The Nest, the Bunny and the Cat

 Of all places... on top of the porch lantern. It started as a couple of spindly weed branches and I thought it was something the winds blew in. It continued to grow and precious dry leaves were added. Still no idea who was constructing this squatters lodge. As the days passed the construction crew finally showed up. Cardinals! I have never seen a cardinal nest anywhere let alone where we were going to be able to observe up close and personal. As the days passed I got curious and got the step ladder and a mirror out to see if there were any eggs. Three! Paler blue than a robin with little brown specs. Ma and Pa took turns incubating the nest and over the coming days I noticed they weren't on the nest as much. They were too busy finding meals for the babies! One by one, little noggins were eventually poking up in anticipation of their next meal. It's been a week now and they are definitely getting bigger. I can see them preening their feathers and bobbing around. 

There was huge ruckus on that side of the yard today. It finally dawned on me that Reba had escaped earlier. The cardinals were on loud chirp high alert, and purple finches came to the aid as well. I stepped outside to find Reba lounging on the patio. Near her, wedged by the edge of the house was a palm sized baby rabbit! Totally alive and keeping Reba company while sending everyone else into a tizzy. I picked up the poor thing and of course, like all rabbits will do, it screamed bloody murder. I turned to take it to the woods after getting the cat inside. Here was Mommy Rabbit a few feet away! I walked toward her and of course she ran to the woods, stopped and waited for me to catch up. She darted into the under brush and I left the baby bun close to cover. I'm sure she will be back and I'll check in later as well. 

There is more to come with this story and I hope it has a happy ending as well. The fledge!