We Have Babies In Our Yard

So, our anniversary was ordinary but lovely. Thank you all for the suggestions. We had been planning to have a picnic in a beautiful little lake very close to Niagara Falls. Perhaps we would have taken a wine tour (lots of vineyards there) and went out to dinner. However the forecast was for cool temperatures and rain. It is getting a little annoying that it is so beautiful and hot all week and then it cools off for the weekend. However...

When we woke up that morning it was not raining, it was sunny. It was not hot but it was not raining. Se we went for brunch (I love going out to brunch) and then we went for a walk around the waterfront. We contemplated going on down to Niagara for dinner but then it became very overcast. We decided to go home and do some much needed yardwork before the rain struck. We weeded (I am trying not to use pesticides this year - wish me luck) and mowed and I fertilized (an organic fertilizer made with seaweed). We have a fair sized corner lot so it takes a couple of hours to mow. I was weeding- Rick was mowing - all was good. All of a sudden the mower sends a big puff of fluff into the air.

You see - most of our neighbours have cut their grass several times already but we needed our lawnmower blade sharpened and had held off. Mommy had been smart enough to dig the babies a hole in the ground but since it was surrounded by very tall grass she had only dug down enough that the babies were just below ground level. The cover of the nest was above ground.

They were so small, and so tucked in, we didn't even know what kind of animal they were until we got them out and saw their ears. Yup -you guessed it - bunnies!














Now, you guys don't know me but I love gardening! I am passionate about it. I am not good at it - I do not come from a family of gardeners, but I am learning. And I am constantly chasing the damn rabbits out of my yards. So far they have completely destroyed my purple leaf sandcherry tree and have done damage to my magnolia tree.

So it should not have come as a shock that Rick's first suggestion was to somehow get rid of the bunnies. He wanted to take them to a field and let them go. Well... we all know that those babies are much to young to survive on their own so basically that meant they would either get eaten, or starve to death. The thought made me sick to my stomach. I told him that I could not afford to upset mother nature. That I needed good baby karma. And after this... well my heart just melted



If you didn't know, mommy bunnies actually pull hair out of their chest and abdomen to make their nests. So the fluff we had seen go through the air was her hair which had formed the cover of their nest.

I called animal control but they said the bunnies needed mommy's mild - they couldn't eat anything else. So you won't believe it but I went into my garden, the same garden I chase the damn rabbits out of every day and I dug a new nest. I gathered up as much of Mommy's hair as I could find and I made the little guys a really soft, comfortable nest. And then I covered it with long grass so the birds wouldn't notice it.



Aren't I a good mommy bunny.

I was afraid that some animal would still find them, or worse that mommy bunny wouldn't like the new nest or that she would smell me and abandon them. But today they are only 2 days older but look how much bigger!



So I guess I will get lots of exercise this summer because I certainly won't be able to convince Rick to help me chase the damn rabbits out of the yard!

We also went out to dinner that night but the highlight of my day was the baby bunnies - hey I have to nurture something!