Tim and Jen Live Here

I love sitting outside and reading whenever the weather permits, which it did last night. I often take Cody out with me so he can explore the yard and pee whenever he wants. This is important, since he’s 12.5 years old and has cancer in his bladder, leading to a frequent need to drip out whatever he can. Oh, and Cody is a golden retriever.

I was enjoying my book last night when Cody bolted past me. I turned in my sky chair to see where he was headed. He had spotted a rabbit. Yippee! We have lots of rabbits in our yard, so this is a pretty common occurrence. It used to be that he would chase it until it slipped out of the yard under the fence, then he’d go find something else to interest him. Not so much anymore. He stopped half way across the yard because . . . he had to pee. The rabbit stopped too, maybe 15 feet in front of Cody. Then the rabbit decided to lie down in the mulch and relax, then give himself a bath. Cody was 15 feet away, peeing, the entire time.

When Cody finished he had forgotten about the rabbit, so he meandered elsewhere in the yard. During this time a groundhog had emerged from under the shed and was also just hanging out in the yard. And a couple robins were foraging in the mulch. I’m not sure if they were looking for food or nesting material, but Cody’s presence didn’t bother them any more than it did the rabbit.

Cody did spot the rabbit once again and chase it, again stopping half way simply because he lost his train of thought. Or that’s what I’m guessing anyway. So Cody stopped to eat grass, and the rabbit stopped running away, once again plopping down on the mulch for a rest.

The groundhog was more skittish than the rabbit, so he did disappear for a while after Cody’s second chase. The rabbit eventually got bored and left the yard, long after Cody decided to have a nap under the maple tree.

I love watching the wildlife in my back yard.