Monday, July 01, 2013

Cottontail and stick tail

Every so often we see a rabbit peeking out from underneath a blackberry bush or scuttling through the grass in a ditch. Some of them are abandoned pets, but the majority are descendants of pets or Eastern cottontails introduced as game. (They are extremely fecund.)

This one, in a ditch beside Crescent Beach, looked a little too tame. He saw me skulking in the tall grass a few feet away, and ignored me until I decided to leave the cover and try for a close-up. A released rabbit, or too young to have learned that humans aren't to be trusted?

I don't know what he kept looking at on the log. Nothing edible.

He's awfully skinny, and seems to be somewhat scarred. Could he have survived a fox attack, and is just now venturing out to fatten up on smartweed and dandelion greens?

I've come too close. He froze for just a moment, then turned and walked back where he'd come from. In no hurry, but purposeful.

Questions, questions. This next critter, though, is no puzzle.

The legendary * Horned Nicomekl Chipmunk, with her kit, and the broken shells left over from their lunch.**

* Well, very recently *** legendary.
** Not much is known of their food requirements. Obviously, they're not vegetarian.
*** Recently, as of tonight.





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