Big Ears Plus Bushy Tail Equals Pure Cuteness

We are officially in bonus time for posts this month!  That officially  makes it two months in a row of extra effort – 2015 is starting out to be a productive blogging year, but let’s not get any hopes up.  Just so happens I’ve had some extra time on my hands with nothing but an Internet connection to keep me occupied.  Breaking from the bird theme, today’s topic is just some cute pictures of bunnies.  I was saving this up for Easter but there are so many post topics to get to that I figured it was best to get it out of the way now.  Now for a great big collective … Awwwwwhhhh…

The rabbits around our neck of the woods are an interesting observation in the circle of life.  Their population is very cyclic ranging from a daily visit of 6 plus to absolutely zero over the course of the year.  Although they spend a large amount of time causing me stress their high cuteness factor has forced me into a no-harm pact.

That’s right, I generally let them be and go that extra step to prevent any harm – translated I keep a careful eye out for them when cruising in and out of our long driveway.  For some reason they ALWAYS want on the opposite side of the driveway whenever a vehicle comes their way.  Absolutely no idea what triggers this stupid response, but it’s apparently the same gene that causing birds to do the exact same thing when they get spooked from the side of the road.  Rarely do I see birds simply fly further away from the road preferring instead to play Frogger with my bumper (a certain Owl comes to mind).  Same with these long eared balls of fur, yet they take even longer to make the suicide run.

Hit the jump to view a few more shots of the favored Easter icon

Besides causing me concern when exiting our house, they are dedicated to annoying my two older dogs (our puppy hasn’t seen one yet, but assuredly that will be a pain in the butt when he does seeing as how there isn’t a living creature he has not wanted to chase – all agility dogs apparently swim in the same gene pool.  The rabbit has a defense mechanism that our canines have not overcome and that is perfectly demonstrated by this shot.

Yes, the subtle yet effective practice of staying perfectly still.  Pretty sure they don’t even blink but further investigation is needed on that front.  Humans are un-phased by this trickery and are perfectly capable of picking out the unexpected intruders – kudos to all those Where’s Waldo books for honing that skill.  Dogs on the other hand are victims of being unable to read … or in this case unable to open the Waldo training manuals.  Nope, they just sit there and scan the yard hoping for something interesting to make a run for it.  My dogs know they are there from the smell, but as long as that tail stays on the ground and the head doesn’t move even a micrometer… that bunny doesn’t exist.

As soon as they give up looking and head back for the house those bunnies high tail it out of there for the safety of the tree line.  Now for the stark reality of the fluctuating population.  Coyotes are sneaky bastards and tend to flush out the rabbits, squirrels, raccoons or whatever else happens to be trapped above ground when the hunting party comes a calling.  Guessing the Coyote hunting skills are slightly better than three dogs who simply walk into the kitchen, point to the refrigerator and presto .. dinner.  Unfortunately, for these non-domesticated creatures we have a lot of Coyotes in the area.  When they sweep through they tend to pick off large numbers below their food pyramid.  Personally not found of these killing machines and have a .223 to make sure they stay away from my family.   Sorry, gun restriction activists, in the country asking them to politely leave your yard just doesn’t seem to work that well – you are free to enjoy houses in neat little rows and the safety of  your 10 foot fenced in backyards.  Meanwhile I’ll protect my family (from Coyotes and those pesky humans choosing to attempt harm on my family) by the best means I have.  Oh, look at those big ears!

Admittedly, the Coyotes are not always to blame for decreases in population.  As anyone who has ever lived in the country knows, they are also susceptible to that man made invention called a mower.  The squeamish may want to simply jump to the “purty” picture below rather than read on.  In case you live in “The City” you might not know that bunnies build their nests in the ground.  They dig out a hole, birth their babies and then cover it over with a hardened mud casing with a small hole to drop food down.  As they bunnies grow they eventually become strong enough to break the seal and explore the world.  That is if the moons don’t align and there happens to be a mower cruising by at the exact same time which results in a gut wrenching brutality that will cause even the hardest of criminals to pause.  It is really quite awful and often results in some mercy killings to end the misery.  Most of my friends have all gone through this – we take solace in the fact that they have the capacity to quickly make replacements. (hey, I warned you to skip to this)

Awwwwwwwhhhhhh look at the bunny scratching its nose…!

That’s all I have for you – just a few fur balls to brighten  your day (or horrify you if you didn’t know the stark brutality of the world they inhabit).  Take it easy everyone and hope you don’t get reincarnated as a rabbit!