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Thursday, 6 June 2013

Where is Elmer Fudd when you need him?

Beau the Patterdale terrier
Photograph by Little Louis Fox
You see how our dog Beau (or Killer as we sometimes jokingly call him) is smiling?  Well that is because I just told him he IS allowed to kill rabbits after all.

Does that sound harsh?  I mean, Bugs Bunny is (or maybe now was) my favourite Loony.  I love those giant Belgian Hares in the children's zoo at the local garden centre.  One of my best and most loved friends and her beautiful children have a house rabbit, called Bun, who I will admit is gorgeous, and in a non-lapin-a-la-casserole kind of a way.  Come on, I am a Mrs Fox.  BUT...  

Image from: www.cimmarononline.com/hares
And I apologise to those of you, and your children, who have a bunny as a pet.  

I never thought I would be so intolerant.  I believe in non-violence, I do.  I love nature, the great outdoors, am an environmentalist through and through.  I believe in sustainable and organic gardening on my allotment.  BUT... Dogs are organic right?  And really those bloody rabbits are just not sustainable.

I went to the allotment after last weeks “How does your garden grow...” post and I spent a lovely afternoon planting up peas, onions (Yes, I know late, or way too early depending on how you look at it but it’s been a funny year right!) and beetroot.  I went back this Monday expecting to take some great pictures and do a little tour of the allotment for this weeks post.  And in the meantime someone had stolen the metal fencing along one side of our allotment, the rabbits had got in and had a party.  

Now, I am usually all for parties, love 'em.  BUT... not at the expense of my beautiful, carefully nurtured, diligently tended, much loved baby plants.  I cannot repeat what I said upon seeing the devastation.  I cannot show you a picture, because I didn’t have the heart to take one, and even if I had I could not have put it on this blog, because I couldn’t take the daily reminder of my distress.

Do you know how long it takes to plant 8 rows of 10 - 12 onions out?  That’s over 80 onions they ate, 80, aaaaaggghhhhh!

I have no love left in my heart for rabbits, I’m sorry.   

I don't much like the people who stole the fencing either, but, they are long gone, if I thought my dogs could take them on, well, I go no further as I could incriminate myself and my dogs.

So here are some pretty flowers from my garden, they are all that is keeping me from taking Beau and his girlfriend, Bea, over to the allotment right now to begin the Bunny Shock and Awe Campaign.




And just on a final note, I took this picture today, look at this daffodil, what a weird year, how often do you get daffs in June!



P.S. No rabbits were actually hurt in the writing of this post.  And if you want to see some beautiful non-rabbit devastated gardens whose owners do not rant, try here:







.
Mammasaurus - How Does Your Garden Grow?

20 comments:

  1. lol i don't mean to laugh at your garden's or your expense but you are funny and i think you at least have a good sense of humor about it. your flowers are beautiful and yeah, let the dogs do what they are meant to do. we let our dog get the squirrels :)

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    1. If you had seen me swearing and hitting the remaining wooden fence with big rabbit sized gaps in it while the dogs barked at me in confusion you would have laughed even more. I had the children with me too, so if either of them repeats any of the words I've now told them they must NEVER say it will be no one's fault but my own. I really do have a potty mouth when frustrated!

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  2. Can you send Beau and Bea here once they've cleared your bunny problem. I have the same thing, all my lettuce, every single solitary one and about 4 cabbages, completely gone, eaten down to not even a stump!

    It is so disappointing when you start to see your lovely veggies growing and then they get chomped. Your flowers are gorgeous though :)

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    1. I feel your pain I really do.

      The dogs are a Jack Russel and Paterdale terrier and their love of chasing birds and rabbits has always been a slightly embarrassing side to their, shall we say 'slightly hyper', personaities. But as of last week I am putting them on rabbit alert.

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  3. I totally understand your lack of love for the bunnies after that, I'd be the same and I love rabbits!

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    1. Thanks Michelle. I hate to say I hate any animal, but, just at the moment there is not a lot of love for them bunnies in this house.

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  4. Ohhh Mrs fox, I am sorry to hear the bunnies wreck your lottie. I do know the work involved in planting out and can so understand your upset and anger. Sending you a hug x

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  5. OMG you poor thing!

    But on the plus side I did love your rant!!

    And your garden flowers are AMAZING! That Iris is something else!

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    1. Thanks, the iris was from my Granmother-in-law's garden, who sadly passed away last year, so it's lovely as a little reminder of her.

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  6. LOVE the Iris, just stunning, and the other photos are gorgeous too :)

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    1. Thanks for your kind complements Jean. I was however hoping to put up beautiful pictures of baby peas, onions, beetroot plants and an impressive kids pumpkin patch. -

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  7. Oh no! Gutted! How very disappointing for you and your rabbit-rage is totally understandable...I half expect you to appear next week sporting a new rabbit skin hat.
    But those flowers are just beautiful and very bright :)
    Hope you can get through the week without laughing too much throughout WaterShip down ;)

    Thanks for joining in again x

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    1. You know I have a copy of Watership Down. Bought by a relative (without children) for my children when the oldest was about 4 - I know, what 4 year old is going to enjoy a film about lots of bunnies being killed?! But maybe now is the time to get it out. Bea and Beau will enjoy it if nothing else.

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  8. no,no,no, I couldn't do it, no matter how many plants they stomped on. Snails & slugs on the other hand... We have a huge rabbit population here but they don't make into my garden, we do have a very scary Badger and some loves foxes, I found one sunning itself in the garden the other morning, legged it fast, I am that scarey!!

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    1. I know, I know,

      We have a huge rabbit population too. That is why we have rabbit proof fencing all round the allotment. Apparently scrap metal is so valuable now that it's worth stealing our fencing all along the side of the allotment closest to the road. Grrrrrrr!

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  9. Good luck on catching those dastardly rabbits. How disheartening and how horrible some git nicked your fencing too! My cat has brought in two rabbits recently!! Never knew cats would catch them before now, it was quite a shock indeed! On a brighter note you have some lovely flowers blooming in your garden. The iris is just beautiful. I have mini daffs that have just come into bloom now!

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    1. Thanks. Our dogs are actually more interested in chasing the rabbits than catching them thankfully as I am not that keen on the idea of dispatching them if the dogs don't do the job properly themselves. What they really love to chase is birds, which they never catch of course!

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  10. Beautiful photos. Cant believe people would steal fencing.. Bad luck for the rabbit infestation

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    1. Thanks. Apparently scrap metal is so valuable now it's worth stealing the fencing.

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