We noticed a rabbit inside the garden again a few days ago. So now we think they have an entrance (or exit) to their warren inside the garden, in the middle of the bean patch. Of course, when you start a garden you try to make it so nobody can get in and mess up your intentions, but once they get in, well - we were both thinking the whole idea of rabbits living in the garden is kind of cute. But it's funny that since then, we haven't seen a rabbit. So I googled the behavior of wild rabbits.
For weeks, I would see them every day, late afternoons usually, across the brook, in the back yard between the shed and garden, every single day. But then Diane's cats started hanging around on the hot days, laying in the cool grass, and they must have seen the rabbits. The day my brother was showing me the bean patch, one of the cats was sniffing the garden fence - he knows they're around. They felt safer before, and now are being more cautious.
I did read Watership Down years ago, but until I saw this article wasn't really thinking about their whole underground life. I suppose putting up a fence around a garden would never deter a rabbit - they don't need to get through the fence to establish themselves there; they can just dig up into the space from underground.
I find them too cute to be angry with them. But we'll see what transpires now. It's a good thing we have a kitchen garden close to the house!
We have rabbits all over our garden now after a few years without them. They are so relaxed, despite visits from neighbouring cats. I opened the curtains the other morning and saw three of them lounging on the grass, actually lying on their sides with legs outstretched enjoying the sunshine! They are doing quite a bit of damage but there's no way I could ever hurt them.
ReplyDeleteI think that rabbit behavior site must be European, because North American cottontail rabbits (the rabbits we have here in the East) do not dig burrows. My neighborhood is overrun with rabbits. I do have a fence around my garden. To keep bunnies out, sometimes you have to stake down the edge of the fencing where it meets the ground, as they can squeeze through fairly narrow openings in and under fences. But they won’t actually dig or tunnel to get into the garden, although it appears that can be a problem with rabbits in other parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteSue, thank for the info! I googled again and found a website dedicated to the New England cottontail.
DeleteWe had rabbits last year in the kitchen garden. At first I shoo-ed them away, but after a while I let them be. All summer they lay between the rows, but I never found any evidence of veg plants being nibbled. They loved the clover and dandelions, so maybe that was enough for them. Obviously these were European rabbits, so might be different for yours.
ReplyDeleteThey really like that clover!
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