Big buds and bunny poop

I went out in the backyard for the first time in months today. It was bright, sunny and deliciously warm out, and so it seemed like an excellent day to rake the thatch out of the grass - a task I always think I'm going to approach with great enthusiasm until I actually get started.

I lasted all of three minutes, I think, when I decided it was far too wet.

But it really was. Honest. It rained most of the day yesterday and the grass was still squishy in some spots. Far, far too wet for raking.

So I pulled weeds out of the vegetable garden beds in preparation for planting in a few weeks while My Beloved blocked up all the holes where we think the bunnies are getting into the yard.

I also checked on Thomas' tree, and I'm happy to report that it's packed with hundreds of big, fat leaf buds. It survived its first winter and looks as healthy as ever, due, I suspect, in large part in part to the bunnies who have been fertilizing every inch of the yard all through the winter.

I'd like to think our tender loving care is the reason for the tree's robustness, but I really am more apt to think it's the way the nursery staff planted the tree combined with the rather prolific nature of the neighbourhood rabbits' gastrointestinal tracts.

There's a whole lot of bunny poop in the backyard, mostly around the tree.

As much as I dislike the idea of rabbit crap all over the yard, there's something very sweet about the notion that the bunnies have been keeping the tree company during the winter - that they've taken a shine to it and obviously spend a fair bit of time resting by the base of its trunk.

I almost don't want to block them from visiting the tree during the summer, but unfortunately bunnies and vegetable gardens just don't mix (hey, I saw "The Curse of the Wererabbit"). And besides, I'd like to be able to walk in my yard without worrying about where I'm stepping.

Hopefully they'll happily come back to keep Thomas' tree company when the snow flies again. And hopefully by the time next year's buds are starting to burst to life, we'll have a new little bunny of our own.

One can dream.