Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits.....and things

I have just been gazing out of the kitchen window...the sun is shining and it is chilly. It is obviously Springtime because, where there was - a few days ago - only one baby rabbit feeding on the lawn in the kitchen garden, there were three.....Many people view rabbits as cute little 'bunnies' and at one time, I did so too but that was before I saw so much of them and realised they eat everything in sight - not just the weeds and grass. Now I view them much as I view pigeons: they are vermin and I am quite happy to see them shot. The babies pottering about this morning had an element of cuteness as most young animals do but they have this unerring habit of growing into adults.....In reality, adult rabbits aren't remotely attractive, in my view. They have become mythologised as pretty, fluffy creatures: they are not. Once, whilst cycling along a path locally we came upon a really tiny rabbit, which I only just missed flattening. We stopped, as nether of us had seen such a small one before and felt it should be moved off the path. It would have fitted on the palm of my (quite small) hand but when we went to pick it up it was capable of defending itself out of all proportion to its size. Forced to grab it quickly by the scruff of the neck to avoid being bitten, we set it down in the grass away from the track. Quite a salutary and enlightening experience.....

The creatures we have hereabout that are both beautiful and exciting to watch are Hares. We don't see them nearly so often as the rabbits, sadly but when they are around, they are worth stopping to watch. Unfortunately, I have never been able to capture one in a photo; they move very fast when startled and rapidly disappear. I've never seen one in our garden, only out in the fields.

Having got together the 'hardware' for my hand-spinning this week, my next job is to get out all of my fleeces and see if I can find a way to fit them in my car. It would be wonderful to have them sorted and I know Fiona will do this quickly with me, thus saving me ages at home: she will also be able to tell me if any are only suitable for the compost heap, which will be another clear out job achieved. However, it does depend how many I can shoe-horn into my car. All, thankfully, are wrapped in sheets and zipped inside smell-proof (I hope) bags. 

I see, now I've had a look at my last entry that the birds have been uploaded twice.....not sure how that  happened but I am still in learning mode, I suppose. I shall have to stop using smiley faces too, as they look a lot less meaningful when rendered as blank mini squares :/

Out on a walk earlier, in the sunshine but Arctic winds........

Cowslips - one of my favourite wild flowers.....

Hawthorn looks very pretty when it is in bed and flower.

Also, one of the most anticipated fruits of the year has just become available from the garden:

...beautiful, first Rhubarb!