Just want to mention something that happened today and a few things I learned from reading wild rabbit rescue sites on the Internet.

My mom was outside gardening when she heard splashing in the fish pool. It was a tiny wild rabbit that had fallen in and couldn't get out. She fished it out with a net, and the tiny rabbit, at first not breathing, did begin to breathe. It was soaked. I took it inside, dried it off, put it in a cardboard box and watched it as it (understandably) cowered in fear under a newspaper.

I went online to read about wild rabbit rescue, and the curious thing is this bunny should have been in a nest--but it wasn't. Maybe it's a vigorous bunny--or maybe it was time for it to go out on its own. Wild rabbits are weaned (according to what I read) at 3-4 weeks, domestic rabbits at about 6, and jackrabbits much later--9, I think.

Even more interesting, however, was the fact that wild rabbit mothers only feed their young in the nest at night--and only once a night for about five minutes. That's VERY rich milk!

Also, I liked reading that the term for when rabbits give birth is 'kindling'--I hadn't known that, for some odd reason. There was a phrase, "After kindling, the mother leaves the kits."

I'd really like to adopt this little bunny, but I suppose it should go free. It's been hiding under a butterfly bush for about two hours now, and, given the fact that the mother might still be feeding it, I guess I better leave it there overnight even though I'm very worried an owl or a black snake might get it.

In case I cannot bear the thought of that little brown rabbit with a small white blaze on its forehead staying out all night, I will in a few minutes drive up to the country store to buy some canned pumpkin, which, according to information on one web page, is something that wild rabbits might take a little nibble of--in the middle of the night.