We were fully aware that when we replaced the deer fencing around the garden next to the greenhouse this spring, we would also need a lower level with smaller wire to block rabbits. In our defense, there used to be only one bunny and he/she didn’t seem interested in the garden. Then, there was a heat wave and it’s hard to get a lot of work accomplished when we were laying on the couch in front of a fan. Then we didn’t feel like shopping all over hells half acre to find the chicken wire that we needed and then, well E had other projects he wanted to complete and if the rabbit living under the apple tree was going to break into the garden and eat a little bit of lettuce, fine, said I, from my seat in front of the fan.

But it seems our resident rabbit has found a friend and multiplied. Is that a thing? Someone, you know, could have mentioned that multiplying like bunnies wasn’t a completely outlandish possibility which we warn our children about when they choose bunnies as pets, because bunnies are now everywhere. They are under the apple trees, at the pond, under our neighbour’s shop, under our bunkie, under our driveway, in front of the studio and apparently now in the garden! For the life of me, I don’t know why the eagle is eating our fish when Peter Rabbit’s extended family is currently vacationing on our property.

Yesterday morning they had nibbled on the marigolds, which was fine cause I grew them from my saved seeds and I have tons, but this morning I went up to the garden to find they have eaten my Casablanca Lily, the bottoms of some Jalapeno peppers, finished all of my lettuce and for dessert, nibbled on a few stems of cantaloupe.

I started to call around town to see who had chicken wire to wrap the lower perimeter of the fence. I tried the two closest stores first. Rona had what we needed but only in shorter length rolls which seemed expensive. I never got to ask at Buckerfields because their answering machine advised me that they are currently over run by mice, and customers can’t come into the store. So, E headed off to hells half acre, to search Home Depot, then Shar-Kare, Sleggs and then Lowes. No one had what we needed, not cheaper, nothing at all. Two hours later, E ended up back at Rona for 6 X 25 ft. lengths of 1 inch chicken wire X 3 foot high.

Yesterday, E finished building and tiling the new wood box/range boiler stand. It is installed and we can now, two years after its start, strike the range boiler project off the job list as complete.

Tonight is the last night the bunnies will be feasting in my garden. We know what we have to do and armed with the right sized fencing, tomorrow the cotton

tail party stops