When the kids were younger, we read them the Beatrix Potter stories. They were all pretty good, but our favorite was Peter Rabbit. It had suspense and danger in it. You'll remember it, I'm sure. It started off like this...
“Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.”
What a bunch of mischievous bunnies, right? We all thought they were so cute (and Mr. McGregor so mean!) The rabbits were given instructions that were very clear. The limitations to their journeys even contained a horrific explanation of just what had made Peter Rabbit's mother a widow...
“You may go into the fields or down the lane, but don’t go into Mr. McGregor’s garden. Your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.”
I always thought that was a little too much detail to tell young bunnies. Maybe she should have told them that Papa Rabbit was away on a business trip. The other thing I always wondered about was: Rabbit Pie? Mr. McGregor did not live in south Louisiana. No rabbit pies. Papa Rabbit would have been cooked in a dark brown gravy or smothered down in a fricassee.
Well, in our garden, a rabbit or two has been helping himself to our produce. We thought it might be worms doing the damage, but then I spotted the rabbit poop. In addition to devouring our entire green bean crop, he's nibbling on the lettuce, beets, and swiss chard. That row of beets at one time was full from end to end.
I've gone out at night with a spotlight and a rifle. No luck. In the book, Peter was chased by Mr. McGregor!
“He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages, and the other shoe amongst the potatoes.”
If I were to catch the rabbit, he would lose more than his shoes. Surprisingly, the row of carrots have remained unscathed.
We've never had rabbit issues before. Since I've failed in shooting the rabbit, I have a three pronged attack plan, and I've implemented 2 of the 3 action steps.
First, I went out past the perimeter fence between our property and the woods with an ax, a machete, and a swing blade. I cleared a 12 foot opening. It looks like a manicured lawn. My thinking is that a hawk or an owl will more easily spot "le lapin" and swoop down and devour him before he comes to dine in our garden.
Secondly, I set a trap. I have it baited with carrots and celery. So far, no rabbit in the trap, but no additional evidence of him eating.
If I'm unsuccessful in stopping Peter Rabbit and friends, the third prong in my plan requires spending a little money. I'll purchase some chicken wire and run it around the entire perimeter of the garden. I really don't want to have to do that. It costs money, requires a lot of work to install, and it can be easily damaged by the goats when they stand up on the garden fence to try to crane their necks over and eat what's growing in the garden.
Hopefully, like the skunk and possum blog post, this story will have a happy ending (for us - not the rabbit.)
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