Left: The world is getting greener every day right now...
Middle: The Easter Hare, relaxing after hard work over the weekend (?)
Right: Daffodils growing in a "wild" spot down on a bank by the river. (I suspect that at some point in time, someone just threw out some old bulbs there...)
There has been a hare living in the old cemetery for as long as I can remember. I've lived in this part of the town for nearly 17 years now, though, so I suppose it can hardly be the "original" hare any more... ;-) Last year, there were also two of them. But so far this spring, I've only seen one on its own again; and in all the years I've lived here, I've never seen more than two together. In winter, he/they can also sometimes be seen grazing on the lawn right outside where I live, at night. (Again, usually just the one, but a few times I've seen two.)
There used to be rabbits living in the cemetery as well - quite a lot of them. I haven't seen any of those in the last few years, though. (They're smaller than the hares, and different colours, so one does not mistake one for the other.) They were cute, but also a bit of a nuisance (digging holes on graves, and eating planted flowers). So I'm not sure if they moved away on their own initiative or perhaps eventually had some "help". (Always made me think of the novel Watership Down by Richard Adams...)
The Hare is very shy and it's not easy to get him to pose for photos. Sometimes I think he believes himself to be invisible if he just sits really still on the gravel between old grey gravestones, though - and then I can sometimes manage to zoom him in, if I in turn keep my distance, and move very slowly and quietly...
(I also sometimes find myself talking to him - telling him he has nothing to fear from me, except ending up on my blog - but in a such a low whisper that I can hardly hear it myself!)
Boadicea use to believe hares were sacred. Incredible creatures.
ReplyDeleteNorthsider, Well I guess it's quite fitting then for it to be living in a cemetery! :)
DeleteWhat a lovely glimpse into your local wildlife! The shy cemetery hare sounds like a quiet companion to the changing seasons, and your patient observations bring real warmth to the story—there’s something magical about those small, familiar moments with nature.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ro. And I agree about "magic moments"! :)
DeleteWe LOVED Watership Down!!! You did manage to get a good shot of the Hare. Being prey animals, they are so skittish, and so they should be.
ReplyDeleteGinny, I like that book too, and have read it a few times. My paperback copy of it was printed in 1978 and its pages quite yellowed now.
DeleteI sometimes spot a hare or two on my after-work walks; the later, the better the chance to see them.
ReplyDeleteMany rabbit populations have been reduced in recent years by a terrible disease; hopefully, "your" rabbits at the cemetery were only "helped" to move and did not succumb to the disease.
Meike, I can't recall having heard of it, but googling it now I find several articles confirming that this seems to have been the case in Sweden too.
DeleteYou are so lucky to see a hare regularly. I count myself fortunate to glimpse one every few years! They are beautiful creatures, almost mythical.
ReplyDeleteJanice, the fact that I've nearly always just seen a single one somehow makes it seem even more mythical... :)
DeleteIt's not often I see a hare on my travels but we do once in a while see rabbits sprinting across the road. Loving the daffodils though.
ReplyDelete