We had another late night neighborly visit. After Tuesday night’s storm we awoke to find strange prints in front of the house. However, from inside the house it was difficult to see where they came from or what direction they were headed. Would you believe Mom accused me of hiding a friend upstairs in the house who parachuted down to safety when they weren’t looking? How silly! I’d never ask a friend to parachute from the porch roof. I’d sneak them out the front door, when Mom and Dad were sleeping. However, that wasn’t the case here. So here is my friend Mr. Whiskers to reenact what we found upon further investigation.
Based on the size and the distance between the tracks it was one of the neighborhood snowshoe hares, who came to visit, as oppose to the smaller cottontail rabbits who also call our woods home. Mr. Hare came from the wood line.
Keeping the house close to one side as cover, he boldly crossed in front of our garage. Yes, the same spot where Mr. Skunk had his stinky encounter with Dad.
Mr. Hare then stopped in front of our stairs, which were the tracks we saw from inside the house. Here we could tell he debated where to go next.
He first went up a very steep snowbank close to the house, but based on the prints it proved too deep and too conspicuously high for predators. Therefore, instead he bounded down the snowbank to a path Dad had made, keeping close to one side for protection.
Down the path he went, until he found a low spot where he could hop onto the front yard. There his visit took a dangerous turn, because Mr. Hare didn’t have the protection of the house or underbrush to shield him from predators on the ground or in the air. He bravely bounded across the lawn, stretching with each leap as far as he could, with only the falling snow as cover, to return to the safety of the woods on the opposite side of the yard.
Now this brings up the age old question of why did the snowshoe hare cross the yard? Ok, I admit this question usually only applies to chickens crossing roads. So I pondered the connection between chickens and hares, which is eggs, which is colorful eggs, which is EASTER! This is why I believe Mr. Hare went on this hair-raising adventure as part of a reconnaissance mission to prepare for the Easter Bunny’s visit next month! Angel Chuck Billy was always annoyed that the Easter Bunny would sneak into our home to hide our kibble. It makes sense he would practice his route before the big night! Dad said something about Mr. Hare only had “one thing on his mind.” I agree, Easter! But I don’t get Dad’s other comment about “multiplying like rabbits.” I don’t see any signs of math being involved. Unless he was calculating the amount of treats to deliver to each home.
