For a while now, I have been finding little rabbits in my fenced-in garden. I have been chasing them out with much yelling, barking and throwing of sticks. (Yes, a couple times I did bark at them hoping to trip some genetic fear switch and cause permanent aversion to the location.) But they are apparently fearless and returned often. And they ate my beans.
The offender in temporary custody
Today I had had enough. With Ruthie and Bethany guarding the gate, Edward guarding a gap in the corner and Claire helping me chase, I cornered a little bunny intruder and pinned him to the ground with my gloved hand. We put him in a five-gallon pail with a loose fitting lid and drove him to a park on the edge of town and set him free.
He did not seem to enjoy his time in the pail. But he quickly revived when he was released, and he nonchalantly began nibbling the grass in the park. (By the way, the bunny in the drawing turned out smaller than the real thing, but his posture is pretty accurate.)
After relocating the offender, I am trying not to think about bunny mothers, bunny brothers and sisters, or scary things like homelessness, hawks, owls and foxes. I just keep thinking about half-eaten beans.