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Friday, August 17, 2007

No TGIF For Rabbit

Me: "Hey, what are you up to."
Him: "Nothing, just sitting here."
Me: "I'm just now leaving work, sorry I'm later than I thought I'd be."
Him: "That's okay"...."i just killed a rabbit"
Me: "WHAT???????"
Him: "I just killed a rabbit"
Me: "WHAT HAPPENED????"
Him: "I ran over it with the lawn mower"
Me: "ARE YOU SURE???? HOW DO YOU KNOW?????"
Him: "I saw fur flying"....it was by that spot in the grass where we were looking."
Me: "YOU SAW FUR??? OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!"
Him: "Yes, and guts and body parts....it really freaked me out and I don't think I can go back out there."

It was almost dark when I got home but I could see fur in the 4 x 4 foot square of uncut grass. I have no idea what we are gonna do about this. Both of us are horrible with this kind of thing. He said the other babies ran back in the hole after the one was chopped up. I wish they would just go away.

Gardening tomorrow is not gonna be nearly as fun as I had originally thought...

15 comments:

  1. I almost got a baby rabbit in the face with a weed-whacker this Spring.*shudders*

    The damn things are so stupid and hardwired to stay still no matter what so accidents like that are bound to happen. Oh well, just wait until they start eating your plants and you'll be chasing them with shovels.

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  2. Oh my!! Well it was an accident!! ~Which is what my husband screamed at me when he hit one with his truck a few weeks ago..and I in tears kept saying I can't believe you hit it, you've killed it..he was sorry , he didnt mean to...I think he felt as awful as I did..they are cute!! ~ But they will devour your beautiful garden! Sorry about your dilema!!Try and Enjoy your weekend!

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  3. Yes, that will be a pretty gruesome situation tomorrow morning. Maybe a critter will come at night and "clean" up most of it. Steve makes sure to check the areas where the babies hang out before he mows. And you have to keep your eyes pealed at all times. We also have to watch out for toads.

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  4. That happened to me once, years ago. A rabbit had left her babies in my lawn, I didn't realize it, and I ran over some of the babies while mowing. Yes, the fur flies, but it was an accident. Give them a decent burial if they haven't been snatched up by another critter.

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  5. We are overrun with rabbits this year in Chicago. They sure are cute until they eat one of your rose bushes down to 2" stems. Even then I don't have the heart to do anything worse than sprinkle garlic powder and tabasco sauce around in a feeble attempt to deter them.

    I also have 2 dogs, a terrier and a bullmastiff. They do not deter our local rabbits from nesting in my yard even though the bullmastiff quietly dispatched a mom and then later the nest of babies in my blackberry patch. It was horrible to watch and all I did was scream like a six year old. To make my embarrassment complete, I had to get my neighbor to remove the late mom rabbit because I just couldn't go back out in the yard and do it.

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  6. Oh my gosh. That's terrible, but an accident none the less. A decent burial helps quell the guilt.

    I still love the way you wrote the phone conversation between you and your husband. As awful as the situation was/is, I was kinda laughing...

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  7. steven - they are so stupid!! i do not understand why they have babies in the middle of the backyard. wouldnt a bush be safer???

    catherine - i feel very bad about it but im more grossed out than anything. the ones in my yard don't seem particularly interested in my garden, they just keep digging up my yard and having millions of babies...

    alyssa - i have yet to really figure out what to look for. the things dig holes and then cover them so that it looks like the rest of the yard.

    jennifer - im amazed at the number of rabbits in chicago. it's crazy! I'm not an animal hater but I really wish they'd do something to get rid of them.

    katie - i was amazed at how calm he was when he told me. i think he was in shock. in fact, he still is. he called from work this morning "what are we gonna do about this rabbit situation". we are so terrible at this kind of thing. it's the one thing i hate about home ownership.

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  8. carol - thanks. i'm so depressed about this. it really put a damper on the weekend. all i can think about is we killed a baby rabbit, my broccoli has gone to shit and i can't get control of this freaking vine weed.

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  9. Ooh, that's horrible. I get sad when I see roadkill, so I can totally understand your pain. Just please, make sure he never does it again.

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  10. Yep, no matter how much damage they do to your garden, you still feel really sick when you get them with the lawn mower. By the way, my broccoli did the same thing yours did??

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  11. Goodness gracious, Gina ! I haven't visited your garden for a few days and all kinds of things are happening!

    First of all, the broccoli can't tolerate hot afternoon sun and it's basically a cool weather plant so what you have is called "bolting." Next time look specifically for the slow-bolting kinds which are usually Japanese and Chinese. And, they must be planted rather early to harvest before hot weather arrives.

    We have a huge rabbit problem in Chicago and it's getting worse because they have no natural predators other than a few feral cats, lawnmowers and weed whackers. They've caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to plants in residential and public gardens.

    Looks like its time for you to get a fence or a hunting dog. Those cute little bunnies will be back to dine on your veggies . You might want to spray around the garden with a rabbit repellent spray or bloodmeal.

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  12. I know how you feel. I cuss the rabbits for eating my plants, but I feel terrible when my cat kills one. There's not really anything to say to make you feel better. It says something about you, Gina, that you have compassion for these little creatures. What it says is good.

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  13. Awww that's too bad. I fortunately don't have any bunnies in my garden and I only see them once in a while. When I was a kid they were more common in my neighborhood but with development the way it is in the city they've been pushed out closer to you.

    Good luck with them when they get bigger.

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  14. Oh goodness, I'm laughing reading this, but if I were you, I'd be crying, too. I love little bunnies! Except during the winter and spring when they chow down on bushes and seedlings.

    We don't have too many of them though, because of the six outdoor cats we have. Now and then we get to see a half-eaten rabbit on our front porch. Ick.

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  15. They are so hard to catch! I shot one like fifty times with a .177 bb pistol.

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