The Hop

I have always liked rabbits. I don't know why...partly because of the way they move....their hop hop hop is very cute. I also like the way they look, those long ears and fluffy white tail and that cute little wiggly nose? And, of course, there is the way they feel... so soft. Maybe I'm attracted to them because I can relate to the fact that they are such a quiet animal.

One time on when I was young we were driving home from an event at one of the local colleges on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. We passed a sign that said, "Bunnies for Sale". As usual I asked my dad if I could have a bunny (not that I always asked for bunnies...I always asked for any cute animal I saw and had even been known to ask my dad to catch chipmunks for me). To the surprise of everyone in the car he said Yes! Maybe he was feeling guilty for all the chipmunks he didn't catch. Bun-Bun, as I named the white rabbit I picked out, lived in a cage my dad built in the backyard.

Yesterday when I went out the door to go for a walk in the neighborhood there was the usual scuttle as birds, lizards and several rabbits scampered for cover. One rabbit, however, sat still in the open and allowed me, with the help of the zoom on the camera, to capture his picture. Because of the zoom and the light shining through the brush there were some interesting lighting effects on the shots. When I finally moved from my photo shooting spot to start my walk I was surprised to see about 6 more rabbits scurry from their frozen positions where they had been hiding all the while I was taking pictures. It has been quite surprising to me the large rabbit population in the desert. Of course all those rabbits on our property also mean the coyote also like to visit looking for late night bunny snacks.




As I walked through the neighborhood making my way toward the nearby mountain there were rabbits crossing the road in front of me quite regularly (as well as the evidence of one that didn't cross the road fast enough. I didn't photography him although he would have been easier to capture on film than the other rabbits I saw.)


One of the art forms that is very common in this area are metal cut-outs welded onto fences or mounted on the garage. Most common seem to be the quail and saguaro cactus and maybe the coyote so I was surprise to find the image of the rabbit mounted on someones mailbox.

Have a hoppy day!