trap, shoo or shoot away those pesky varmits all ye avid rabbit haters. Or perhaps have them for dinner. Growing up, we were poor. So poor that there was a time when we ate whatever Dad shot. My mom had a knack for fixing squirrel that could rival any southern fried chicken. Her wild rabbit was also fab. Of course, I was unable to eat the white rabbit or Herman (my pet rooster) for dinner. Thank goodness cat was never on the menu, though we always had a lot of them roaming around to keep the mice and rat population down in the rat barn on top of the hill. I really cannot blame people for disliking a wild creature that eats their produce. It takes a lot of work, time, and patience to grow a garden. City gardeners have less space for the sprawling garden of their dreams. And a row of missing peas, etc. one morning might be upsetting. I used to get mad at the deer (or maybe it was really the rabbits) who had tulip salad from my garden every spring when I lived in Coon Rapids. Once after a beautiful bloom, I waited until morning to pick a lovely bouquet for my kitchen table. I was a bit miffed, when all I saw were row upon row of upright tulip stems. Rabbits are beneficial to our ecosystem. Seeds from plants eaten by rabbits often sprout and take root, helping to foster some of our native plants. Rabbit scat is high in garden-growing nutrients. Rabbits can even be mood-altering if you take a mindful approach to looking at Page 75
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