Bunnies in the Garden

I love living out in the country.  It's so peaceful and pretty out here and there's always something new to see.  Every morning on my way to work, or even on the drive back home, I get to see so many neat things that I wouldn't get to see if we lived in town.  This morning I saw a cute little turtle crossing the road with his neck all stretched out in front of him like he was straining with all his might to pull himself across the road.  I saw two newborn baby calves standing by a fence and when I pulled up close to them, they both jumped and ran around kicking up their legs.  I saw some squirrels chasing each other around the base of a tree, some deer eating their breakfast in a pretty green field and a whole family of yellow baby ducks in some one's front yard, pecking in the grass with a bunch of chickens like they all belonged together.  The blackberry bushes are already blooming and you can see them everywhere all along fence rows and clumped together in the middle of farmer's pastures.  Everything is so pretty and green and lush.  The ivy is covering the front of the big red barn across the street and flowers are blooming everywhere.

Last night, I was cleaning the kitchen and while standing at the sink, I looked out the window and saw three bunnies running all around in the yard.  They were just running all around like they were chasing each other, hopping under the trees, through the bushes, across the road and back again, through my bed of irises and back underneath the trees again.  I never saw such active bunnies and it was so cute.  I went to get my camera so I could get a picture and then I thought I glimpsed the neighbor girl outside, so I thought to myself, "Oh, Belle would just love to see those bunnies!"  I looked closer to see if she was watching them, but she had her back to them and was standing there with her fingers in her ears.  I thought this was weird, so I looked closer and saw her Daddy was crouching behind a tree and he had a GUN and was SHOOTING THE BUNNIES!!!!!  No wonder they were running all around willy nilly through the yard!  They were running for their lives!

I ran out the back door and yelled at a grown man as if I was scolding a two-year old boy!  "No! No!" I yelled, shaking my finger and stomping my foot.  "You're bad!" I yelled.  The neighbor man looked over at me with a sheepish grin on his red face and said, "I'm sorry Miss Toni, but the rabbits are eating my garden."  (They moved here from Florida, so maybe they aren't accustomed to country living and this is his first garden.)  I asked him please not to shoot my bunnies, and I told him they lived under my barn and I feed them carrots and lettuce in the evenings.  They are like my very own, even though I know they are wild.  While we were talking, one of the poor little bunnies came running right up to me and came within about two or three feet like he was coming to me for help.  He was shaking like a leaf and I could see his ear was all bloody where the man had shot him.  Poor little sweetie.  I crouched down and called him to me and he stood there looking at me, then scampered off under the barn.  I told the neighbor I'd go inside and look on the computer to find out what he could do to keep the rabbits out of his garden.

I went inside and googled "rabbits in the garden" and found a site that said if you sprinkled black pepper or chili powder around newly planted veggies, the rabbits wouldn't come near them.  It also mentioned bone meal, or blood meal, and putting up chicken wire.  I went back outside and told the neighbor so hopefully he'll try one of these remedies instead of shooting my poor little bunnies!  The last thing I want to see when I look outside my kitchen window is dead bunnies in my yard!

So much for a peaceful existence in the country!  Now my neighbor probably thinks I'm a nut and I feel like a fool for yelling at him.  Maybe I'll stop at the store tonight and buy him a big can of pepper and some chicken wire and take it over as a peace offering.  I guess it couldn't hurt, and maybe my bunnies will be spared.