Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A rabbit tale, sadly without photos

It's almost spring and I couldn't be more delighted about it. Three days in a row I've awakened to bird song. The fourth day I woke to geese flying over head, doing the cranky geese honking thing that geese do…… hey, he's looking at me, you sure you know where you're going Harry?....... are we there yet. …..?

But this isn't a story about birds or the magic of spring. We'll get there in the next few weeks, I promise, just not quite yet. Today I want to tell you a story about playing in the snow and the magic of winter.

As most of you know I love being outside, and I'll walk in almost any kind of weather. Well, recently I had two very delightful snow related things happen on my adventures in the great snowy Ohio out of doors.

I was walking in the park one day and boy was it cold, but the snow was that PERFECT packing snow that you sometimes get when the air temp and the sun temp is just right. As I walked along marveling at the beautiful landscape shrouded in white, I kept gathering snow and making snowballs and flinging them. But don't worry, I can rarely hit anything so all the trees were perfectly safe. And even if I had hit them, the forest I walk in is a polite one [unlike the apple flinging forest in the wizard of oz] so none of them would have pelted me back.

Now, keep in mind that this was a sub freezing day, and during my whole walk I had only seen one other person. That is, I had only seen one other person right up until the time I decided to do something a little more creative than making snowballs with the perfect packing snow and started working on a snowman. Then, even though I was in a rather secluded area, I drew a crowd. At first it was just one lady, then two, then a couple, then another couple, then a family and then two more couples with their dogs. It was pretty funny by then. You'd think that they'd never seen a grown woman crouched in the snow sculpting a snow bunny before. Because that's what I ended up building. A snow bunny. I used to have a garden statue of an upright bunny [I just tried to get an image of what I'm talking about on Google and found out that if you type "upright garden bunny" into Google and click "images," on the first page you get a photo of Dolly Parton. Not that I'm sad that I saw Dolly, but that's just a little weird….]

So anyway, there will apparently be no photo forthcoming, please just try to imagine a Beatrice Potter kind of upright bunny. An ears up, nose twitching, scenting the air for fresh flowers kind of bunny; one about three feet tall. Ok, everybody on board with me here? Good. So I'm sculpting the bunny and talking with the onlookers and they keep gathering more people to come watch and after a bit I stand up to look my bunny over to see if I'm done and they burst into APPLAUSE.

[I'm giggling while I'm typing this because it's still too funny to think about]

I laughed and thanked the crowd, decided my creation was as done as I was going to be able to make him, gave the bunny a little pat and went on back up to the trail and hiked back to my car.

But wait, it gets better from there.

Last Friday, which was about a week later, I was walking and I walked past where I had built my snow bunny.

Not only was he still there………….. someone had built ten little baby bunnies all around him.

I haven't stopped grinning.

24 comments:

Laura Eno said...

And WHY were you walking without a camera?

I have to point out the error in your next to last sentence...ten little bunnies would make your bunny a her. Just thought you'd like to know that. :)

Laurita said...

What fun is life if you can't stop and build a snow bunny along the way. This story made my morning.

Karen from Mentor said...

That's EXACTLY how I feel Laurita. Life is for living. And spreading a little sparkly trail of joy along the way.

:0)

Anonymous said...

Most of my country walk stories end up with me waking up in a strange family's garden.

We lead very different lives.

Karen from Mentor said...

Yes, Anton, I guess we do.
Query: When you wake up in a stranger's flower bed do they at least give you a cup of tea before chasing you out with a broom?

Karen from Mentor said...

Laura I know that after I saw Batman:

http://miscellaneousyammering.blogspot.com/search/label/Batman

I said that I'd never go anywhere without a camera, but the day was too cold to leave a camera in the car for any length of time. I need a tiny pocket camera. OH or maybe I can get a spy cam and sew it to my coat! That could be fun.

And to address your issue:

When I made the bunny it was a HE, but I don't judge.....what happened in the week in between his creation and the baby additions is strictly between the bunny and his bunny lord.

Laura Eno said...

