Another Rabbit
We thought all the young rabbits had left our yard after Kentucky killed two of them. Today he found another one under our wood pile. Very sad. They are such beautiful, gentle animals. Only one-fourth of the babies are still living, as far as we know. There's a reason that rabbits are so fertile.
The Day After
Yesterday was one of those positive but chock-full days. A lot of it revolved around Adam, and what a joy to have positive experiences for him.
He turned 19, on his last day of high school and the same day as senior prom. Graduation is this Sunday, and he starts his first full-time job on Monday. He'll be working at Concordia in River Forest, where he has enrolled as a freshman next fall.
The other big event yesterday was the Ascension worship service at Trinity, which is completely done by the music ensembles at the church. Even the homily was musical--a wonderful hymn by Richard Hillert (Jonathan's predecessor at Concordia) titled "O Kingly Love." The service felt worshipful to me, and I'm relieved that it went well. This particular event is a creative endeavor, but it also requires a lot of footwork. And I don't just mean the organ pedals!
Kentucky
Dachsunds have skills that we cannot even imagine. Their keen sense of smell can detect an animal in a burrow six FEET below the surface. And those short legs may look funny to some, but they are perfect when you're widening a passage underground to reach a badger. Most importantly, the dachsund's courageous spirit gives them the fortitude to go after that vicious badger!
Someone recently responded to my posts about the rabbits in our yard. I love the following quote:
I've very much enjoyed hearing about the baby rabbits that you have been helping! It must have been quite a job to protect the tiny babies not only from "ordinary" predators, but also from Kentucky the Great Hunter!
Another Photo
Predator
Kentucky made it into the backyard yesterday and killed one of the baby rabbits. Jonathan told me that the bunny looked half-way grown, so I'm afraid it was the largest of the babies. The two biggest of them were the rabbits we saw the most because they were at the top of the nest. FYI, Tom who I pictured yesterday is the second largest of the litter.
From a Few Days Ago
Paul took a special liking to this particular bunny. His name is Tom.
We learned on the internet that a rabbit's maternal instincts are very strong, and handling the babies does not keep the mother from continuing to care for them.
Empty Nest
Yesterday was THE big day. The two largest of the baby bunnies left in the early morning. I protected the remaining small rabbits during the day, but David noticed that they were not staying in the nest but instead sitting under the milk crate as a group. By the time I arrived at 10:00 pm last night to uncover the nest, all of the babies had left. The nest was completely empty.
We're hoping to see a few of them in our yard over the next few days, and we're being very careful with our dachsund. It's been very interesting and gratifying to watch these beautiful creatures mature and learn more about how they live.
Developments
I looked out my window yesterday and saw Mama Rabbit nursing her babies in broad daylight. The milk crate still covered the nest, but the little ones took turns emerging from under the basket, slipping through the "handle" holes, and nursing. The whole scene took place less than 15 feet from my window, and was fascinating to watch.
Due to the neighbor's cat, I shooed Mama away when I couldn't watch her anymore, and two of the largest babies ran off with her! After supper, Peter and I found them in the yard and secured them in safety under the milk crate, blocking the holes. That gave me time to think what to do next.
At 11 pm, I uncovered the nest for the night, as I've done now for ten days. The babies were sleeping peacefully, with the two large ones not fitting into the nest anymore. Their entire heads stuck out from the ground. I covered them with a little dry grass and let them be.
This morning, the two had flown the coop. The other six babies are much smaller, so I continued my daily routine. And . . . we are no longer letting Kentucky in the yard without a leash.
Nature Takes Its Course
Paul checked on the two rabbit nests today. The one with eight babies is doing fine--all of them look healthy and are moving. But in the other nest, he found all four of them dead.
My internet research told me that any one of three factors was hard on the these babies. They were removed from their nest, which is stressful. They received lacerations, which are difficult to heal. And we've had cold weather, almost 20 degrees below normal. Any one of these conditions could have killed them, and all three together did them in.
Four More
Yesterday, Kentucky found a second rabbit nest in our back yard. These babies did not fare as well, though, as the other batch. Within minutes, he had pulled each one out of the nest onto the grass, and scattered the nesting material (mother's fur mixed with grass) all over the yard. Jonathan heard one of the babies crying and looked over to see it in the dog's mouth. "Kentucky!" he yelled, and our dachsund spit it out. He seemed to be just carrying the baby rather than killing it.
David and I put on gloves and gently placed the babies back in the nest, which is a hole in the ground near our young cherry tree. The first one back in the nest looked unharmed, and as I placed it on the ground it crawled further into the hole. The next one had a few superficial lacerations from the dog's teeth, while the third one looked unharmed but was not moving at all. I placed the fourth one, also with shallow bleeding cuts, on top of the third baby, hoping that it would keep the dying one warm. We recovered as much of the nesting material as possible, and stacked it on top of the hole. We covered the whole nest with a plastic milk crate and weighed it down with a heavy stone. Kentucky and other predators won't get to the nest during the daytime, at least.
