Hip-Hop Hangout

Most days in my neighborhood, I feel like I've stepped inside a storybook. I am surrounded by beautiful trees, sunshine, blue skies and a variety of woodland creatures including wild turkeys, squirrels, blue jays, northern flickers and my favorite visitors of all, rabbits.

When I first moved in, 4 rabbits were frequenting the neighborhood - 3 of which were domestic brown varieties, and one elusive white rabbit! While I'm not sure what happened to 2 of them, we are now down to 2 brown rabbits who both visit my house daily. They often arrive on the front patio in the morning while I'm having breakfast, and stay nestled under the shrubs for about an hour. Once the sun is fully up, they make their way through the neighborhood and return to my place around 7 PM, just as the sun is setting. It's not uncommon to find them standing guard near the front door of my house through the evening. My pizza delivery man thought one was a statue last night!

At first, I had no interest in feeding them as they typically forage on grass and dried leaves, but I had a few extra carrots in my fridge the other day, and could not resist their adorable little twitching noses. I'm not much of a pet person, but these little buddies are the perfect companions for a busy bachelor/entrepreneur. No clean-up, no vet bills, no petsitting. That said, I have been putting out a few carrot scraps every other day or so, and the pair continue show up like clockwork. They will come right up to me, close enough to pet. It's pretty remarkable, really.

Spring has arrived, and I just found out that these two have made a nest under my neighbor's deck with at least 5 little newborns inside! I have to say, I am pretty darn excited to have a few more of these cute creatures running around the neighborhood just in time for Easter. I have a sneaking suspicion that carrots will be a recurring item on my weekly grocery list going forward.