Tuesday, July 5, 2016

A Love Story

This post is about the misadventures of two rabbits in love. Destiny tore them apart but, do not worry, it ends well.

They are reunited at the end of the story and presumably are still happy together.

One of the two



We have a porch with a door at each end to let the draft in on hot days. Yesterday afternoon, sitting in that porch reading, with both doors open, we suddenly felt transported into Alice in Wonderland as a hare entered by one door and left by the other!

He (or perhaps she) did not have a pocket watch, but did seem in a hurry and was looking for something.

Stranger still, he did not cross the porch once, but a few times, completely ignoring humans!



The porch with a door at each end

A few hours later, having dinner in the garden, we saw what seems to have been the same hare running along the garden fence, desperately trying to find a spot where he could get in.

There is a chicken wire over the trellis precisely to deter rabbits. We had never seen one so determined to get in. He was circling the house and the whole garden, actually trying as hard as he could to push in the chicken wire!

Crossing the porch was part of his search for a way into the garden.

Close-up view of the anti-rabbit chicken wire nailed to the trellis

In the evening, busy with watering cans, lo and behold, we saw the hare in the garden! We thought he  had finally managed to get in.

However we soon realized it was a different hare. Right next to where the inside hare stood (hiding under the peas), but on the other side of the fence, the original hare was still attacking the chicken wire trying to get in!

We opened the gate and managed to frighten the inside hare towards the opening so he (she) could leave the garden.

Once more free to roam

We concluded that at one point when a gate was open, one hare sneaked in the garden, but soon found himself (herself) locked up inside.

Meanwhile, the hare left outside became frantic trying to join his (or her) mate! 

If the gate is left open for only a few minutes, a rabbit can easily sneak in
Once reunited outside, they forgot all about getting into the garden and headed together for their favorite patch of clover!

The story also ends well for the gardeners: obviously the rabbit defense system has once more shown its mettle and has not yet been breached!


24 comments:

  1. So glad there was a happy ending!

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  2. Apart from the lovely story, I rather enjoyed a glimpse into what sounds like an idyllic lifestyle. Reading in the porch, then being transported into Wonderland... dining alfresco... being in the garden....
    Perfect!

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    1. That lifestyle is called retirement. The first decade or two can be wonderful but the later might not be so great!

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  3. From my point of view, the only happy ending to a rabbit story is one that involves a stew pot. Our area has been overrun with rabbits, and they seem distressingly nonchalant around humans.

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    1. Because they are not afraid I was able to take pictures of them. I count as friends the foxes, coyotes, weasels, martens, fishers and minks living all around us.

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    2. Get lost Jason, what a horrible thing to say!

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  4. Loveley story with a happy ending outside the garden, sigh.....I'm afraid we get too many rabbits in the garden.

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    1. I still have problems with raccoon though. I would need an electric fence to stop them. Their main 'sin' is to dig where you have watered. In the process they kill quite a few plants. I am down to 2 cucumber plants after having replanted twice.

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  5. Ah, yes, rabbits getting into trouble again! Cute story. The rabbits appear to be multiplying like rabbits around here lately. Everywhere I look there's another one. I can almost walk right up to them and pet them, they're so tame. I'd enjoy them, except there are too many eating my plants and not enough chicken wire to keep them away. ;-)

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    1. They are very tame here too. They are not all that numerous though. Living as we do in the middle of the woods, there are just too many predators.

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  6. It's still chicken wire Fort Knox here. The lengths we go to eh? Love a happy ending.. with no plants nibbled along the way I hope.

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    1. I noticed only this morning that two small heads of lettuce are missing...

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  7. Hello Alain, I'm glad it all turned out happy in the end and both rabbits ended up on the right side of the fence!

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  8. You're really good at telling stories. I'm glad those two rabbits are out of your garden though... That could have been terrible !

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  9. Alain this was quite the story and thankfully with a happy ending!
    We used to have wee rabbits visit us back when there was some grass in the back garden .. but alas no more, no grass no rabbits but? we do have a chipmunk (Mr. Chips) that we can not but love .. we spoil him with sunflower seeds and Garden PA is training him with peanuts.
    I know .. we are "nuts" but little wildlife has us in their "paws"?
    I loved this story of your hares ! glad the garden is safe too!

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    1. Chipmunks are so cute. It is hard to resist them. Here we see one once in a while but they never last very long. We have too many snakes.

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  10. I have a family of rabbits that I have told of your garden in the vain hope that they would take a trip. At least rabbits seem to be diverted by a clover in the grass but the groundhogs are do real damage. My menagerie is very much like yours, including a weasel, but I have also a doe and fawn to add to the nibblers. Even in the midst of a city wild life finds a way.

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  11. I Stumbled across your blog after clicking through a comment and I am so grateful I did :) Lovely story about the rabbits. I can only remember one time a rabbit got in our garden. I was so surprised and pleased to see it, I didn't really care it was eating all the vegetables!

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  12. Here the real problem is raccoons. If you water something they will dig where you watered. It is very annoying.

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  13. You're right, there is a happy ending! Glad to hear your fence works. I've seen several deer nibbles in the garden this summer and am wondering what fencing options I have...

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