Sorrow turns to Joy

This is NOT a story for people who cry easily. :D

Our yard is the local hangout for the neighborhood bunny population....or so it seems. :?

Any efforts made to keep bunnies out of our yard has met with total embarassment. They are constantly finding new ways in and out. To top that, they've just had a litter in our backyard. Yesterday while mowing I ran over it and uncovered the nest and to my astonishment, 4 babies. I can't believe I didn't at least clip the ears on the one closest to the top. So as I mowed around it I inspected the nest and sure enough, 4 babies.

About an hour or two later, close to dusk, I venture over to see what is going on and the mother, who was apparently tending to the babies, bolts from the spot (a foot from the fence gate) and low and behold there are 4 babies sitting up and seeing the world and the mom has beat feet out of there. I'm sure I scared her. We left the bunnies alone and they eventually bopped back in their hole.

Last night we had a monsoon of rain in a very few hours. This morning about 6, the sun was coming out, the skies were clearing and it was just a spectacular start to the day. I peeked around the west side of the house/garage and noticed a 4 inch deep river of water flowing from the back of the house to the front. My first thought was, BUNNIES!!!!

So I quickly went inside and came out the back garage door to find.......3 bunnies pressed against the fence all water logged and not moving. The fourth was still in the hole, not moving. Ok, for a 50 year old to have an instant tear jerker takes a lot. This did it. I was heartbroken and grief-stricken. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't seen them all up and happy the night before. I walked away and literally cried uncontrollably. Worse than this.... :cry:

Here is the scene....

Upclose....

If you notice the grey borders and bottom edge of the fence gate. The water was about 2 inches above the bottom of the gate. You can also see the bunny hole that is still filled with water.

About every half hour I went out there to view the destruction. Then I noticed one of the bunnies had moved. And two others were still in the corner against each other. Now I'm noticing the one still in the hole is breathing, shallow but still breathing. So I fetch a small putty knife and bring the little guy out of the hole, at least his top half. I leave him and hope for the best.

I come back out a little while later and he's fallen back in the hole. He looks gone. So I take my putty knife and this time I pry him all the way out of the hole and lay him on the drier grassy area. He starts to move. About this time I notice that all 3 of the other bunnies have gathered together and are huddling and shivering. Still all water logged but at least they are moving.

So I go grab a pair of work gloves and grab the listless, lifeless baby and start cuddling him in my gloved hand. I start stroking his sides and pushing on him and he seems to respond. I work him a little harder and now of all things I'm talking to him telling him he's going to be alright. :roll: His fur starts to dry a little and he jumps out of my hand and lands in the grass. He starts squealing. I'm thinking this has got to be a good thing. So, we are standing in the sun and he starts to shiver. That is a very good thing. So I set him down in the grass and go fetch the others. I grabbed each, one at a time and took them to a sunny spot in the yard so they can warm up.

The first one to take off is now here....

The second one to feel freedom is here.....

And the two that were the most affected are here....

The one on the right is the one I found still in the hole.

So with a little human intervention, I now have my own litter of bunnies. Perfect for Easter delivery in 2008. Please place your orders early for prompt delivery. :wink: