Trust, Take Two

See this one first: Trust, Take One.

"Why don't you come out here? It's really nice in the yard. The moon is out. And don't you want to visit with this little rabbit?" It was my husband's voice, calling for me from the front door. It was evening. Storms had pounded our area all day long, but the skies were clearing for a bit of a pink sunset and the moon was rising. And so I needed no further invitation: out I went.

The new little bunny, Binky Bunzini (offspring of our dear wild friend Mini Bunzini), likes to hang out near the front of the big azalea hedge in front of our house. It is apparently large enough under there (not unlike Mary Poppins' carpet bag) to house many varieties of critters. Heaven only knows who all is living there. A Noah's Ark of creatures, no doubt.

My husband had set up a chair in the yard near the front of the hedge so that he might sit with and get to know this new rabbit. I had been photographing the moon. I had also been attempting unsuccessfully to photograph both the lightning bugs as well as the four bats flying around the moon (hooray: we have BATS again!). But as I looked over at my husband, I realized I needed to focus on getting some photos of what was happening in the yard instead.

For there in front of him sat the tiny bunny, nibbling on clovers. And as I watched, it hopped over and chinned my husband's big white Crocs - what we think of as his big white bunny feets. (The shoes, admittedly, are looking a tad pink in this shot, as they were reflecting the pink light of sunset.) That is what is happening in this photo: chinning. It is a sign of affection and a way for a bunny to mark its territory: "You belong to me!" (More info about rabbit communication may be found here.)

And then the bunny sat under the chair in a gesture of complete trust for a long time. And it actually ate its first few carrot slices and made a tiny "WOW!" face. And so I think of this now as . . . One man . . . one rabbit . . . the next chapter.

The song to accompany this photo of my husband and Binky Bunzini sitting beneath the sunset and the rising moon needs to be a lullaby for this tiny rabbit, and so here is a favorite. The song was written by John Denver but it is performed in this version by Peter, Paul, and Mary: For Baby (For Bobbie).