Sid and I noticed him digging, Elliot at his side watching but not partaking. The plant isn't particularly a favorite of mine so I didn't really worry about his digging since I figured I could shove the dirt back. Dogs dig. No big deal. But as Nicky dug a terrible squealing came up out of the dirt; a tiny cry for help. I heard it and immediately went over to where both dogs now had their heads stuck down in the hole that Nicky had dug. I leaned down and saw something in the hole, something grayish and tiny and mouse-like. I wasn't sure how many of them there were, but I knew they were babies. I only got a quick look because I was grabbing both dogs and pulling them away as the little gray thing(s) squealed in fright. I yelled for Sid to help me as I kicked the dirt back. I think my thought was that this thing(s) lived under the dirt so I would protect it by covering it (them) back up. Sid steered me right when I yelled for him to get the thing(s). "I think you suffocating it will do just fine."
I was horrified. I hadn't meant to kill it. I thought I was saving it from two predators. Sid said it was probably a mole, and I figured he knew what he was talking about so the thing (now singular) became a mole in my mind. I was sure that it had had some babies down in that dirt, but no one cared to dig it back up. Sid figured it was dead and that maggots would soon dispose of the body. That grossed me out even more. Elliot couldn't leave the area alone. Every time we headed outside he would try sneaking over there, his nose sniffing and twitching. The thought of him unearthing the dead mole freaked me out, and I was pretty bummed about my part in its death. I agonized over it most of the day.
Later that night I got on Facebook and the first picture that greeted me from the Supporting Gifted Learner's Page I follow said Happy Mole Day! I thought it a terrible joke, but turns out October 23rd is really Mole Day, celebrating Avagardo's Number, 6.02 x 10^23, a basic unit measuring chemistry. The day was started to push interest in chemistry. The fact that I happened to kill a mole on the same day? Karma? Coincidence? Priceless?
The next day Elliot was still trying to get into the garden to the plant so that night I convinced Tom that we had to dig up the mole so that maggots wouldn't invade. He thought I was making up the whole thing and he was even more sure of it when his digging turned up nothing. No dead mole. No animal under the dirt where the two dogs had dug. Tom put away his shovel and let Elliot outside. He immediately went to the plant. He sniffed and sniffed, ignored the first dug area, and edging his nose deeper under the plant he began digging. He didn't have to dig much before he exposed a little hole. Maddy and I pulled the dog away and peered into the hole. We could see something little and gray inside the hole breathing. I was thrilled. I hadn't killed the mole after all!
I became the mole avenger. I alerted the neighbors to keep their dogs away from the hole. I kept Elliot out of the garden and on a leash. I stood in front of the plant when people wandered up my driveway. This mole was not going to die again on my watch. Until....
Madison came in a few days later to tell me my mole was not a mole but two baby bunnies! (Sid knows apparently nothing about underground animals) She had gone outside to take Elliot for a walk and the mother was busy in the garden tending to her babies. The mother ran when she saw Elliot, but the babies were snug in their nest. For a week we watched them grow. At first the hole seemed large, but as the bunnies grew the hole got smaller as they filled it out. Each morning we would go to peek at them and find that the mama had brought in more twigs and grass to hide them. One morning she even had a large leaf propped up against the hole like a door. By Halloween they were the size of my palm and would venture out of the hole to hide under the leaves of the plant.
Halloween night we sat outside and watched the mother rabbit hop over the brick wall to the nest. The little bunnies immediately came out and began nursing as the mother stood and let them eat. It was precious. I was more than ever determined to protect them. I kept all dogs away, but keeping the little ghost and goblin trick or treaters away was hard. By the time we went to bed I was exhausted, but content in knowing that the bunnies were safe in their nests. The next morning when I went to check on them the nest was bare. My bunnies were gone. I chose to believe that mama moved them after all the activity of Halloween night.
Last night I did some research and found these pictures of newborn babies. No wonder we thought them moles! I'm am sad that they are gone, but am a tad relieved that I don't have to worry about them any more. It has been a lot of stress ever since Nicky dug them up. I hope they are in a better living area away from predators, but I also hope they come back to visit when they get a little bigger. After all we are known for giving out carrots!
UPDATE: I wrote this post yesterday and right before I posted it this morning I was outside putting away our Halloween decorations. Our cooler with bottled water was sitting on the porch and still full of water so I lifted the lid and started to move it to dump out the water. ONE LITTLE BUNNY WAS HIDING BEHIND THE COOLER. Now what do I do? I left the cooler alone, but now I'm worried the other bunny was a victim of a nasty, mean predator. This bunny escaped, but will his mama come back? That page I found of the pictures tells me all sorts of things about caring for an abandoned bunny, but I'm not sure I can deal with this stress! I'm going to leave him/her be until Madison comes home. She is my animal person. Jeez, just when I thought this ordeal was over!
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