June – Rabbits, rabbits everywhere

Last summer when we were in the midst of construction, we didn’t see rabbits very often on the farm.  Maybe the construction scared them off or we disrupted their nest areas or something.  There was one rabbit that we saw frequently that seemed to have a goiter on his neck; I haven’t seen him around this year.

This year we seem to be overrun with rabbits.  They’re cute but they’re everywhere.  I don’t mind that they are everywhere, until they are in my garden.

You would think it would be impossible that they are in my garden.  My garden fence is built like Fort Knox.  It’s six feet tall with an extra bib of fencing at the bottom that is imbedded in the dirt to keep out the likes of ground hogs or anything else that might want to burrow in.  My garden is locked down tight, secure and impenetrable.

But then my Swiss Chard went missing – the whole row – gone.  And then all the bottom leaves on my Brussel Sprouts vanished.  Followed by the disappearing act of two rows of Beets that came up one day and were gone the next.  I was accusing the birds, or bugs or a rare fungus or mold issue that must be attacking my plants in my impenetrable garden.

Until I saw a baby bunny hop right through the 2” x 3” square of the fence.  Yep, hopped right in and headed for the spinach.  I headed in after it and shooed it out the other side of the garden – right through the fence on the other side of the garden.

The next day Chris wrapped the entire garden in sturdy bird netting.  Now it is impenetrable.

I replanted the beets, gave up on the Swiss Chard and I’m waiting to see if the Brussel Sprouts recover.

Pesky rabbits.

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What happened to my broccoli? It used to have leaves.
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You’d think nothing could get into this garden
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The 2″ x 3″ grids on the fence wire are just too big — baby rabbits jump right in.
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Now they can’t — with bird netting all around it.
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Buffet is closed.