Saturday's Find

I was tilling the garden on Saturday and moved aside some old dried up stalks from last year and found a rabbit's nest full of baby wabbits!! They were tiny, eyes still closed, very little fur. They were all nestled in there warm and sheltered and I felt like a murderer exposing them by moving their shelter. As I watched fascinated, not touching them, I realized there was no movement at all. I would think being exposed to the breezy spring air would make them nestle closer together, deeper into their hole, something. Hmmm. I knew if I touched them, their mother probably would abandon them... and I know I'm a bleeding heart for orphans so I'd feel it was my responsibility to bottle feed them around the clock, even if their chances of survival were slim. Still watching and still not seeing any movement at all, I got a shovel and moved their nest a bit, still no movement. I touched one of them and it was cold to the touch. I'm not sure what happened to their mom, but she probably got eaten by a neighborhood pet and the babies didn't survive. At least I didn't kill them. I dug the nest out full of the tiny wabbits and disposed of it. Bye bye wabbits, you would have been so cute- and such a nuisance if you'd survived.

And I'm happy to report that I did scan the backyard and didn't find a dead adult rabbit, so I am pretty confident this tragedy is not the responsibility of the Nichols homestead or any of its inhabitants.