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We froze together with about ten feet between us: me, the lumbering giant, about to open the gate and “it”, the two-month-old wild rabbit at the end of the driveway, deciding if it was time to hop into the underbrush.

This moment of two days ago was special since I hadn’t seen the rabbit in almost a week. The Kenilworth ivy that I dutifully placed on the oak stump in the morning and at dusk had gone undisturbed for nearly four days. Still, I tossed the dried out ivy and replaced it, hoping the rabbit would return. Three days ago the ivy started to disappear again.

Last night I took the dogs out for a walk at an hour before sunset. We were on our way back, about one block away from home, when I spotted a rabbit hopping under a stand of tall hedges, its puffy white tail a “see you later.”

Had the same rabbit expanded its horizons beyond the safety or our front yard? Or, is the rabbit population on the rise around here? Peace.