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You never know what you might encounter here, when you go outside in the evening.
I’d been enjoying the cooling air and the dying light then hesitated at the door to have a word with a hairy caterpillar.
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“I’m a hickory tussock moth.”
“It’s probably best you don’t touch me.”
“‘Cos I’ll give you an itch.”
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At that moment the door crashed open, Dee Dee shot out, Grant right behind her exclaiming:
“What sort of ‘plane is that? Why’s it going so slow?”
“What plane? Where?”
With difficulty I spotted it.
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My lens confirmed that is was nothing more exciting than some old twin-engined jet.
“Don’t touch that thing. You’ll itch!”
I said pointing at the caterpillar.
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Behold a tussock moth, aka lophocampa caryae.
Image from Wikipedia.
But if the caterpillars camp on my door post, there is a good chance they will never get their wings.
What with people and cats rushing in and out.
With acres of trees and greenery, why is it that caterpillars think it’s a good idea to attach themselves to a house?
They find their way indoors and have to be rescued.
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Having identified the caterpillar and the ‘plane, we continued to enjoy the very pleasant evening air.
None of which is what I intended writing about.
Sudden movement caught our sight.
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The speed with which it moved, combined with failing light made it something of a challenge to capture and you may think this was no more thrilling than that boring aeroplane.
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What could be special about a brown rabbit?
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It’s the same bunny I’ve seen a number of times, hanging around beyond the kitchen window.
One night I saw it rushing about and thought something must have frightened it.
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But here it now was, pelting up and down, towards us.
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It stopped for a moment and seemed to look at us.
Grant decided it wanted to play.
Not really expecting it to repeat what it had just done, I engaged the camera.
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This is a little jerky. Don’t get seasick!
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Was it trying to engage us?
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It hunkered down watching and I began talking to it.
Grant went back inside leaving us to get acquainted.
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Very slowly, I moved toward it expecting to see it rush off, but it sat there, seemingly unconcerned.
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So much so, it began to groom itself.
For the next 15 minutes I approached slowly, eventually lowering myself to the ground, talking quietly.
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It was getting dark and various insects were taking advantage of my naked heels and neck but how do you break off such a lovely moment?
Finally, the space between us was no more than about 6 feet when the bunny pulled away slightly, which I took as my cue to say goodnight.
As I got up to walk away, my little friend continued to observe. Back inside, I went to the window and saw it was still there eating as night descended.
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As a youngster, you don’t spend much time thinking about what may make you happy in your old age and I don’t know what I would have guessed for myself.
But there has been no time in my life when “talking” to a wild animal didn’t absolutely thrill me.
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Thank you, Carolyn, for the wonderfully delightful post! Everything you have described is thrilling to read! And your excellent photos are the icing on the cake!
Joanna
Your videos are a delight! I was astonished by the skunks yesterday, and this exuberant bunny is such a treat! We dearly love our dogs, but we will never have the opportunity to bond with a bunny, I fear, as the barking keeps them at a cautious distance from the house. And god forbid the dogs meet a skunk! As always, your blog posts make my day!
How sweet it is! I would have enjoyed it as much as you did, I’m sure. S’wonderful that you made a new friend.
The rabbit obviously trusts you. Local wild rabbits in Beetley would never let you approach that close. Perhaps you can try feeding it with some vegetables, get even closer next time?
Best wishes, Pete.
We were discussing this only yesterday – the simple things that we relish. The changing light, flowers and trees, birds flying to and fro and stopping in for a snack or a feast, the visit of a squirrel, buzzards spiralling on the thermals, swifts doing their aerial ballet, so many things that visit us daily and ask for nothing in reward.
Such things are the most valuable!
I loved your description of your encounter with the brown rabbit. I share your pleasure in talking to wild animals. What a simple treat that is!
Oh me, but that’s a very busy bunny – I wish I had that energy. I love your new visitor and I’m surprised that he/she is so calm in your presence … Berto always says that animals sense when humans aren’t a threat to them! You are one lucky lady!