In which there is an odd gift, the pasture gets mowed, and eyes are open.

In this photo, Luna demonstrates the immediate need for pasture mowing. The grass is getting so long that soon Luna will completely lose her ability to find the house and her food bowl.

This is nearly an emergency!

Jim and the new mower to the rescue. He got about 3 acres mowed today before the rain started. Luna is so relieved.

I did a lot of work in the garden while Willy mowed the "lawn" (i.e. the grass around the house and orchard) and Jim mowed the pasture. Of course, I usually wield the camera, so there aren't any pictures of the work *I* did. Humph. However, the garden is completely fenced against shetland sheepdogs, and the cilantro and tomatos are planted.

Actually, I'm not allowed to plant tomatoes. Scientific research has proved that every time I plant tomatoes, the weather all summer is cold and rainy. Think back to some of the epic "summers that didn't happen" in the Pacific Northwest, and I guarantee that those are the years I planted tomatoes. So, I don't plant them anymore. I obtained the starts. I dug the holes. I readied the cages. And then Jim planted the tomatoes.

Of course, it did rain this afternoon... probably a coincidence.

Right?

You can't see the rabbit den in this picture unless you look a little bit to the right of the stump, and directly under the white grass stem. (click the photo to enlarge it) The den looks like a little smear of fluff and leaves. But it's the home of Momma Bunny's children...and look!

They are looking back now!

I found several helpful articles online about wild baby rabbits. This article triangulates the information very succinctly: the babies open their eyes at around 10 days. Momma Bunny visits infrequently to nurse--usually before dawn and after dark, so that predators aren't attracted to the nest (that's why we haven't seen her). When the white forehead blaze is gone, the baby bunnies are old enough to be out on their own (around 4-5 weeks of age) and are adult enough to start raiding the garden.

Hurry up, bunnies. Your lease on that stump expires on June 1st, which is planting day for pumpkins in that flower bed!

Here is an interesting thing, and it's a gift for Lytha: a home-made t-post pounder!

One of the (many) Craigslist treasures we've retrieved in the last week included a big stack of t-posts (which are now holding up the garden fence) AND one of these little dohickeys. Lytha, if you want it, come get it.

Or, if anybody else reading this will be traveling between the Swamplands and Germany and wants to completely bimswuzzle the Homeland Security people, here is the tool for the job....