Natural Nature

Those of you who know me know that I love nature. One reason I developed my flower guide is because I wanted to educate others about the beautiful wildflowers in northern New Mexico. I love to watch the water in the stream, the wind in the trees, the animals in the forest. Listening to the birds, observing the hummingbirds, delighting in the shapes of the clouds - all make me happy.

I love nature except when she gets ugly. And to me, the ugly part of nature is the part where animals die - either naturally or because other animals have caused it. Now don't get me wrong - I come from a family of hunters, and I definitely understand hunting, but I could never do it myself. When a squirrel runs in front of my car, I screech my brakes to avoid it. The one time I hit a squirrel - it ran right under my car as I was driving at 35 mph on Woodlawn - still upsets me. When I find a dead animal - even a mouse - I get "oogy".

So when my own dogs cause a problem, it is even more upsetting. My dogs love to chase the rabbits. One time Sepia caught one and triumphantly brought it back to me, throwing it at my feet as I was getting ready to go to work. Sepia didn't quite understand the blood-curdling scream, but Don did . . . and very quickly said rabbit disappeared from the family room, never to be seen again! Babs used to catch birds to much the same reaction. But the last few years, the dogs have slowed down, and we haven't had much of a problem. Until yesterday.

I had noticed that Babs kept getting into the thick bushes underneath the magnolia tree, but she never seemed to find anything. Yesterday, Don was working in the backyard when he heard the unmistakable sound of screeching baby bunnies. He went over to the tree, and there was Babs, scrunched down on the ground. He pulled her out and sure enough, in her mouth was a baby bunny. Babs was not about to let it go, but after a few minutes, Don extracted the now lifeless bunny. Gratefully, I was not around to witness this. But Babs has been relegated to a leash until the rest of the baby bunnies can get out of the nest.

Now don't get me wrong. The bunnies are a pain in the neck . . . they eat my garden and torment my dogs. But I don't want to be associated with their demise - if an owl gets them, that's nature. If a cat gets them, that's nature. But Babs and Sepia - well, they can't get them. So they will be walking with me on a leash in the backyard until the baby bunnies can become bigger bunnies, and I won't have to deal with murder on my watch!