The Bunnyman--1998-December 5, 2007

Last week I lost my dear bunny friend to cancer. He was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago, so I had some time with him before we had to have him put to sleep. Bunnyman was a throwaway bunny whose family didn't want to bother to care for him; they set him loose in the neighborhood to fend for himself. I had spotted him a few times before he showed up in my yard, where I found him contentedly munching on the seed that drifted out of my bird feeder. Bird seed was always one of his favorite snacks. So we took him in--bunnies on the loose generally meet a quick and grisly end in the talons of a hawk or the jaws of a dog--and he became our much doted-on little pet. House bunnies are wonderful pets; they can be trained to use a litter box and they're endlessly amusing when young, and quiet, peaceful and loving companions when they're old. They're subtle though, and the shelters and bunny refuges are full of unwanted and unappreciated little pets. In a few weeks, when I can do it without weeping, I will go to the Bunny Magic refuge in Maryland (www.bunnymagic.org) and choose two bunnies who are waiting for a home and who might otherwise go unadopted because they're white with pink eyes (an unpopular color combination) or because they're seniors or because they're missing an ear or an eye or were nearly starved to death in a backyard hutch and are shy and fearful.

In the meantime, I have kitted up Little House Needleworks' "Morning Berries" with the Crescent Colors threads. I've had this chart for a long time because I collect bunny needlework projects and now I want to stich this to memorialize the Bunnyman's too-short stay on earth. I will change the color of the bunny at the bottom of the chart to black though.

And those stitchers in my neighborhood RR (as in this picture of Carol's neighborhood) are getting a little black Just Nan bunny, who is happily passing from yard to yard, looking for dandelions. Every spring the Bunnyman and I would go into the backyard for a supervised romp and gathering of dandelions. He loved the greens, the bitter milky stems, the bright full flowers and even the seed heads.