#Bunny in the Back Forty: Oh #BeatrixPotter!

For the last several years, a family of rabbits have taken up residence in the back yard, up near the woodland. One day when out walking with pup, I spotted a good sized rabbit. The backyard trail we were following is along the edge of a wooded area, but also in the middle of a fairly developed neighborhood. I thought perhaps a child's pet had escaped back into the wild, as the bunny seemed only mildly curious at our presence.

Originally, it seems there was but a single rabbit, a pregnant mother that gave birth (or such was my assumption). But each Fall since this first encounter, whenever we're out walking around daybreak or dusk, we'll often spy several young rabbits of varying colors hopping about eating grass and seeds. (As it has been several years hence, these are presumably the children or grandchildren of the original rabbit.) I guess there's good eating in our woods, enough to sustain several generations of bunnies, at least.

They drive pup bonkers! I think she has dreams of coursing after hares (like those dogs do in Snatch, one of my favorite flicks), but luckily so far I have been able to prevent her undertaking of the sport. I have a fondness for Peter Rabbit, after all.

#Dragons Exist! (Underwater) #H2O #RedSeaDragon #Oceanography

By now, certainly half the world has seen the video footage of an otherworldly red sea dragon (a new species, Phyllopteryx dewysea) in the wild. Not only was this a great moment for the study of sea life, but it was also interesting from a fantasy story standpoint as a sea dragon is a dragon! I want one. Perhaps, if I expanded my aquarium... Alas, it probably wouldn't be fair to the dragon... but a girl can dream. You do know I have a thing for dragons, right?

When #Nature Calls, Sometimes It's a Wrong Number #GoodDog #Dogs #Wilderness #Fauna

So last night, er correct that, as 'twas 1:00a, so this morning. My pup comes to get me. (By the way, I will generally refer to any dog as puppy or pup, regardless of its age, because each is someone's furbaby --- or should be. To say, I'm a dog person is, putting it mildly.) Anywho, she's all frisky and dancing around and nudging me. So I ask her, if she needs to go out. Instant tail wag.

Know that normally, she sleeps through the night without incident, but like her human counterparts she sometimes over indulges during the holidays --- everybody who visits us these days brings treats, or so it seems --- and occasionally needs "an extra go." All she has to do is ask. I will get up and take her out, day or night. No argument.

She knows this, and as I found out this morning, counts on it. (We've had a few coyote sightings in our area recently, so I don't allow her to range unattended at night, though she'd no doubt be a proper match for any coyote. I'm not faulting the coyote, mind, we humans are the culprits who've encroached on his habitat.)

Rhodesian Ridgeback

Temperament: Dignified, Intelligent, Loyal, Mischievous, Sensitive, Strong Willed

So we go out at 1:00a-ish. It's already dropped down to 30 odd degrees outside. In other words, it's as cold as a witch's tit. But pup, my pup, she's out strolling like we're taking a Sunday morning constitutional, leisurely checking each and every tree, sometimes doubling back, pausing here and there. After a bit of this, I start to get the sneaking suspicion that I'd been snookered.

Of course, it being in the thirties outside is no matter to her. She has a nice full length fur coat, so frolicking in cold weather is nothing to her. I stop mid-step, I'm like pup, "Do you actually need to go?" She turns around and gives me the doe eyes, like "Whatdayamean? I thought this was a walk..." And there you have it. I discovered I live with a con artist.

We turned around and headed back toward the house. She came back in and went straight off to sleep. I, on the other hand, was wide awake from the effects of the bracing cold air. Shaking my head and laughing to myself. The rascal. Rhodesian Ridgeback for the win!