Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘rabbit’

Neighborhood Menagerie

One little squirrel scampered ‘cross the road.
He hurried on to add to his load
Of nuts and things for winter’s sting.

Two wild turkeys crossed the road,
Their necks were long and narrow,
But do their bones have marrow?

Three rabbits sat and munched the grass
The clover was their favorite —
It wasn’t quite Welsh rarebit.

Four deer stood staring by the road,
Until our car did scare them.
A hunter would like to snare them.

Five robins bobbed along the grass.
They find that grubs are great repast —
In winter, berries, if they last.

Until temperatures drop, the wasps are here.
I do not hold them especially dear.
If I leave them alone, I do not fear.

Rabbits in My Garden Pot

Pretty soon I (hope to?/) might have…rabbits in my garden pot.

Today, I happened to look out on the patio deck through the sliding glass doors, and saw a rabbit in one of my large garden pots, about an 18-inch diameter one, and perhaps just as tall. It was furiously digging in the dirt, making a medium-size depression. It came and went a few times, flicking dirt out over the rim of the pot. I could not understand what it was doing, and thought it might be digging for roots.

So I asked about the rabbit’s behavior on a gardening forum, and I have been learning so much!

Most likely, the rabbit is a female making a nest for little rabbits to come! Those of you, who unlike me, grew up in a less urban environment, are saying, “Duh!” But anyway, there’s no shelter over this garden pot. Even so, the “experts” are telling me that the mother rabbit will line the depression with her own fur and/or grass clippings soon before the bunnies are about to arrive.

Just about nothing is more entertaining to me than observing animals in action. I hope to keep this post updated as things progress. I’m not sure, though, how to get the best photos without disturbing the mother or babies. At the very least, I’ll try to keep readers posted, in words, about the outcome.

Update 6/1/2026: Well, no baby rabbits so far, and may never be. People around here agree, though, that the rabbit population is booming, more than most years.

Rabbit in pot, and digging:

The Creature Chorus

In dead of night, in silent places,
The deer creep out and take their places
For midnight dancing, their footsteps prancing.

They circle round a leafless tree,
For now it’s winter, though they might be
There other times — in summer, maybe.

Soon rabbits join them, an inner ring,
If you have ears, you hear them sing,
The lilting rabbit Hopping Song.

Next squirrels join in; it’s quite a din
To hear their tch-tch, as they grin
And join the creature chorus.

Don’t leave out mice; you must look twice
To see their little bodies quiver —
A dancing river.

So don’t disturb the animal fiesta —
You thought they would be taking siesta —
But to your wonder, you found their frolic.