We started chinning everything in sight. This is our garden
now and we’re marking it so. I started sniffing and
inspecting greens coming out of the ground right around my
paws. There was grass, little flowers, even some dandelions;
fresh, crisp and juicy. I snipped one off and savored it. As
I sliced through it, I tried to take in its fresh aroma. I
had no idea how intense a simple green could taste.
We started working our way through the rows. Out of the
corner of my eye I saw Molly and Suzy working over some
parsley. Abby meandered across the rows checking everything
out. Once in awhile you could see her pop up as she inspected
greens from root to top.
I started to wonder as I hopped from green to green. Who
taught me all this, how did I know what to look for, what to
avoid, what to do? When I got to the first bunch of kale, I
took a nip of it and tore out a big chunk from its leaf.
Sitting up and noming I tried to recall when I last saw my
mom. I tried to remember if we ever went out into the garden?
I couldn’t tell if what I remembered really happened or not.
I sat and nomed slowly, my attention dissolving in the
tastes, smells and this surreal reminiscing. I was taking my
time to enjoy this new life.
Mr. Toes didn’t notice Abby telescoping, yelling and waving
her paws at him. In the adventure control room Zeus sounded
alarm for everybunny to take cover immediately. Zeus and
Apollo watched as an unknown object slowly entered the
tracker screen, drawing a circular path. It took them a
moment to identify it as a large bird of prey. At first they
thought it was an eagle. As data poured in, Apollo realized
it’s not an eagle, but a female hawk. Because they’re bigger
than male hawks, sometimes they get mistaken for eagles.
Suzy and Molly immediately scooted off toward the fraser fir
in the back of the garden. As Abby spun around to do the same
she noticed that Mr. Toes appeared to have been lost in own
world, oblivious to everything around him. She stood up and
yelled, “Major, cover! We have to run!” He didn’t seem to
notice her.
“Somebunny get his fuzzy bum before the beast does!” came on
Zeus.
Abby rushed toward Mr. Toes and almost knocked him over. She
grabbed his vest and started pulling him toward the tree,
hoping he’ll snap out of his stupor. He followed her, looking
frightened, slowly returning to the shared reality. At least
they were moving and Mr. Toes started to pick up his pace.
The hawk was taking her time to survey the pickings from high
up, more interested in finding decent updrafts than snacks.
But the day was getting on and it was time to think of
something to eat. Easy pickings were always welcomed.
Finally, she spotted something, looking like bunnies, but not
quite.
In her black vest, Abby didn’t look like a typical bunn. Her
head did, but not the rest of her body. Without the vest, all
white, she would stick out like a sore thumb against the
ground. So it took a while for the hunter to catch on and
decide she may as well try going for one of them. Maybe the
one standing still? The others were running for cover. She
started preparing for the dive, trying to predict which way
if any, would her prize try to flee.
Zeus was giving updates second by second; Frankie and Freddie
came out of their burrows; it was their day off. So did Izzie
and Millie. They stood around, staring at the tracker,
watching the bird circling, Mr. Toes standing still and Abby
running toward him.
They could only hope the bunns would get to safety of the
trees before the bird could get to them.
The hawk had to make a lot of adjustments and calculations
before she could drop on them. How high was she, which way
was the air moving, was it gusty or steady? Now, everything
depended on a split second timing. Situation was a bit more
complicated though. Those bunns, if they were bunns, run for
cover much, much sooner than they should have. She’s never
seen that before. They weren’t supposed to have an idea that
they were in danger. As she pondered this anomaly, she pulled
her wing in and started gaining a lot of speed.
That little black and white feller sitting still, … that’s
just too bad. Something was running toward that little bun
and the hawk thought she might get both of them! She was
really picking up speed now.
Zeus could only watch.
The hawk was fully committed to the dive, she was making the
slightest of corrections now. She didn’t see the red ball of
feathers about to blindside her. A small cardinal crashed
into her head, feet first, blocking out her vision for a
split second. But the hawk had too much energy now and that
little collision could not stop her. Then she got hit from
the other side and her trajectory was seriously altered. A
third and a fourth hit! The hawk realized what was happened.
She was getting mobbed by cardinals. She was still in a dive,
but she knew she was just plunging toward the earth; the hunt
was over. Ironically, she was under attack. The cardinals
could it hurt her too much, but they sure could make her life
miserable. And they knew it. Their pounding on the big, older
hawk was relentless. In his younger days she could have
snatched one of them in mid air just to make an example of it
for the others, but she was too big and too slow. They were
quicker and more agile, they could strike fast and get away
instantly. The strong, powerful and frightening bird was
getting outmaneuvered.
The best she could do was to arrest the loss of altitude and
try to get away from the impertinent little fliers. She would
have to look for food somewhere else.
The bunns were really working hard, speeding toward the old
christmas tree. The day was warming up quite a bit now. Abby
and Mr. Toes were really hot, their vest acting like heat
collectors.
Every ratty friend in the control center was dumbfounded. Why
would Cardinals attack the hawk in this time of year? The
cardinals were not nesting anymore, the hawk didn’t really
present any danger to them. Were they on a practice flight
and this was an opportunity to pick on someone bigger? It
didn’t matter now. They broke up the dive just in time and
the hawk had barely time and energy to level off and climb
away from them.
I had no idea what happened. I sensed that I had to follow
Abby, that the situation was grave. Something inside of me
took over and turned my mind blank. It drove my legs. My paws
worked the hardest they ever did. I was really hot and
getting hotter. We dove under the fir, plowing into the old
needles and all sorts of decomposing matter.
0 comments:
Post a Comment