Beware the Bunnies

[persephone33]

My sister has a theory.

 

Bunnies are taking over the world. 

 

Now my sister is, by far and away, the more level headed of the two of us. She’s solid, dependable and practical where I’m kind of fluid, flighty and prone to the whimsical. She and her husband are with Campus Crusade for Christ, which the American college students of my f-list are probably acquainted with. I tell you this because sis is not the girl to be weird for the sake of being weird (like me).

 

So. Bunnies are taking over the world. My first instinct when she told me this was that I was glad it wasn’t squirrels. I have a rather pathological aversion to squirrels (which sis mocks, by the by). Squirrels wouldn’t be allowed to run rampant if it weren’t for the big fluffy tails; they’d be exterminated. Plus, they throw pecans at my head. I hate them.

 

But I digress.

 

There’s an apparent bunny infestation in downtown Annapolis, MD, where sis and her family live… just a block away from the Naval Academy! That’s crazy! Then, this summer as she and her family travelled across the country, she found subsequent infestations in St. Louis, MO, and Iowa City, IA. I told her that where hubby works, close to the Palo Duro Canyon, there were more jackrabbits than you can shake a stick at.

 

This brings me to the most distressing part of it all. My son, just a week ago, informed me that we have a bunny that lives in our side yard. I dismissed it as storytelling, and hubby actually reprimanded him for lying, because we live in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Amarillo. It’s heavily populated and there aren’t any open fields adjacent. It’s craziness to think of a rabbit living in the side yard.

 

However, when I was standing at the kitchen window last Thursday, I saw something zip across my field of vision.

 

I felt my lip curl instinctively; I thought it was a squirrel, but my mouth dropped open as I watched this little fluffy grey-brown animal with the cutest puffy white tail you’ve ever seen munch on the grass (and lilies).

 

The boys were delighted (well, Ethan was indignant at first, but after I apologized for not believing him he was delighted), and they named him Mergatroid (Don’t ask me why). I call the little fella Harvey.

 

It backs up my sister’s theory, though. 

 

Bunnies do indeed seem to be taking over the world, and why couldn’t they? They’re innocuous, cute, and multiply like, well, you know….

 

Woe be to Harvey, though,  if he gets in range of Hubby’s .22. Hubs feels like he must do his part in keeping all this bunny madness in check. While I don’t fancy a nest (no – warren, hubby informs me) of rabbits under the house, I’m rather fond of Harvey. He doesn’t look like he wants to be a fascist dictator or like he believes in totalitarianism; he looks sweet.

 

But I used to feel that way about squirrels, too. And we all know how that turned out.


This is where Harvey lives.  I couldn't get a picture of him because he's quick, quick like a...  well, like a bunny.

Comments

[numbaby.livejournal.com]

Mergatroid is quite possibly the coolest bunny name ever.

We had pet bunnies when I was little. Long story. And the damn things are taking over the world, they've been considered pests here for years. When I was in primary school, the other schools in our district would refuse to hold interschool sport events at our school because there were that many rabbit holes in the grass on the oval. So, despite having once had them as pets and they died anyway, the weak bastards I'm kinda with big N on this one. Bring on the .22!

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

The boys thank you for complimenting their bunny naming prowess.

I had a bunny (a HUGE one) when I was in junior high(named Choco), that used to pee and spin in a circle at the same time, sparaying everything in a 5 foot radius.

I have no love for the bunnies.

[numbaby.livejournal.com]

Tell the boys that they are very welcome, and have lovely manners Have I mentioned I'm kind of psychotic about kids using manners? And that I've only just figured out how to use HTML in my comments?.

Ours (my sister and I had one each) got myxomatosis, which is carried by mozzies. When we first moved here 17 years ago, there were heaps of mozzies. Anyway, the vet next door had to put our bunnies down, and my sister got all resentful because my bunny lasted 12 days longer than hers did. Being all of 6 at the time, I had no idea what I was supposed to do about that.

[contessanatasha.livejournal.com]

And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for, anyways? Them and those pigeons are taking over the world.

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

They need good eyesight so that they can shank the world leaders and change political policy.

Pigeions are all kinds of gross.

[contessanatasha.livejournal.com]

Oh, pigeons are terrifying. They are flying rats, with beady little red eyes, who walk on the sidewalk, and cross at the crosswalk and attack you while you are standing innocently on the steps of the opera house. Terrifying, I tell you!

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

They're on the same level as squirrels, as far as I'm concerned.

Vermin.

[dieloreley.livejournal.com]

Mergatroid! I wish I was that inventive as a child. Actually, I think I might have been. I vaguely remember my sister and I coming up with a whole bunch of imaginary people and inventing lives for them. And talking in gibberish just because we could.

