Keeping one enemy at bay

In the struggle to keep our gardens growing the way we want them, there are many "enemies" of our cause.  Insects. Hail. Deer. Disease. Drought. Weeds. Wind. Wabbits -- er, I mean Rabbits.

When my garden was smaller, rabbits were the number one problem I had. These are a couple that are hunkered down in my neighbor's yard.

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That's right, I said "my neighbor's yard". The last few years we've had a lot of rabbits in the neighborhood and it seemed they used my yard as the main meeting place. At one time last summer I looked down from my deck and saw 6 rabbits on my lawn in one area! I didn't even have to turn my head and look around for them!

This year, rabbits are more scarce in my yard. Oh, there are a few that come through, and I'll see a baby once in a while:

But I'm definitely not being "overrun" like I was last year. Part of it may be due to timing -- perhaps a little later in the summer is when I'll start seeing the cottontail hordes. But I think a lot of the reason they're staying away has to do with this:

Oops -- wrong photo! She may scare rabbits some day, but certainly not today.

This is the reason they're keeping their distance:

Super-whitey is quite a hunter. See that look on her face? That would certainly scare me if I was only twelve inches tall and ate clover.

I've seen her catch chipmunks. I've seen dead voles in the yard (can't be certain it was her doing). But I've also seen her kill and eat baby rabbits.

I won't post any photos here, but if you're interested in getting a non-gruesome look at her with one of her catches (no blood) please click here.

After seeing her first rabbit catch I was a little upset. But then a little thought and I realized that it's just Nature at work. Yes, she's a domestic cat, but she's still a cat, which means she's a hunter at heart.

Now if she could only figure out how to keep the deer away too...