This morning, there was additional fur on the nest, and it was a different color. Yea! The mother came back to nurse them. I've been perusing the internet for information on baby rabbits, since we now have twelve (!) of them in our yard. The mother rabbit only nurses for about 5 minutes every 24 hours, which is possible because her milk is so rich. She'll lick the babies to stimulate them to urinate and defecate, and will then eat all the waste to keep the nest clean and odor-free. The mom then leaves to spend the day elsewhere to avoid attracting predators to the nest. So . . . we uncover the two nests at dusk, and return the protection in the morning.
I wondered what would happen if the third baby is actually dead. According to several websites, the mother rabbit will eat the body, because otherwise the odor will give away the location of the nest.
So . . . I've decided not to check on them, as tempting as it is. They are SO cute. But the less I disturb them, the better chance of survival they will have.
Crying Uncle
"I don't have time for this!"
Those stretches and exercises from physical therapy, which would probably restore my left foot to normal, just don't fit into my busy schedule.
But my left foot didn't lift high enough coming down the stairs.
Now I'm in an air cast and walking with a cane.
"I don't have time not to do this [physical therapy]!"
Jonathan's Parents
My sister-in-law just sent us an excellent photo of Jonathan's parents. It was taken on Easter a year ago. Leonard fought cancer for a few more months after this picture was taken, dying in August. Jonathan's parents were more in love than almost anyone I've ever met, and Lucille misses him greatly. Her faith keeps her going despite his absence.
Pink!
In late April, our magnolia tree bloomed as it does each year. I thoroughly enjoy its beauty, and so did the friend of a neighbor. She photographed it, and the image was accepted at the Chicagoist, an online newspaper. The link is:
http://chicagoist.com/2014/05/01/todays_weather_still_no_lamb_in_sig.php
By the way, the small tree to the right is the pear tree where our mama rabbit chose to make her nest. It's between the tree and its stake, where the grass is longer.
Mother's Day
On Saturday, our dachsund Kentucky killed a bird. Or so we thought. I looked across the yard at him, and he spit out the animal and nosed it. My heart sank. Paul raced over to him, exclaimed "It's a rabbit!" and pulled the dog away.
It wasn't just one rabbit, but three. Very young ones, about two inches long with eyes still closed, and covered with beautiful black fur. And they were alive and unharmed! I guess Kentucky didn't quite know what to do with a baby animal that didn't run away.
I telephoned the local wildlife center that we use when we find injured animals. They advised me to find the nest and put the babies back in it. After some searching, we discovered that Kentucky had pulled the babies out of the nest right where we found them. Looking down the hole in the ground, it became apparent that this was a large litter of rabbits--eight in all!
The wildlife center instructed me to cover the nest with an upturned laundry basket, covered by a heavy stone. At dusk, I uncover the nest so the mother rabbit can nurse them at night. So far, she is taking care of them--they look ok when we've checked them once or twice.
The babies are very cute. Here's a photo taken right before we discovered the nest and placed them back into it:
Last Saturday
A wonderful wedding took place last Saturday in the chapel at our church. I played piano for the ceremony, and Paul and Adam served as waiters for the reception.
Here's a photo of Adam watching the matron of honor catch the bouquet. The three other people in the photo, in addition to Adam, are the grown children of Trinity's youth director, who works extensively with our children. The bride in the wedding is the sister-in-law of the matron of honor.
Postscript: Walpurgis Eve
One more thing I learned about Walpurgis Eve (April 30). A traditional food for this holiday is nettle soup. Yes, stinging nettles, those plants with hollow "hairs" that inject histamine and other agents into your skin if you brush against them, causing pain and itching.
Seems that fresh nettle shoots, which are abundant in early spring in Sweden, make an excellent soup. After a long snowy winter, anything green must look good.
source: thelocal.se/20140430/ten-most-delicious-swedish-foods
Improvement
My father's agitation last Thursday was followed on Friday morning by a 101-degree fever and very high blood pressure. Because he is in hospice, the only treatment was Tylenol to bring down the fever. In addition, my mother has been ill with pneumonia, and on Friday morning we thought she was relapsing.
It's amazing what a difference 24 hours can make. By Saturday morning, my father's fever was gone, and he has been sleeping most of the time since then. At least that means he's not in pain. Mom visited her internist on Friday, who told her the pneumonia was improving, and prescribed another round of antibiotics for her.
My sister, brother, and I were very relieved that the medical issues last week with my parents have calmed down. Thank you to everyone who is praying for them.
Prayer Helps
My mother asked me to sing to my father, so he would calm down. I sang the first stanza of "Beautiful Savior," and then "Children of the Heavenly Father." He continued to yell out, very confused.
Then I prayed the Lord's Prayer, and the sounds on the other end of the phone line lessened. Mom told me that after the prayer, he fell asleep.
Prayers
My father is having a difficult day. Please pray for him to feel God's peace and calm. Thank you.
