Meet Pookie – the bunny that has decided to relax or just munch on grass and weeds in my backyard when he’s not hopping around elsewhere.
Yes, Pookie.
Pookie came to visit me a few weeks ago and has since decided to make my yard a regular stop on his tour of the neighbourhood. Pookie was much smaller when he first arrived, so I knew he was a bunny and not a full-fledged rabbit yet. I wondered if I’d someday find a whole litter of bunnies out by the back fence or chewing the tops off my daylilies and generally being a nuisance. So far so good.
I watched Pookie chew on what I hoped were thistles and
dandelions in my lawn one day. I started to warm up to him a little more from that
moment on.
For a few days, when I had to do some serious weed control, I covered up a couple spots where I knew he was crawling under the fence to come in and out of my yard. I thought maybe I would be better off without a wascally wabbit on my property after all. Then there he was one day, just resting by my garden boxes, looking at me with one of his dark eyes, ears down as if he wasn’t the least bit concerned that I was walking on his land. It turns out I hadn’t closed off all the spots where he could sneak in and out of my yard. Now what should I do?
A friend who is a proponent of the “live and let live”
philosophy suggested that the bunny may have come to keep me company during the
pandemic. I had wondered about this myself, being a person who
believes in angels and spiritual signs from departed loved ones. I’ve seen a
lot of robins this year – almost every time I think of my late husband, in
fact. And a bluebird came and sang loudly in my front yard a couple times when I
was working on landscaping and thinking of my departed mother. Why not a bunny
bringing messages of love and support?
I have not seen a rabbit in my yard - front or back - in the 12 years since we moved to this busy street. And now, in the 13th year (13 was my late husband's favourite number), a bunny has appeared and a larger rabbit sometimes shows up in the front yard too.
Pookie has certainly lifted my spirits some days. I found that I
actually missed him on the days when he was gone.
So be it. Live and let live.
He has not yet figured out how to get up into my garden
boxes to eat the peas and carrots, so as long as he sticks to the grass and
weeds, he can stay.
Pookie comes and goes as he pleases, of course, and I am
pleased and intrigued to see him when he’s here. He has scared the bejeebers
out of a me a couple times and I’ve scared him – rabbits are quiet beings and I
didn’t see him hiding in the front shrub that time or on the back lawn
yesterday while I was watering plants but, for the most part, we coexist quite
nicely.
Friends have told me they named the rabbit that visits their yards, so I thought my bunny’s name would be Velvet, after one of my husband’s favourite children’s storybooks, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. It’s a story about how a stuffed bunny wants to become real through the love of his owner. I thought I had Al's childhood copy of The Velveteen Rabbit somewhere, so when I went looking for it I was surprised to find that I was wrong. This was not the book I have been holding onto for decades.
Published in 1959 and addressed to my husband from a neighbours’ two children, Pookie’s Big Day by Ivy L. Wallace tells the tale of a bunny with wings who lives with his person, Belinda, in a little cottage in Bluebell Wood. Belinda is celebrating her birthday and Pookie has woken early to gather violets and elderberries for his friend. Pookie has such a great day celebrating with Belinda and all the woodland friends that he wishes every day could be this much fun, but he soon learns that this wish would not be such a good idea.
It’s a lovely little story so, in honour of both this hardcover, string-bound book from decades ago and my husband Al, I’ve named my rabbit visitor Pookie.
In thinking a bit more about the origin of this bunny's name, I now know that this creature definitely has to be connected to my late husband. Al could not possibly allow my little rabbit to have a classy name like Velvet. Oh no. Not my mischievous Al. I can see him smirking away as he teasingly calls the rabbit, "Heeere, Pookie... Come on, boy! Pookie, Pookie, Pookie!"
Oh my. Al still makes me smile and occasionally laugh out loud.
Little Pookie doesn’t know his name, of course. And I’m not sure I will ever get that friendly with him to call him by name yet. I grew up on a farm and I know that I could be asking for trouble by allowing him to stay. We’ll
see.
For the time being, I’ll allow him to seek refuge in my yard
and I’ll try not to scare him if he promises not to scare me.
Pookie is a reluctant photo subject but he is sometimes
patient enough to sit still or at least mostly within the camera frame while I
attempt to take a half-decent photo or video from a safe distance.
So here you go – enjoy another glimpse of Pookie, my furry little friend.
Maybe he’ll give you a little smile and a mental break from the stress and strangeness that is 2020.
Have a Hoppy Day, everyone!
