A Mouse Lunch

After our sweet little bunny Bunnita died, Bugs was left as a lonely widower. We started letting him roam in the yard with us for a few hours daily, so that life would hold some interest for him again. He would wander in and out of the outdoor enclosure where he and Bunnita had dug a deep hole. The mice that lived in the hutch with the rabbits moved along with Bugs. (I've named the mice Squeak and Eeek, but I can't tell which is which.) We saw them scurrying from the hutch to the outdoor enclosure, apparently looking for their buddies. On several occasions, I saw Bugs and a mouse casually munching pellets from the same bowl! A luncheon among friends. One lucky day, I caught this picture of Squeak eating sunflower seeds from the rabbit bowl. Or maybe it's Eeek.

Those hours in the yard grew longer and longer. After awhile, we were leaving Bugs to play in the garden all day, putting him in his hutch only at night. Eventually, he made it clear that he was capable of taking care of himself. He made himself several homes around the garden, under various things. He is now a free-range half-wild rabbit of the world. His favorite homes are: *under the solar panels, *in the cabbage patch, *in the bushes, and *under the plumtree branches. When we come out to his area, though, wherever he's currently hiding, he usually runs out to be petted. He and Gary have a lot of conversation time when Gary is gardening. Bugs hops alongside him, keeping Gary company. My men are good at gardening together.

Most mornings, Bugs can be found back in his enclosure, checking out his hole. Sometimes he hops back into the hutch, seeing if it's still as he left it. Snow is expected this weekend; we hope he will go into one of his old homes to stay warm.
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