A spy cam would be perfect! Think of all the other...uh, candid shots you could get!

Karen from Mentor said...

You're thinking about Nathan Fillion again aren't you?

I only use my spy toys for good. Never evil.

[probably]

Rachel S said...

A) I have to wonder, what did you EXPECT from that google search? Here is a picture of a stone rabbit that looks like the one we had, and I think you'll enjoy what it's sitting next to.

http://thestonerabbit.typepad.com/.a/6a00e551ebc5ca883401156e990e42970c-500pi

Hey look, I can magically copy/paste now!

B) So you can throw snowballs at trees, but when I was 8 or so and had a sword fight with a tree, you made me apologize to the tree? I see how it is.

C) Spying on Nathan Fillion with a hidden camera =/= evil.

Karen from Mentor said...

Well, if you had equipped the tree with a sword so that it could have defended itself, there wouldn't have been an issue.

[trees are people too]


Thank you for the rabbit link.

:0)

Kris said...

A procreating snow bunny! I love it!

Before I procreated too much and had to get a minivan, I drove a small pickup truck. Our first winter "up North" in Ohio we made a massive snowperson in the bed of the truck, and I felt totally cool driving around town. Then someone in our apartment complex decided to reposition the carrot nose to turn my snowPERSON into a snowMAN.

Not exactly the image I was trying to project in my new hometown...

~Tim said...

Is it so strange that the daddy bunny would be playing with all the kids in the park?

Was this a hare-raising experience?

Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...

Awwww, that is the cutest story ever! I think I'll smile all day just thinking about it... baby bunnies... you are hilarious!

shannon said...

LOL, you are one funny bunny, Karen! Now this is what life is all about. (Good thing no one came along with..ahem..the white coats!)

Anonymous said...

I'm disappointed about not getting to see a photo, or two for that matter...
But the story is pretty funny, so I'll forgive you just this once ;) Spring it coming anyway so you'll have no excuses from now on :P
Wish I could see you build that bunny, and I wonder how charmed it is since it was able to procreate in such a short time and by itself :P

Anonymous said...

and because it was a HE :))

(hit enter too soon... sorry)

Hugs honey!

Bryan Borland said...

Sounds like Mama Bunny grew tired of Papa Bunny not paying child support and dumped the kiddos in his lap.

Karen from Mentor said...

Hmmm...but wouldn't there have been more footprints in the surrounding snow then Bryan.... what with all the legal bunnies and everything?

Probably the person who built all the baby bunnies was unaware that the bunny I built was a boy bunny.

If only he/she had picked my bunny up and looked at the bottom of his feet.

[that's a sure fire way to tell]


:0)

Karen from Mentor said...

It is true Estrella that once spring comes I will have no excuse not to have a camera with me in the car. Well until it becomes blast furnace summerish, then I may blame the weather again for stories sans photos.

I'm just hoping for a slow meandering into spring this year.

[hugs back!]

Karen from Mentor said...

The men with the white coats Shannon? You mean the ones who always have the butterfly nets?

I trick them with smoke and mirrors.

Works every time.

:0)

Karen from Mentor said...

@ Tim .. I'm so glad that you enjoyed my "hare raising experience" ... giggling...that was a pun that even I would have had a hard time making, so thanks!

And I'll join Cathy now in grinning about it.

ALMOST as much as I'm grinning about Kris's repositioned carrot.

You guys just made my Monday!!!

[big smiles]

Lauren C said...

Eeeee! I love this story. Love, love, love it. I don't even need a picture, I can imagine it just fine... especially you laughing with glee at the audience's applause.

I meant to make a snow critter in my front yard at some point, but the snow melted before I got a chance. Though I'll gladly give that up in return for sweet spring weather!

jane candid said...

This one made me smile too. I can picture you out there having fun!

Karen from Mentor said...

@ Lauren and Jane, I'm glad to have tickled you.

Today smells like SPRING SPRING SPRING!! I don't even mind that it's pouring because out of my window I can see tree buds, green grass AND baby deer in the woods!!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!