Wildlife Sanctuary

About a week ago, I posted this photo on Facebook.  Awww, cute little baby chipmunks nested in my garden bed.  How adorable!    I was weeding and pruning my tomato plants and when I brushed aside a couple of branches this is what I found.  I was a little surprised, to say the least!  The nest was actually dug down into the dirt and then all the straw and fuzzy stuff was tucked down in the hole, making it nice and cozy.  Until, it rained.  ...and rained, and rained really, really hard!  Surely baby chipmunks are not great swimmers, or so I thought as I tried to look at them from my bedroom window as it rained.  The next morning, I went out to the garden to check and see if the dear little chippies had drown or had the sense to more to higher ground.   I really didn't want dead baby chipmunk bodies rotting in my garden bed.  And then, eeew!  Someone would have to get them out of there...  The thought of it was oh, so sad and gross.  Well, thankfully, and I don't know if they swam away or what, but they were gone!  I was  relieved.

  Later that day, before dinner, I sent Ethan and Sophie out to the garden to pick lettuce for dinner that night.     As Ethan began cutting leaves of lettuce he moved a leaf over and began cutting, and was shocked to have within the shear of the scissors...a bunny ear!  What?  Bunnies?  Yep.  There amidst the 8 heads of leaf lettuce sat little baby bunnies! 

They weren't eating the lettuce or anything, they were just there taking refuge, I guess.  Wow!  Who knew we had such a grand wildlife refuge?!  I just thought I was growing vegetables!   Well, Ethan cut lettuce around them and they seemed content.  For a few days, they just snuggled up underneath the Buttercrunch Lettuce, not really bothered by me or the children coming around.  Over the next couple of days, the bunnies would venture out a bit, but still seemed content to just hang around underneath the plants. 

And then, they were gone.  I guess they grew up enough to move away to live like a grown up bunny.  Now, perhaps, it has moved on and will not return to wreck havoc on  the vegetables that so faithfully sheltered it during its youth.  

We can only hope that it has forgotten where my garden is located.  If not, then perhaps I shall give Ethan a hunting project.  :)