

One morning, I was on the computer and felt like I was being watched.  Our bunny was on the sidewalk of our neighbor’s house looking straight into my window.  Every few minutes he would run around in circles and then return to watch me.

Finally, bunny number one was growing, thanks to the excellent salad bar in our backyard.  He was becoming wary of my slingshot and would keep away when one of us was outside.

Bunny number two now appears.  She’s much smaller than my hand and is totally without fear.  We can walk right up to her; she’ll look up and keep on eating.  She ignores the slingshot and even comes on the patio to watch us.  Last night, she crept under our grill cover and would peak out and then pull back under.  Shoot me if I say she was playing peek-a-boo.

The slingshot is now history.  I shot within a few inches of her; she looked up, and instead of running away, she ran over to where I was standing and looked up at me as if saying, “Steve, something scared me.  Please help me.”

Okay, now I’m on her side.  We have bonded.  I’ll buy netting for Aloma’s flowers to try and save them.  If bunny number two wants more food, I’ll go out and buy a head of lettuce or plant more flowers. 

If she wants to come inside, it’s okay.  But I’m not going to play peek-a-boo.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com