I don't exactly live out in the country. Certianly, I'm not in the middle of nowhere. I have complete access to civilization without driving too far. I just happen to live a bit further from my neighbor than the average guy. Actually, my home is in a tiny subdivision of only 15 houses. The next group of houses is a mile away. While that's not very rustic, it does allow some of the local wildlife to survive. Actually, they really thrive. We have dozens of wild Desert Cottontail rabbits that feed on the grass during all hours except the day. It drives my dog nuts. He'd be staring out the patio door dying to get out, knowing there was something to chase. But, his evil owner wouldn't let him out prefering instead too let the local four legged friends become a bit comfortable with the backyard. Okay, not too comfortable but enough to make them regular morning customers of Chez Sulu's grass emporium for herbavours.

The best part of this is the spring has brought many opportunities to shoot junvenile Dessert Cottontails and Black Tailed Jackrabbits. All sizes of creatures have been populating my backyard. Of course, my dog would wistully hang out at the back door hoping someone--anyone for that matter--would take pity on him and LET HIM OUT. The yard turf needed to be protected. Those animals, those interlopers didn't belong in the backyard. That's my area and they needed to go. At least that's what I think he thinks when staring longingly out the window.

Anyway, my little furry friends have taken to Hooker by totally ignoring him whenever they're back there. Even though he's in plain view, whinning up a store, they know the glass isn't going anywhere and he ain't running after them. It's the ulitmate tease. Now, on the other hand, if I should remotely think about opening a window to get a clearer view, they'll be gone. It's astounding how fast the young rabbits can move. They zoom one way then instanteously change direction. It's poetry in motion. Everything they do makes the dog look foolish when he's chasing. There's no way he'd catch a rabbit. They're too fast and honestly, they have a different perspective on speed. There's fast--which is slow to them--blazing fast--reserved for those times when it's really important to embarass the local k-nine--then there's warp speed. That's the speed they use to leave everyone else in the dust. It's the nitrous oxide of the rabbit world. Do a little shot, see that little critter fly. Actually, you aren't seeing anything because they're moving faster than normal humans can see. In fact, these speeds have only been verified by using complex/costly technical instruments normally reserved to measures speeds of sub-atomic particles moving near the speed of light. That's fast.

Not everything is a chase/run for the rabbits. Many times they'd just assume to stay still and not budge a muscle. Maybe we'll get overlooked? At least that's what they're thinking. Though, when given the choice instanteous speed is much more important than standing-by hoping for the best. So, I come home with the dog after sunset, there'd be two or three rabbits feeding in the neighbor's front yard looking invisible--at least they think they are. Hooker will instaneously see them and want to say hello. Being the good fellow he is, he wouldn't chase or so much as let out a whine. He knows better--at least sometimes he knows better. But, as soon as we turn our heads, the rabbits would be gone in a shot. More like a fash as in warp speed flash--see the previous discussion.

Hide and seek seems to be the most common tool used by any young rabbit. The image we see here was taken in my backyard. The poor guy was frozen stiff hoping I wasn't going to notice his little forage through my weeds. Well, I didn't look the otherway. Instead I watched his advanced and shot a couple images for fun. So, even though it's not in plain view, the most important thing is--his eye. Actually, the magic of digital photography made an errant branch go away. As it is, I think it shows off what these rabbits think most of the time. Hidding...

Cheers

Tom