The Rabbits Among Us

Today is February 4th. In the back of most of every ones mind we realize that we are still stuck in winter for a bit longer. Despite my best efforts to fight it- the winter blues were really starting to stain my days. It didn't help that in the last week we got some significant winter weather (though not as big of a deal as the forecast was leading us to expect). Here it was one day of 6+ inches of snow and the next day a couple more inches with some ice. Either way it was two days of slick roads and scary drivers.  

Then today when I got up... I ... I heard birds chirping outside. Birds! And the sun... it was shining so bright! Simon, my cat, and I peered out at the bird feeder and saw several chickadees, sparrows and a cardinal. After that Simon was mesmerized and I realized that my kitties deserved some fresh air.

They didn't do anything other than hug the ground as soon as they entered full sight of the bird feeder. It was so much fun to watch how serious they suddenly became. Unfortunately their presence temporarily scared away all the birds.

My kitties are primarily indoor cats- the wildlife around here knows it I'm sure. I've seen chipmunks run along on the ground in front of the cats. One day last summer when the kitties were in the garden with me, they stared intently at a chipmunk who sat smugly on a log on the other side of the garden fence chattering at them.

Simon playing by the spruce.

Simon and Changa are no great hunters as Angie cat was. She doesn't live with us anymore, but while she was our foster cat for two years she kept the rodent and wildlife population in check. As soon as two weeks after she left there seemed to be an explosion in chipmunk activity- like they new it was party time. Angie hunted everything including her largest prey- rabbit. And boy do I miss her hunting those pesky rabbits. They are everywhere now and its easier to see in the wintertime. They are EVERYWHERE!

Recently I read that snowshoe hares will follow the same paths of their own or other hares in the snow. When a predator gives chase to them, they find one of the trails and are able to run across it much faster than if they were to blaze a new one, allowing them to escape. When I observe the rabbit trails in my own backyard I can't help but think that they must do the same thing. Its obvious they follow the same pathways through the backyard. I've purposefully shoveled snow over some of the trails to see if they would still return to travel there. They do.

One of the rabbit highways is uncomfortably close to my beloved garden. Granted there isn't much in there of interest right now for the rabbits to want to go in there, but I'm sure if I didn't have my fence up they would be all over it at all times of the year. If there is this much rabbit activity around the perimeter of my garden in the winter how much more is there in the summer when there is probably more of these things running around?

Gazing upon the untouched snow of the gardens rows gives me peace of mind for the time being.