Birth Announcement!

The three legged stealthy stalk

We have babies!  Sometime during the night, one or two nights ago, a mother rabbit deposited her little happy bundle in our yard.  Not safely under a bush, or carefully hidden behind a rock, or in the corner of the fence, no.  She placed her little ones smack dab in the middle of the grassy part of our yard - the grass area that we've been working so hard over the past two years to finally get growing.

What kind of motherly negligence is that?  This is the pooping/peeing area of our dog.  Her 70 mph racetrack area.  An easy-to-be-seen-by-swooping-down-hawks area.

I knew something was up when I looked out back and saw our ferocious guard dog Sheila doing her stalking thing.  You know, that thing where she thinks she is being so stealthy and she slowly sneaks up on something and then stands there like a statue, balanced on three legs.

During these stalking events, she becomes conveniently deaf and does not wish to be disturbed from her adventures - not for any reason other than a dish of food or a treat.

More three legged stalking

What is that pile of grasses and fluff?  That wasn't there before...

I should probably investigate.  Wait, it's moving!  I think I hear something in there too...

Is it a snack?

We probably shouldn't have uncovered the nest, but we were just as curious as Sheila.  My husband thinks he was able to count six babies, but with them wiggling and cuddling each other, it's hard to be really sure.  They are so new that they don't even have any fur yet.  Carefully, we recovered them.

Guess who has appointed herself the bunny "nanny?"

She NEVER sits down in the grass like this.

This must be serious business.