Last twelvemonth my beautiful garden bottom of salad William Green was decimated in one dark by a mob of cony . All of the spinach , romaine , and arugula were chewed down to slight nub overnight . They did n’t tinct the Swiss Chard for some reason , so we deplete a bunch of that last summer . Got somewhat banal of Swiss Chard .
This year I was set to not let a rabbit onset come about again . In March , I built a lapin fencing from 3 - foot - high-pitched metal fence with 2 - column inch mesh , supported by metallic element T - stakes to support it . The rabbit fence was buried one foot below land and fold outwards beneath the priming coat so rabbit could n’t get the picture under it to gain access to my always delightful smorgasbord . Sylvilagusfloridanus wouldpillage no more .
Did the rabbit fence work?
A few daylight ago while checking mytomatoseedlings , I think I saw a lapin run past me . It happened so fast , in the blink of an eye , that it was one of thosedid that just happen?moments . In March , I had puzzle out my ass off putting that rabbit fencing in and felt confident that no rabbit would be able-bodied to breach it . as if by magic , the rabbit disappeared from the corner I tracked him to , instilling corking doubt in me . Had he dematerialized ?
I was confused . It was very early in the aurora , I was fresh out of bed , and I only witness the “ rabbit ” in my peripheral vision , so I was n’t exactly sure it had actually happened . But since my trustworthy dog Belle was all excited , jumping up and down and staring off into the distance at something , I figured it probably was true .
I checked every in of the rabbit fence that afternoon , and everything was intact . Just to be good , I re - cable some possible but unlikely unveiling point . I must have imagine it , I think . Maybe I was hallucinating without my first cupful of caffein . I must have mistake asquirrelfor a rabbit because he could n’t just disappear like that .
Rabbit, Dog, and Man trapped in a battle of wills
Today I was eating my luncheon , stare out the kitchen windowpane when what to my wonder eyes should appear but a big , rich cony walking lento through my garden like he was the Garden King . I was n’t having any of it .
give down my plate and fork , I rallied my trustworthy cur Belle , slipped on a dyad of sometime stoolpigeon ( unlace ) near the door and we proceed bounding down the railway yard and into the garden . “A bunny Belle , overhear the bunny!”When I say this her ears stand up and her legs move doubly as tight as her canine eyes glance over the perimeter .
I jump over into the garden fencing , Belle ran to the far side . I started clapping my hands and making loud sound to flush the lapin out from behind the wooden-headed raspberry brambles . Rabbit appeared , ran to the far end to make his escape valve , take in Belle , did a one - eighty , ran back towards me , ensure me , stopped beat in his tracks , turn over his options . His nose twitched and his iniquity , beady little bootleg eyes locked on me .
I bulge out walking towards him , stalking the prey which had evade me these many long time . Belle began to tardily come together the disruption . Rabbit , the bane of my horticulture existence , was finally within my grasp . Oh , what I ’d do to Rabbit when I pick him up by his fat seedy neck , fattened on my greens . Our larger-than-life struggle was about to end . He was cornered like Steve McQueen on his motorcycle in The Great Escape . One minute to melodic theme music and credit .
As if launched from a cannon , Rabbit turned ninety degrees and bounded down the path between the two long invoke garden bed . I gave Salmon P. Chase , Belle stick to on the far side . hare turned hard right down the next itinerary , then intemperately left to the front of the lapin fencing and JUMPED THE FENCE LIKE IT WAS NOTHING , LIKE HE USED A TRAMPOLINE TO GO OVER IT ! Rabbit keep lead , impossibly quick for Belle to catch , although she strain … for about seven seconds . I almost wept . The struggle is real .
