Wild Meets "Domesticated"

We are now on rabbit number four. The first rabbit lived for two years or so. The next two didn't last more than a few months. Our newest friend seems pretty smart. Just like her predecessors, she has learned to come out when I arrive because she knows she gets fed. I call her a she, but who knows? Bunny might be a he.

Besides giving her a handful of rice bran every day, she eats all the alfalfa leaves that she could possibly want. Other people bring her fruits and veggies, so she is definitely well-fed. I also clean and fill a water bowl for her. You can see it in the photo above. The bowl sits underneath the old stock trailer that I use as a place to tie up the horses for grooming and saddling.

Either the bunny is cautious or the horses are, because she never gets too much underfoot. The first bunny we had would sit quietly as the horses sniffed along her back, and she would even sniff noses with them. This bunny isn't quite as brave. Besides the bunny, we also have a new friend, a ground squirrel.

While the ground squirrels dig big holes in undesirable places, I just can't find it in my heart to send him packing. It has taken him some time to recognize me as a "friend," but little by little he has decided that I mean him no harm. He also seems to have figured out that the water and rice bran are for him as well. Bunny and squirrel seem to get along quite nicely for now.

As long as the squirrel minds his Ps and Qs, he can stay. If new holes start appearing anywhere near where I walk the horses, he might not find me quite so pleasant. I am starting to feel a bit like a Disney princess though with all of my woodland creatures coming out to greet me.

​If any of them start singing though, they're history!