Politics and rabbits

By Patsy Cincotta - Staff writer

May 07, 2008 05:33 pm

— For the first time in my adult life I am sick of politics. Usually during a presidential election, I am glued to any channel that shows the political scene; stuck on sites where you can get into rip-snorting arguments and discussions about the candidates; I even make phone calls for my choice.
It seems like this primary season has been going on for five years. We hear the same old speeches, the same old issues and then promises of change/no change, depending on who you listen to.
I’ve been watching reruns of Law and Order and I think I’ve seen the series of The Godfather 435 times. It has even become necessary to watch reruns of MASH and Matlock at times. Anything to get away from the news channels and the talking heads.
How much more can we stand of this back-and-forth drivel? The candidates and their handlers stay up nights figuring out how to cut each other down the next day. They no longer talk about issues or answers to some pretty big problems our country is facing. They just talk about each other.
And the talking heads give us hours of lessons in numbers. She can’t do this and he can’t do that because X doesn’t equal Z. Still the parade goes on. This state and that state and superdelegates and pledged delegates, popular vote and electoral college. They should have waited to start all this stuff last month. Then the voters’ enthusiasm wouldn’t be waning - and I don’t think I am alone in this. It’s just too much politickin’!

In a more mundane vein, but more exciting to me, I have a family of wild rabbits who visit my garden daily. There have been a pair for at least two years and they come just before sundown and leap, bounce and play all over the yard. Chasing each other, jumping over each other; it has been a great rabbit show.
But the other night it got better. One of the rabbits appeared in the garden with eight (count ‘em) tiny baby rabbits and she nursed them right there in the garden. I had never seen a rabbit nursing young before and actually never thought much about what baby rabbits eat. But they are mammals, after all, and I guess even bats do it.
When she left, she forgot one! It was hiding beside a big flower pot and immediately, of course, I thought it was my responsibility to get that baby back to its mother. Everything I had read about leaving wild animals alone went right out of my head and out that back door I went, determined to save its life.
It was completely still and didn’t move even a whisker when I scooped it up and held it close. I searched all over the yard for its parents but didn’t see a rabbit anywhere. I even went to my next door neighbor’s to see if she knew where the rabbits lived.
Now, imagine yourself sitting at home enjoying the evening and having a wild-eyed neighbor come to your door - asking you if you know where rabbits live. I think she was startled, to say the least. Her sound advice was to put it back and the mother would retrieve it.
I went back to the garden and deposited the terrified bunny back by its flower pot. I watched out my window until dark and the mother never came back.
The next night when I returned from work, the baby was still there. I became hysterical, thinking he was probably going to die of starvation. I called my neighbor on the phone and asked what she thinks baby rabbits could eat. She didn’t answer for a minute - she was probably thinking, “Oh, no. Not the rabbit lady again.” She said rabbits like lettuce and maybe carrots. I said, “I think I’ll give it some oats!”
Off I went with some dry oats out of the box and put them down by the baby. When I went back in the house and looked out, he was eating the oats! That made me stop and think a minute. A tiny baby rabbit that is still nursing and it is eating oats? Not likely.
About that time, three of his siblings came dashing up. The four went frolicking in the garden and then I noticed a couple of them were nibbling at dandelions. Wait a minute! She must be weaning them. Up came the parents and other four babies and they all frolicked together, obviously playing and enjoying it.
The family was back together again and my interference had done no harm. I couldn’t even pick out the one that had been lost. All eight look just alike.
How magical to have a big family of rabbits right outside your window, their antics entertaining my housebound cats and me - much more than a report on politics would.
I read up on rabbits on the Web and when they come out just before nightfall to frolic, it’s the most dangerous time in their lives. They lose all sense of danger from predators and expose themselves with no protective cover, all in order to celebrate life. And it’s a time when a lot of rabbits lose the game of life.
They don’t care and their dance goes on. When they hear the music and their hearts start racing, they must get out there in the yard.
“Look at me, I can jump higher. I can spin around. You can’t do this! Look what I can do,” they seem to say.
Hmmm. I’m not going to dwell on that part. Kind of reminds me of a primary race.