Fuzzy Buddies

It's been a grim week- the headlines were full of the all-too-often horror show that characterizes this country, and the responses from the "blame the victim" crowd compounded the ugliness of the week. Thankfully, we can find a "balm" for our cynical spirits in our fuzzy little buddies.

This cottontail makes its home in an open field by one of our site parking lots:

I see the little critter when I lock up for the night. It lives on the other side of the property from my feline companions... though it's a big enough rabbit to probably give them pause. It's not too shy around humans- I was able to get fairly close to it in the course of my routine.

We also have a whole lot of cute, fuzzy goslings running all over the property.

The parents are protective- they hiss and make "intimidating" displays with their wings when anyone gets too close to the young-uns. Different geese have different dispositions, though... not all of them have the same "protective radius". Unfortunately, it's hard to tell them apart, so you never know which of them will go berserk while you're trying to do your job. Even the most aggressive ones, though, are paper tigers... they'll only go so far in their threat displays before discretion kindles in their breasts. Things calm down considerably when the goslings get larger and the adults finish moulting their primary feathers. This time of year, I tend to give them a wide berth, and the cats won't go anywhere near them.