Rabbits in the grass

I have a neighbor that loves animals. I love animals too but we love them in different ways. I love them indoors. Hers are outside pets. I love them neutered or spade she doesn’t feel that is necessary. So when she got three beagles to breed and put them in what looked like a rabbit hutch to me. It wasn’t long until she had eight puppies. The puppies were left in the hutch with the mother until the puppies were over running the place. My yard smelled like a barnyard and I couldn’t walk out the back door without the dogs barking and carrying on as if I were invading their space. So you can imagine my joy when the puppies went to new homes and she sent two of the dogs to live with her father. I still felt sorry for the one in the hutch but at least there was less stink and noise. Next my animal loving neighbor decided she wanted a rabbit. She put it into a hutch much like the one the beagle is in but at least it wasn’t as close to the property line. The problems started again when she decided to breed the rabbit. It had 5 darling little bunnies and I prayed that she would find good homes for them but this neighbor loves animals so she couldn’t bear to part with them. I was imagining a back yard full of rabbit hutches but that would have been too easy. Instead she decided to turn the bunnies loose in her yard and just let them run around and sleep under her shed. Now you may be thinking, “Well it is her yard and her rabbits so let her do whatever she wants.” but there is just one problem. Our yards are not divided by a fence or even a shrub. The only division is the invisible property line and for some reason the rabbits don’t seem to be aware of it or else they just ignore it. Also when she decided to let the rabbits run free I don’t think she considered why there are sayings about being as fertile as a rabbit. First one of the bunnies had bunnies and then another bunny had bunnies and well you can see my problem. I think I mentioned earlier that I love to garden, well spring is almost here and I have a yard full of rabbits of all ages and sizes and all of them are hungry. My daughter suggested I contact animal control but sadly there is no animal control in our town. Now don’t get me wrong I really do like my neighbor. We get along well and I don’t want to start a neighborhood war just because we love animals in different ways but I will have to figure out a way to let her love her bunnies freely without them devouring my gardens. So if you know anyone that wants an Easter bunny for their children, I know where you can find one...or five.

Dreaming of Spring

I woke up this morning to the sound of my grandson begging his Papa to get up so he could help him with a new computer game. It must be the weekend. This is how our weekend usually begins. As I slowly opened my eyes I realized that something was different. The sun was shinning in through the bedroom window. I had to check to be sure I wasn't dreaming. It has been such a long gloomy winter and now here I was waking up to sunshine. I hurried out of bed, went to the window and opened the shades just to be sure. A smile swept across my face as I stared at the almost blue sky. Every year I anxiously await spring. In Wyoming it was because it seemed that winters drug on for 9 months but winter in Indiana is pretty short (about 3months by my estimation) but for those three months it seems the sun never wants to shine. I think it takes a holiday in Florida and doesn't return until the forsythias bloom. But today the sun was shining. I ran downstairs just to be sure and was greeted by a series of rainbows painted on my floor by the prisms hanging in the windows. It was true here was my proof. It was going to be a rainbow day. I stepped out the door and realized that not only didn't I need my gloves, I didn't even need a jacket. Yes, today was surely the promise of things to come. It is only early March and I know that spring doesn't really arrive in March here in southern Indiana but that's okay because when I looked over into the neighbors yard a thousand lilac crocuses were dancing in the breeze and even though they may get their little heads frozen off tonight, today they were like me, celebrating the sun. Singing and dancing in praise of spring.