Rabbits and mice and bears, oh my!

A few mornings ago, I went out to the brooder house to feed and water the baby chicks. We keep the bag of scratch grain in one of those big plastic garbage cans. I took off the lid and found a big-eared little mouse looking at me.

He was balancing on the top of the open bag, trembling.

I, very loudly, said "Oh!" Not like, "Oh, there's a cute little mouse looking at me." Like the "oh" that Lucy Ricardo says when Ricky catches her doing something she's not supposed to be doing.

As I said this, I was brandishing the lid like a shield. Then I laughed at myself.

We stood still and looked at each other for some time. Then he jumped onto the garbage can and scurried off. Now I very cautiously peer over into the bag before I scoop out scratch grain.

There's also this rabbit:

He's been living outside around our house for months now. He looks like a pet rabbit, with one floppy ear.

Sometimes I go rabbit hunting. Which means I go out and stalk him, because he looks so soft and adorable that I just want to catch him and snuggle him. :) He won't let us touch him.

And yes. I can get *this* close. I know now why Beatrix Potter was so fascinated with rabbits and writing stories about them. This rabbit is so adorable. He was twitching his nose the whole time I was stalking him. Sometimes he sits very still and watches me out of the corner of his eye. Here's the weird thing: when I see him from my window, he looks huge. But the closer you get to him, the smaller he looks. My dad says that doesn't make any sense, but it's the truth. I think it would make a good story for a children's book. Maybe if I actually reached out to touch him he would disappear altogether? :)

Until next time,

{Okay, so there aren't any bears. Thank goodness.}