Rest in Peace Peter Rabbit

    You know that our life is full of little adventures, most of them involving animals. We had a bit of an adventure today…but one of the sad kind for us….tragic for Peter Rabbit. Yesterday Dalton mowed the pasture beside our house. The kids and I were in the back yard playing and when I saw him jump out of the tractor, grab something and motion for me I knew it had to mean one thing….he had a baby animal for me!! For some reason I have never left the stage of being excited about orphaned and baby animals. I just adore the little things, even if the story doesn't end so well. I remember being little and being the same way…but I also remember having many little animal funerals, one in particular that was caught on video where I was singing a song at a frog's service. What can I say, God's given me a love for His creatures…which gets me into trouble.

   Back to the story. So I hopped out to Dalton and received a precious little baby bunny. Oh man he was cute. He was so furry and soft and had a little white spot on his forehead. Dalton said we couldn't keep it but I just rolled my eyes and took him back to the yard. I let the kids see and pet him and then tucked him away in the portable chicken coop where our, now older and not so cute, chicks live. (Even as I write this I'm chuckling at the fact that we have a coop full of adolescent chickens in our backyard…to which I added a bunny, all with three hungry cats constantly looming around).

    We watched him try to escape the coop unsuccessfully and then I fixed him up with a paper bag full of shavings and some grass and water. I also tried to give him water from a syringe but he wouldn't take it . After he was settled I did some research about baby bunnies. Once their home is destroyed the momma won't return. But it also turns out most don't survive and it isn't easy to raise one. With this knowledge I decided to listen to Dalton and release the bunny…the next day. He spent the night in his paper bag in our bathtub (where else?) with the heater going.

     Today we put him out in the chicken coop while we planted some flowers, worked in the rose bed and enjoyed the sunshine. After supper it was time for the big release. Dalton had decided it would be best to let him go by the tank so he was close to water. But when I got the little guy out he was just so cute I was tempted to lose my nerve and try to keep him. I petted him the whole way down to the tank…a good little walk down a sloping rocky hill. Dalton was ahead of me with Ace on his back, Cooper trudged along in his not-so-graceful way and I followed with my camera and precious cargo. We had another member of our party….Boots. He wasn't invited but wasn't about to let us go on an adventure without him. I was a little apprehensive to have him along but what was I to do?

 Ready for the release party

Looking back, this was not such a good idea.

     We reached the tank and walked around it searching for the perfect spot to release little Peter Rabbit. I was a little disappointed in the amount of shelter and grass, but Dalton said it was good to have him near water. We decided to let him go in the middle of some green grass, just a short hop away from the woods. I said my goodbyes and, ironically, a little prayer of safety for the little guy (I know, reverted back to my 9 year old self). Dalton held him to the ground and let him go. I told Dalton that if he came back to me we would take him home. Meanwhile Ace was playing with Boots….who I had told Cooper to hold.

    With my camera in hand, on sports setting for the hop I waited for him to make his move. Finally he did and he was so cute hopping for the woods. I was so happy for him and snapping pictures until……..

 What a cutie….come to mama

You can see his little white tail as he hopped away

    I saw Boots out of the corner of my eye, unrestrained, just as he saw the bunny on the move. Before I could get to him he lunged and pounced and grabbed the bunny. I yelled "No No No No!!" and tried to chase him. I decided after a few seconds that we should probably just let Boots run off with him since he probably wouldn't live, but Dalton grabbed him before I could verbalize it. When he took the rabbit out of his mouth we saw that the damage had been done. He looked fine externally but internally he was not. Cooper looked on but I left and started crying.

    I cried for a little while, with my back to the mess of a situation. Why had we let him go? Why didn't we hold Boots? Why did we let him go in the open? I stood there crying and watching Ace play with a stick. Then I turned around and saw Dalton with Cooper pointing to something in the woods. Apparently Dalton had put Peter Rabbit under a tree to "rest" for a little while. Then other issues took over with Cooper, of the restroom nature, and he forgot about the bunny for a little while. Dalton came over and hugged me and said we can't blame ourselves. Cooper came up to and said "It be ok Mommy!' and started tickling my leg saying "Tickle, tickle, tickle." I had to smile at that and then started to find the situation tragically funny.

They are thrilled to have their picture taken

    We moved toward the water and took a couple of pictures. While the boys were occupied I asked Dalton about the bunny. He said he was pretty sure he was dead, and we wondered if we should let Boots have him (after all we were out of cat food at the house). Dalton decided in favor of it…I think he wanted to reward the hunter. I warned him that Boots might bring it home, but he doubted that.

    I kept the boys occupied and then we headed home. Moments later I looked back to see Boots behind us…with his prize in his mouth. Great…now it was a race against the cat. "Dalton…look behind us!" He smirked, and called to Cooper so he didn't look back.  We kept Cooper moving as fast as a distracted, clumsy 2 year old can move, but kept catching glimpses of Boots through the trees with his prize. I started laughing at this point at the bizarre nature of it all. In our attempt to do what was best for the little bunny we instead sent him to his death, and were now trying to outrun his captor to prevent even more awkwardness….. only us. I finally put Cooper on my back after some struggle, to move us up the rockiest part of the hill, and Dalton threw a few rocks at Boots to slow him down.

    We reached the open pasture and were almost home. I threw a couple more rocks at Boots and he stopped at the tree line. Our plan was to get the boys in the house as quickly as possible so they didn't have to witness the aftermath of Boot's attack. Cooper was sidetracked at the garden though and stopped to sing us a song, using a garden tool for a mic. Just as he started singing I saw Boots coming through the grass….but his mouth was empty. He was licking his lips happily, like a lion after a hunt.
      So rest in peace Peter Rabbit. We are so sorry.

     So that this isn't a totally depressing post, I'm including a couple of pics from our fun outdoor activities.

 Cooper was ready to plant some flowers!

 Ace just wanted to get to the dirt

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die." Ecclesiastes 3:1-2