Reason to Live, Reason to Love

I was so excited to have relatives visit; they rarely do. My parents are too old to travel, my aunts and uncles all passed, and I never knew my cousins, most of them much older. I have two sisters too classy to come here, one with Danish Modern furniture, the other an Easterner now. To be fair, Sister Danish Modern and her husband visited once, 14 years ago, and I taught her to shoot an airgun, there's a photo (on paper; this was before smartphones); but she must have been appalled by the bathroom, as anyone would have been up until its renovation in 2011. I visit them but they don't come here.

So my third sister, her husband, and my niece from Wisconsin visit once a year and I weep with happiness when they arrive and weep when they leave, believing they are the only people my age left who both know where I came from and care to stay in touch. And they like it here. It was Easter weekend. We dyed eggs and they brought me an Easter basket with a peanut-butter egg in it, and a plush rabbit. Weep again. Weep over Velveteen Rabbit and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, also starring a rabbit. We went to marvel over and fondle baby chicks at the farm store, and to see an 18th-century homestead, and hunted fossils, and explored the woods. They thought 50-degree weather was amazing.

Some Easter weekends fall too early for the redbuds to be out. Wild redbud trees in spring are a major reason to love Missouri (they don't grow in Wisconsin). I am so thrilled to share them with non-Missourians. They were nominated as the USA's national tree; they lost to the oak. They were nominated as Missouri's state tree. They lost to the Flowering Dogwood. Redbuds, I think, are glory incarnate. They bring me closer to God, the other who knows where I came from and cares to stay in touch.

The Bunny Population Explodes

Have you noticed more bunnies in the area this year? For many summers the population on this land has been scanty and I blamed coyotes, feral cats, loose dogs, and drought, but this year they're hopping around the yard and meadow, drinking dew and thoughtfully chewing grass and having bunny children (see photo) who, when very small, frantically run in hilarious circles when a human appears. Right now there's an adult bunny outside in the yard in front of me, ears up, alert. Now's she's dining. I love them.

I have heard several reports of "bunny population explosion" this calendar year, here and in the city where one winter evening I and a friend watched from her window as two bunnies played leapfrog in the snow. They actually did! For half an hour! It looked like bunny fun. I haven't yet heard of or found an explanation for the increase, but it might well be this summer's optimal weather conditions: fairly mild and plenty of rain.

Perfect Polish Pottery

In Poland on an agritour in 2012 I admired whole shops full of traditional Polish pottery, now becoming fashionable in the U.S. and retailed by places like Williams-Sonoma because it's durable, poison-free, microwavable and oven-safe, each piece hand-painted with imaginative, folky, usually abstract designs (often in cobalt blue, and yellow and green) and, for ceramics, Polish pottery is cheap. I wanted it all, but since then I've been seeking a single ideal piece to remind me of the warmth of Poland, where I was very happy, and my Polish roots. Had to be useful, authentic and adorable. Then one day this came up on eBay. A ten-ounce cup circled with folk-style rabbits. Divine.

Polish pottery is called "Boleslawiec" pottery; Boleslawiec is Poland's "ceramics city," famed for natural clay used for ceramics production since the 14th century, and much farther back according to archaeological digs. Thriving factories, destroyed during World War II, were rebuilt and individual artists have their own studios; they are allowed to sign the pieces if they make them from from start to finish. Today's typical Boleslawiec piece, with a cream ground and patterns painted in recognizable colors and styles, is a design created in the last half of the 19th century. "Boleslawiec" is in southwestern Poland (I was in southeastern Poland) and is named for Duke Boleslaw the Tall, son of Wyladyslaw the Exile.

Rabbits Return

Relieved and pleased to see wild rabbits again in my yard. For two years I wondered if coyotes and feral cats got them all, but I had been spoiled because the huge garden before then attracted them like iron filings. I won this one over after only two days of approaching him (or her) bit by bit for a photo. Bunny story: One day Demetrius was out mowing with our monstrously loud old lawnmower. A rabbit stood alert in the grass near the propane tank and we were amazed that no matter how close Demetrius got with his awful machine it would not scare.Later we figured that it had to be a mother with some young nearby. A mother won't move. Treasure any bunnies you see; they are universal symbols of pluck and luck. P.S. Happy June, my favorite month.

