Thursday, May 31, 2012

Waiting it Out

On the far side of the park management office the grounds crew has discarded much of last year's run-down and discarded equipment, including old light poles, worn-out goal posts, rolls of chain-link fence and all manner of junk. Slowly but surely they've begun cleaning up the hillside, removing most of the heavier pieces but leaving a few odds and ends which has become the perfect playground for this year's batch of new bunnies. Duncan is obsessed with the spot and there's not a day we don't wander by at least once in the hopes of catching sight of them.

We went most of the Spring without seeing any rabbits at all and when I inquired it was as I feared: someone had given the order stop up and gas the warren. But Duncan was persistent and so every day we checked back to see if any rabbits had survived the assault. It wasn't until very recently that we spotted the first survivor, a big buck, dark in the face with a long, sandy back and a bright white tail. A week later he'd attracted the attention of several does, sleeker and more pointed in the face, and before we knew it baby bunnies started popping up everywhere.

Last night Duncan spotted one, unattended by his mother, who, catching sight of us, quickly darted into the hollow aluminum tubing of an old goal post. Duncan was on it, securing both ends of the tube in rapid succession. Once he was sure the bunny was trapped securely inside he went about the arduous task of attempting to squeeze himself into it.


He pushed and shoved, squeezed his eyes shut, opened them wide, licked the end, scraped his paws inside, grunted and pushed some more and finally, when nothing worked, he simply laid his belly down on the cool grass and pressed his face firmly against the opening. If he couldn't reach it he sure as heck wasn't going to let it get away. Twenty minutes passed before I finally grew tired and hungry and decided it was time to head back home (to a chance encounter with Florence and her Golden, Winston).

Before we left, however, I had to have one look at our little fugitive, so I knelt down at the opposite end and peered inside. The little fellow was as calm as could be. I wouldn't have been surprised to find him playing solitaire and waiting us out.

5 comments:

Marie said...

Oh my, I love everything about this post. Duncan's determination, the bunny escaping, and the pictures, of course, are priceless.

Christmas morning 2011: I had let our Rudy outside to do his business, and while he was busy, I myself got busy readying his Christmas bow, which is tradition in our family. When I went out to secure said bow and let him in, I discovered that he was playing with a new stuffed toy. I figured he had somehow raided his stocking.

Ummm...it was NOT a new stuffed toy, but a half dead rabbit. I almost fainted. The poor thing wasn't bleeding, but Rudy had "played" with it so hard that it was pretty much a goner, so my husband went out and put it out of it's misery. We didn't want it to suffer anymore.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time.

Maxmom said...

What a sweet little fellow. I bet that was a flash photo too. First Duncan's nose and then the camera - must have frightened the living daylights out of him.
:)
Sending lotsaluv
MAXMOM IN SA

Finn said...

How funny! Poor little guy. I guess he knew enough not to come out while you guys were poking around!

Sierra Rose said...

Hee hee! Duncan, good thing you didn't attach the railing to your nose permanently..you seemed quite persistent! Great pix! I think I would be doing the same thing, maybe with some barks and whines... LOVE BUNNIES :) They are fascinating!

Hugs!
Sierra Rose

Lori Whitwam said...

The eternal optimism of goldens. He didn't fit in the pipe right then, but maybe in a minute... :-)