Little Bunnies

Since moving to our house in April 2007, we have been inundated with rabbits in our backyard.  At first, we would all excitedly point out the window and yell, "Bunny!" when we would see one scampering in our yard.  Cute little fellas.

That first summer, I became mystified.  The previous owners had several dogs.  We had a dog.  Why were the rabbits so comfortable playing in our yard?  Why didn't the smell of dog keep them away?  Or better yet, the fact that Dakota had raced after them in the yard on more than one occasion?  Dumb little fellas.

Fast forward two years.  Now Dakota is no longer with us, and the dog scent has probably left our yard.  Rabbits are a regular sight in our backyard, and we're no longer finding them cute.  They've spent the summer eating our lilies, digging holes in our backyard, and even having the audacity to climb up INSIDE of our tomato plant pots on the patio.  Annoying little fellas.

Last weekend I went out in the yard to do another round of rabbit maintenance.  Raking out the dead grass, filling in the hole with dirt, and throwing some seed down to patch the area.  But when I began moving the dead grass, I realized the dead grass was moving!  Upon closer examination, we found this:

"Cuddles", "Nutmeg", "Charlie", "Baby BaBa", and one unnamed bunny*

Apparently momma rabbit had finally dug a hole with a purpose, and used it as a safe place to nest her baby rabbits.  Not 3 baby rabbits, as we had originally thought ... FIVE!

Now we've had to spend the better part of the week keeping OUR children from playing in OUR yard so that these babies can have the chance to grow up.  Cute little fellas, for now.  But once they're grown, all bets are off!

*despite the childrens' idea that each family member could name one of the 5 bunnies, to date, Mark has not participated, so 1 bunny stands unnamed