More Tiny Creatures

Last summer, I showed you a few of the tiny creatures often found outside our house.  This spring, two of my hanging geraniums were briefly taken over by birds as they built their nests, laid eggs, and cared for their little ones.  I didn’t want to disturb the nests, so I didn’t photograph them, though I did have to get creative when my plants needed watering.  The birds have since left, but we are often visited by this small one, who sits on our fence whenever the boys play outside.

(Our own very friendly Little Robin Red Breast.)

He is very sweet-natured, and when we come close to him, he hops into the tree and sings.  Then, he’ll fly back to his perch on the fence and chirp and chirp while we talk to him.  Ryan thought the bird might be protecting his (or her) young, but I think he’s not that old himself and doesn’t realize he’s not supposed to talk to humans.

And Sunday, right before Ryan photographed my fair trade dresses, he accidentally discovered a small rabbit hole with two young rabbits inside!

(Two young rabbits who were born in our yard.)

I did a bit of quick research and discovered that it’s normal for wild rabbits to build their nests in the middle of yards or open fields, and the mother will often leave the babies unattended for long stretches.  This has been the case with our little guys, and I’ve been keeping a close watch on them.  They’re healthy and well-fed, so I’m not worried that they were orphaned.

Tuesday night, we were supposed to have a storm, so I lined a small box with grass and dirt, hoping to protect the rabbits from possible hail and high winds.  As I tried to catch them, they ran away from me, so I knew they were old enough to care for themselves.  As cute as they are, I really didn’t want to care for a pair of rabbits when I can barely keep up with my own boys these days!