Friday, June 13, 2014

Of Bunnies and Burrows

I am not what you would call an "outdoor girl." That's my polite shorthand when declining requests to join activities of an outdoorsy nature (I'm hating myself for that pun so you don't have to), when what I really want to do is scream "NO, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL, IT BURNS!". Having the complexion of Casper and being forced outside far more than I've liked in my life, I can in fact attest that sunlight does burn. So there.

Ew. 
photo credit: corrine klug via photopin cc

Alas, I have a child now, who enjoys forcing me from the pleasant dark hole of my comfort zone, so nature and I have had to build a tentative tolerance of each other. It generally doesn't end well for one of us. That one of us is generally me.

From Madagascar, and so very accurate.

Yesterday, The Boy and I were traipsing through the backyard in blatant defiance of centuries of natural evolution--like people didn't evolve to build houses and move indoors for a reason--and came across a spot in the newly mowed grass that seemed to be writhing. I wondered what new fresh hell nature had in store for me (locusts? woman-eating grass? la chupacabra?), but stepped closer anyway. Why not go out flailing and screaming in terror? is my motto. That's when I saw this:

So...not exactly terrifying.
photo credit: Gretchen Stull

Without knowing it, The Husband had accidentally mowed over a rabbit burrow. Thankfully, none of the babies were hurt (there appear to be 4 or 5); the only damage done was to the burrow covering. I awwwed a bit, then ushered The Boy back into the house, to leave the babies in peace for their mother to return and rebuild their covering. Despite my general disdain for the natural world, I worried about those bunnies. All. Night. Long. Seriously, I must be going soft in my more advanced years. Then I woke up this morning to the sound of rain.

Want to guess what happened next?

If you've guessed that the self-professed indoor girl was outside in the rain braiding leaves together to form a natural canopy to keep the water off the babies until their mother can properly rebuild their covering, you are correct. Yep, definitely going soft. 

Really though, look at those ears. It's possible nature isn't ALL evil...

photo credit: Gretchen Stull

[For anyone worried about the bunnies, I've done my research. Rabbits do not abandon their young even if the scent of human is present--I did not handle the bunnies, but I did handle the leaves to make the covering--and mother rabbits tend to visit their babies twice a day, so it's likely she'd returned and just not yet rebuilt the cover. I will be keeping an eye on them to make sure she returns to care for them, and if she doesn't I'll contact the proper rescue and rehabilitation services.]

Monday, June 2, 2014

Of Inspiration and Secret Projects

One week at RT is apparently all it takes to blow my blogging schedule straight to hell. But, I'm tentatively back on track (I say tentatively, because I've learned better than to anger the schedule gods by being cocky enough to think I'm in control of my own schedule), and back to blogging.

May was a busyBUSYbusyBUSY month and my own writing took a bit of a backseat to other projects and commitments. Now that it's June, I'm back to the grindstone. Today's writing project is a bit of a break from my WIP, so I'm dubbing it "The Secret Project" to make it sound as cool as I hope it turns out to be. I'm not going to say anything more about it now, but it was inspired--at least in part--by Josh Ritter's The Curse.



Josh Ritter is a master of ballads. He's a must-listen for anyone who enjoys stories.