The Rabbit

 Yesterday winter arrived with vengeance. The temperature was a mild 32 F at midnight Friday morning, so nice one considered not wearing a heavy jacket because  there was no wind to speak of but by 7 o'clock am that had all changed as the temperature began to drop and the wind started blowing the snow that had arrived on Thursday evening around.  The snow had a little crisp cover from the rain and the roads were icy. It had started to really cool down and by the time I headed home from work at 6 it was about 12 above and ferociously windy.This morning it was just below 0, and thankfully the wind had died down.

It was perfect weather for ham soup. I spent a couple of hours getting that on the stove. We had ordered new tires for my car, so I headed into town to have the tires installed and then on the Quilt S' More to discuss a quilt project. After a little shopping it was time to head home and fix some dinner for hubby. It was then that hubby told me about the rabbit.

We have had rabbits come into our yard for years. We even had a male and female take up residence one summer and have little ones. Today, Ardmore noticed this rabbit trying to dig near one of the shops. From what Ardmore could see later, he had tried to dig three holes. Ardmore was busy and didn't pay much attention to the rabbit but when he came into the house he noticed the rabbit was laying by our fuel tanks about 6 or 7 feet away from where he had been digging. He had apparently died. Was he sick or was from exposure? Could it be that the sudden turn in weather, took the animals by surprise, especially this little rabbit? We have had a very mild fall and no snow and no real cold weather until yesterday. Was there no place this poor rabbit could find to burrow due to the lack of snow? Are there other animals that found themselves in this same situation?

Shelter is such an important commodity. It makes one wonder how the homeless handle weather like this. Do we have enough shelters when it gets this cold? With our economy in such poor condition many people have lost their jobs and homes plus other possessions. Let us all pray for those who are suffering at such a time and remember our local food banks. Donations of food and money is such an important thing all year round, but especially during the holidays. As we gather together with friends and family, it would be a good time to pool a little money and pull out a few can goods and bring them to the food shelf.