At least Merga.. Harvey is wild and you don't have to change his litter box/cage lining. They're good to admire from afar but not to look after. Our cousins had rabbits... which bred and then killed each other. Or something like that. Or maybe she wasn't really pregnant and the vet said she was. In any case, it was a huge disappointment and I no longer have any interest in bunnies.

Are the boys going to sneak food to it when Daddy's not looking? I would do that. Sooooo would. :P

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

I caught them sneaking miniature carrots out of the crisper YESTERDAY. They're softhearted. Worried for the little (actually he's quite fat) fella's nutrition.

I told them the grass, geraniums and lilies would have to do.

[kristibisci.livejournal.com]

My cousin used to have a bunny named Harvey. It seems to be a popular bunny name, although Mergatroid has to be the most...er... creative. Don't let hubby near him! We never really had bunnies in our yard but my grandpa did and he'd get so mad at them for eating his flowers. I would get so mad at him when he even thought about "doing something about them." >:( I was raised reading Peter Cottontail and Flopsy Bunny etc. Even if I had no yard left, I still wouldn't mind a whole warren of them. But that's idealistic little ole me speaking.

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

I'll try to hold him off...

Your theatre-nerd is showing.

[(Anonymous)]

Harvey? You named the cute little bunny Harvey?

As in the big scary imaginary bunny the crazy guy sees in 'Harvey'?

I laughed when I read that...until I realized that I'd missed the part about E & A naming him Megatroid. Then I laughed REALLY hard.

How's theatre camp going for them, btw? Carlee loves them.

Re: Being a theatre nerd is an occuaptional hazzard

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

Mergatroid. They said yesterday was awesome (And SO much fun) and so far are the most excited about wearing paint clothes.

And they mentioned something about some songs: one about a spider and one about a cricket up someone's sleeve? And Ethan wants to make a sword. Out of paper. So that he can be the prince in Cinderella? It got fuzzy at that part. They're having much fun.

Re: Being a theatre nerd is an occuaptional hazzard

[(Anonymous)]

Forgive for interrupting, but I think Lilly is responsible for the Cinderella prince thing. Lil's big on Cinderella right now, and she made Big E and Big A play "Cinderella" with her at the family reunion. Don't worry. The boys dutifully turned it into a swordfight. — sil

Use context clues!

[(Anonymous)]

(That was Cydney, btw. I never can remember my password on here. >.<)

(And, if there's any question, this is Cydney also.)

[exquisitelam.livejournal.com]

Aww. I like bunnies! Lets hope your hubby doesnt get his hands on Harvey!

PS. Squirrels are vicious.

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

Squirrels are a blight on polite society. *nods*

[(Anonymous)]

Honey, come live here, and you'll know about bunnies. Yesterday, I saw three — yes, three — of them right outside our back door chomping on our grass. When we moved in a year ago, they were cute accompaniments to the new suburban 'hood. Lilly even named "it" Somersault, and we told bedtime stories about Somersault who befriended all the neighborhood children. A year, and many bare spots and chewed bush limbs, later, we wake up in the morning and yell at them through the kitchen window. I've even got Wyatt to say, "Wabbit! No! Eat! Gass!!" They are everywhere! THEY MUST DIE!!!!

Whew. OK. Have a nice day. — xxx000 SIL

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

This just confirms Em's theory. They're in Ft. Collins and she said she hadn't seen any of the little buggers...

We could give Wyatt, Ethan & Aaron the challenge to catch them all. If they didn't, it'd be okay, and at the very least they'd be worn out.

I feel so mean talking this way about cute, fluffy bunnies.

Yeah. I am who I am.

[mugglechump.livejournal.com]

A woman I used to work with maintained that squirrels are just rats who figured out that if they grew a bushy tail people would think they're cute.

Of course, I also used to house-sit for a retired lesbian couple who were 'wildlife rehabilitators'. This really meant that they took in cute animals which would have been killed via natural selection if allowed to remain in the wild. They had a blind deer for awhile, two or three regular grey squirrels with jaw problems, and a flying squirrel which was supposedly blind (I was never sure about him). They also had four dogs, four or five cats, and they left feed out for the local foxes and deer. They paid me $20-$25/day to stay in their king size bed, watch their big screen TV, and swim in their pool - oh, and feed the animals. That was a great job.

[persephone33.livejournal.com]

Blind squirrels and squirrels with 'jaw problems'?

You never believe what a squirrel tells you. It's a rookie mistake, and you hate to see it.

That does sound like the best job ever!