The Easter Bunny? Perhaps!
We’ve got a snowshoe hare who lives nearby. I’m going to refer to the hare as a “she” because she’s so pretty and looks like a girl. I hope I’m not wrong, for the hare’s sake.
She’s been to visit our backyard quite a few times over the past several months. I’d see her huge back footprints (and little front footprints) after a fresh snow. But I didn’t have any luck in actually seeing her.
About a week ago, I was up early - before sunrise - and routinely began opening the curtains and raising the blinds so I could watch the sky brighten as the sun came over the horizon. When I got to the sliding glass doors, and the vertical blinds, I happened to catch some movement in the yard when the slats moved. I stopped my movements and peeked between them. And there she was! Our beautiful snowshoe hare was standing on the deep snow just off the back deck, and she was nibbling on some of the corn kernals and berries which the birds had dropped.
I switched on the outside light, fully expecting her to flee, but she merely glanced up at the light and then went back to her snacking. I grabbed my camera, and began sliding back the vertical blinds. She glanced towards me, and stopped all movement - standing so still, she could have been a lawn ornament.
After about a minute, she realized she wasn’t in any danger and went back to the business of nosing through the suet pieces and sunflower seed shells, looking for something good to eat.
I caught sight of the pineapple rind I had tossed out on the deck, half buried in the fresh snow. I threw it out there hoping the birds, or the woodpeckers, would be interested, but they ignored it. But Miss Bunny didn’t ignore it. Her little nose twitched in the direction of this sweet treat, and then she hopped up on the deck to investigate.
I watched her gnaw on it, all the while taking photos. It was barely daybreak, so I had to boost my ISO settings on my camera (which causes grain), so the photos aren’t the crispest and cleanest, but they do tell the story of Ms. Snowshoe Hare.
