It’s Thyme for Rabbits

Each year my vegetable garden decreases in size. The surrounding trees grow taller and cast longer shadows on the soil. This makes it more difficult to grow sun-loving plants like lettuce, tomatoes, beans and squash. However, a couple of hardy herbs – oregano and thyme - have taken root and are taking over a corner of the garden.

The other day, my wife called me into the garden to have a look at the spreading bed of thyme. Smack in the middle of the plant was a shallow hole covered by a thin patch of greyish-brown fur, surrounded by a mass of tiny green leaves. Beneath the thin cover was a wriggling mass of baby cottontail rabbits. We looked around the yard but saw no evidence of the mother. Very carefully, we peeled away the protective covering for a closer look and counted five small heads. The young rabbits’ eyes were still closed, their skin resembled peach fuzz, and looked as though all five would fit very comfortably in the palm of your hand. After I snapped a couple of photos to document our discovery, we gently replaced the thin mat of hair that the mother rabbit had plucked from her own fur coat to protect her young, leaving the nest essentially undisturbed in anticipation of her return.

I’ll keep you posted on their progress.

If you’ve noticed cottontail rabbits hopping around your neighborhood, take a walk around your yard and search for possible nests in the grass, gardens and underbrush. If you do find a nest of baby rabbits, be careful not to disturb them, but keep an eye out for the mother and take some time each day to observe how the young develop.