Southern Agrarianism and the culture of the Old South

Bunnies in the garden

Most folks see rabbits as the enemy in the garden. Fortunately, that’s not a problem with a raised bed garden such as mine. Even the strongest rabbit couldn’t jump high enough to get to the plants in my garden. For that reason, I enjoy having them around. I have even built up a few places where they can nest unmolested by our dog. Like chicken snakes eating an egg now and then, they are part of the entertainment value of living out here.

This little guy was out in the open (where he shouldn’t be) this morning as I was taking pictures of my water tower project. We have several patches of aloe plants, and rabbits like to burrow under them for their nests. Aloe, by the way, is great to have around for minor burns and other skin injuries; they are a favorite of hummingbirds, further adding to the entertainment value.

3 Comments

  1. Annette Peterson

    I’m glad you didn’t use your pellet gun on the bunny.

    My interest in your site was mounting with each article until I read “Netting to Protect the Garden”. It pains me that you think , “… a pellet rifle with a good scope does a fine job of thinning the population of “fuzzy tail tree rats”,. . . and, ” It may be more satisfying to see the little thieves fall from a tree, but it doesn’t even put a dent in the population.”

    God put that squirrel on this earth for a reason and I don’t think it was for you to thin its population so your 4 strawberry plants can produce fruit for you and you alone. Rather than enjoying the entertainment value of watching “the little thieves fall from a tree” , do you think it might be kinder to offer the squirrels an alternative treat like a bit of peanut butter or dried corn on the cob place away from the berries? Home Depot and Lowe’s both sell corn cob holders for that purpose. As a plus for being nice to Nature’s critters you’ll find that the corn kernels plant themselves under the holder. Yup, even in this nasty Florida sand.

    Cedar stakes, cheap and available at Tractor Supply, cut up easily to make little frames on which to staple window screening material to cover your berries.

    • Stephen Clay McGehee

      I take no pleasure in having to take the life of any living creature, but I have no hesitation in doing so when needed. Squirrels are just fine with me as long as they eat what grows naturally – I enjoy watching them play in the trees. When they destroy what I am growing for my family, then they will be killed. I keep rat bait in the chicken coop for the same reason. The rats eat, spoil, and pollute the chicken feed and they spread disease, so I do whatever I can to kill them. Termites would destroy my home if it were not for the termite treatment that kills them before they can do damage. Taking it a bit further, antibiotics destroy the germs that make us ill. Taking things further on the other end of the scale, the human parasites that prey on the innocent are quite legitimately executed by the state, and should one of them attack me or my family, then I would not hesitate to put a bullet in their head to prevent them from doing serious harm to an innocent person.

      Again, I take no pleasure in taking a life – any life; however, there are times when it is both proper and necessary.

  2. Brandon

    Excellent response to the misplaced sympathies of the female…

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