Bunny Trail

Nashville is a strange town, in that it is an urban area - moderately, and in a concentrated spot - I happen to live within that spot, at least by zip code alone, I share one with downtown Nashville.  I would call my neighborhood more urban than suburban, for sure.  But if you head south about five miles, you're at Radnor Lake, a wildlife preserve where you'll see foxes, deer, turkey, and all the birds you can imagine.  

Hell, I saw a great horned owl in my back yard here in urban Nashville, once.  We see turkey regularly.  Squirrels and possums, of course.  I don't see raccoons, but I know they're here.  Armadillo, too.  But the one that really delights me are the rabbits.

Because we have some green space in and around us, the bunny population thrives.  I mean, they reproduce like... well, anyway.  Once, maybe five years ago, I was driving home from work and I saw this pair of young bunnies in this little green space - a nice-sized triangle of grass where three streets become two - and they were frolicking - literally just joyfully chasing each other and jumping - there's really no other word for it - except maybe romping.  But this was so delightful.  I only watched for maybe 20 seconds as I drove slowly by, but it was one of those great things that you don't see all that often, and I was enthralled.

Given that we also have some grass in our yard, a few blocks away, we've also become a refuge for our long-eared pals.   They are Eastern Cottontails, and they're surprisingly smart, and I am thankful that they are exceedingly quick.  Piper does not notice them, or at least pretends to not notice them until she absolutely has to, and then she gives a halfhearted chase as they zig-zag wildly through the yard and out of a hole in the fence.  But typically, they will stand as still as a statue, she'll do her business and then come back inside, at which point they breathe again.  

According to the interwebs, average lifespan is a little over a year in the wild, though they did track one that lived five years.  Nine years is the record for a captive bunny.

They are sort of a dusty brown, vaguely cinnamon color, which leads me to calling them cinnabuns.  They are a variety of sizes, too.  This spring, I saw four of them in our yard one morning, which is a lot, for an urban dweller such as myself.  

I love all kinds of animals.  I will admit that from afar, possums do a good job of eating bugs, I just don't want one up close and personal in my face.  Or my dog's mouth.

But on the whole, I love animals.

Especially our bunnies.