I'm sharing my gardens. At first I spotted the baby bunny in the garden at the far end of the yard where mostly lilies grow. A good place for him to live with protection, shade and lots of room. A few evenings later, he was half way up the yard in the lettuce garden. We have enough to share. (Can you tell I'm a furry creature lover?) The morning after that he was on the patio and shot past me from under the grill. Better protection against the rain? Since I've realized he's nibbling at my zinnias and sunflowers after they grow a few inches, I planted even more zinnias than he'd want to eat. (We always have to thin them anyway.) I maneuvered around the problem of growing sunflowers by starting a few inside, then putting a protective collar around them when I plant them outside. I have a few now that are about six inches tall. I'm not going to gather up the bunnies and relocate them...or do them any harm. I enjoy watching them and appreciate them as much as the flowers in the gardens.
Writing is my vocation. It's also my career and my job. I write at least three books a year. When I delve into my writing, when I pick up my tape recorder, I go to my figurative garden. But there are lots of bunnies constantly running around, gnawing at my time—email loops to keep me professionally informed, individual emails, phone calls from friends and relatives...and telemarketers. There are the deadlines for blogs, copyedits, posts to Twitter and Facebook, my e-zine and photos to be taken of prizes for contests. It would be easy to let all of it distract me from writing. My protection against it all? The answering machine, the on-off switch on the tech devices, the closing of doors, the escape to the garden with my tape recorder where I can leave it all behind. Now I mostly write at night when there are no distractions, when I can focus on my characters and plot, when my writing sweeps me away. Sometimes naps are necessary but life always seems to be about prioritizing.
I can coexist with my bunny friends.
I can write in spite of distractions.
After all, isn't life all about balance?
©2014 Karen Rose Smith
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3 comments:
I have lots of bunnies in my yard, and I often see them nibbling at the weeds (sadly, out here in the country, my lawn is more weeds than grass...but the bunnies seem to like it). They don't bother my garden at all. Those must be really good weeds.
I love watching my bunnies so much, I have been known to yell "RABBIT!" into the ear of an unsuspecting friend on the other end of the phone when I spot them out the window unexpectedly :-)
Last season, I had to plant zinnia seeds 3 times before the bunnies let any of them grow! But they're so darn cute.
I don't have any bunnies in my yard, but I make up for it with the number of squirrels in residence. You would have to see it to believe it.
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