A Summer Morning at the Lily Pond

"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today." - Richard Adams, Watership Down.

The lily pond is where I go when I'm happy. It's also a place where I go when I'm sad. And so it was on this day, which didn't start out the way I might have hoped. Early this morning, one of the wild bunnies in our yard was hit by a car and killed on the road right in front of our house.

My first real task of the day was to scoop its poor little broken body up in a shovel and carry it to the Meadow, where I stroked the bun and spoke kindly to it, then interred it with soft words and tears. Before I did that, I did a harder thing: waking my husband and telling him the sad news. We love our bunnies and it was not a happy day at our house.

I am not sure which of our Bunzinis it was. Was it Genie Bunzini? Or Houdini Bunzini? Or some other, un-named Bunzini? We usually tell the bunnies apart by their behavior and by where they hang out in the yard.

A rabbit who is deceased is no longer emitting behavior, and so it is hard to tell them apart. My best guess is that it was Genie, but I'm not certain. The only thing I know for sure is this: on this day, we had one less Bunzini in our yard than before. And so we grieved.

Rather than letting this day be ruled by sadness, though, I want to make it a celebration of Bunzinis instead. For they have been an endless source of amusement and fun for us. Below is a list of links to photos of this year's Bunzinis for you to enjoy, as we have.

Alas, I cannot show you the picture that I hold dearest to my heart because I did not take it, for it was far too dark out to see. It was a perfect summer evening, the moon was rising, and the air was soft as silk.

One of the bunnies was sitting in the yard as dusk fell, watching in awe and fascination as the lightning bugs flitted and played all around it. That is a  happy memory indeed, and I will hold on tight to it. I am thankful for these rabbits; they have filled our lives with joy.

The soundtrack for this day is Van Morrison, with Days Like This.

This summer's Bunzini bunny blips:
May 18 The Newest Bunzini Shows 'Em How It's Done
May 21 A Glamor Shot of the Newest Bunzini
May 27 Meet the Elusive Houdini Bunzini
June 4 A Bigger Bunzini
June 7 Genie Bunzini and the Great Big Leaf
June 8 The Darkling (see the "extras" for the rabbit being frisbee trained)
June 11 Genie Bunzini's Fuzzy Little Tail
June 18 Rabbit Relaxing in the Early Morning Sun
July 23 A Bunzini in the Mist