Cottontail Cuteness

Just so you don't think this blog is ALL about our family all the time, here is one of the little treasures we found in our garden when we arrived home. Sadly we only discovered them because Maverick made a snack out of one of them. Happily, the remaining seven are still growing and doing well.

 Don't worry he/she is all there! Both ears are accounted for. The little gaffer was just enjoying the warmth of my hand.

When I went to take these photos, I didn't realize how much bigger and mobile they had become. I reached my hand into the nest to touch one and they exploded out of the nest! Seven tiny brown furballs hopping every which way, but thankfully not towards Mavy who was snoozing on his lead line under the maple tree. I scooped up this little one and took a couple of photos.

The still warm and cozy, but currently empty nest.

Did you know that Mama cottontails only feed their babies twice a day? They dig a little hole in the ground, line it with fur, and cover it with grasses. They will go back to the nest twice a day to feed their babies which takes about five minutes. When they are not feeding the babies, they are usually hiding very nearby. They will not harm their babies and will continue to feed them even if the nest has been disturbed by pets or humans. Although, in saying that I'm not condoning that we all go digging through cottontail nests. We have left our bunny's nest undisturbed except to show all the children and to take the photos today. She's a very good Mama!

Edited to note: the Engineer had a peek after supper. There's some little furry bodies in there again. Hopefully they all made it back to the nest!

I hope you all found some time today to enjoy the wild and wonderful creatures in the world around us!