An Unusual Find in the Potato Patch

On Wednesday of last week, Jeff was digging potatoes in our garden, and Josiah was going along with him to pick up the potatoes that Jeff uncovered, when suddenly his sharp young eyes spotted something in the row that didn't look like potatoes.

It was rabbits.  Four little baby rabbits.

Jeff knew that, with their nest unwittingly destroyed by his spading fork, they were extremely vulnerable to attack by a predator, so he carefully gathered them up and eventually resettled them in a box with some grass and weeds for them to snuggle in.  We wouldn't knowingly disturb a nest of baby rabbits or capture them or handle them or do anything like that.  However, since their home was destroyed anyway, and they were kind of dropped in our laps, we did let the boys hold them and experience the exquisite delight of having something so small and so cute in their hands.

Shav was a bit too timid to hold one; but when David was holding it, Shav didn't mind touching it.  :)

Their fur was so soft...

...but they were scrawny little things.  I thought they were adorable however.  :)

Jeff's tender side came out, and he patiently took on the task of feeding them with a medicine dropper.

 It was a laborious job, but he did it a few times over the course of a day and a night...

 ...until he did some further research and discovered that it's incredibly hard to raise young cottontail rabbits...and, as a matter of fact, it's not recommended.

Believing that it was best to let them be back in the wild again, Jeff returned them to the garden, but only after talking with the boys about it and comforting Tobin who was particularly sad about having to say goodbye to them.  He's always had a special interest in animals; maybe he'll be a farmer or a veterinarian someday?  :)

Farewell, sweet little balls of soft fur.  You brought extra joy to one of our summer days; and for that, we are grateful!