All Bunnies, All the Time

The bunny charm bracelet got started in 2005. I have since added to it. I like mostly realistic bunnies, so there are no Bugses or Playboy bunnies. Notice the coins picturing hares: one from Ireland, and a Canadian nickel lasered to silhouette just the hare. Some are customized charms by one artist, some are vintage, and others are of contemporary mass manufacture. Most are sterling and 3-dimensional. My favorite is the bunny holding out its heart. I always pick that one out and tell people, "This is me."

Rabbits, Rabbits, Rabbits

An old superstition says: On the first day of every month, the first thing you should say aloud is "Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits." This brings good luck. My rigorous testing has proved it absolutely true. This young bunny breakfasts and dines in my yard, and over the past month I have been trying to gain its trust, quietly inching closer to get better photos of it. Please, politely disregard the quite obvious fact that I have neglected to mow my yard.

Letter in the Snow

Before holing up for a winter night I take the bird feeder and suet cage onto the porch, or else I'll be woken up later hearing fuss and turn up the floodlamp on an obese raccoon hanging upside down from the wire grabbin' at the suet cage, or waddling off with it...

And the porch door's warped, so after I shut it from the inside I have to go outside and kick it firmly closed (can you say Green Acres?) and I happened to look down...

(Heard a joke today. What's the difference between an introverted engineer and an extroverted engineer? The introverted engineer looks down at his feet. The extroverted engineer looks down at your feet...)

. . . and saw bunny tracks, and my heart was filled with delight. I love their "Y"-shaped track. Bunnies used to own this place but numbers have been down in recent years. So happy to see evidence of my otherwise invisible, secretive little friends. P.S. Rabbits are not rodents. They are members of the deer family.

I Wanted a Rabbit

Wanted a pet. Something all mine, beautiful and friendly and warm, to lavish affection on, and receive affection in kind. A true and loyal friend who would enjoy my company, who would appreciate little gifts I would buy for it, and treats, and cuddling, and be glad to see me. It would give me something to live for besides myself, and be a reason to get up in the morning when days were rough, and share my happiest and saddest times. We’d appreciate each other as God's special creations and be each other’s best friends. We would have a bond.

Wanted a pet to love and to love me back. Wanted a rabbit in particular. I thought long and hard about it and then realized what I really wanted was to love a human being.

I'm Comin' Out: Animals

Sighted this past week in the yard for the first time this season:

• 5-foot blacksnake (familiar; spends winter under the kitchen floor)
• Bunnies. I met one this morning that ran TOWARD me. I stopped and asked if it had a message for me. It didn't. I then asked for a bunny blessing, because, as you know, rabbits are divine.
  
• Miss Turkey, about to come into the yard for some fallen birdseed. I accidentally made a noise and scared her away.
  
• Turtles. Crossin' the road as usual. The young turtles are looking to set up their own territories.
• Fireflies. I would love to be able to make a video that would show you how my whole yard looks at night: like a universe of stars.
  

Signs of Spring This Week

1. Goldfinches molting, turning from olive and gray to bright Easter yellow.
2. Today (Feb. 6), the year's first cardinal whistling/mating song.
3. Today the blue jay calling in the treetops -- sounds like dice rattling in a cup. I bet he was looking for a mate as well.
4. Bunnies suddenly appearing from their magical nowhere.
5. Buds on trees, but especially on the dogwoods.

Why Rabbits are Divine

1. They appear and vanish as if by magic.

2. They are everywhere and nowhere.

3. Their homes are unknown and unseen.

4. Their nation abides by a vow of silence.

5. They do no deliberate wrong.

6. They are watchful and wise.

7. In every culture they symbolize virtues and good fortune: fertility, wealth, luck, gentleness, rebirth, athleticism, generosity, cleverness.

8. Their softness and beauty disarms even the hardest heart, and warms the coldest, and rejuvenates the oldest.

9. They inspire delight and thus confer blessings on wherever they appear.

10. A rabbit’s presence makes us kind toward one another.

We make images of rabbits and give them to our children without knowing why. We create and tell countless stories about wonderful rabbits. I believe that these are acts of worship, because deep down we know that rabbits -- bunnies, coneys, bunbuns -- are divine.