If you look closely, you’ll see two rabbits sitting still and aware in my front yard, on either side of the two large bushes. (I’m sure there’s some joke here about hairy bush that escapes me.)
Rabbits love our yard, for some reason. We have to be careful when we let the dogs out in the back yard – Rita Mae in particular – lest these rabbits discover just how quick Rita Mae can run. (I found her, once, in the back yard, with a dead rabbit in her mouth. It was horrifying. I’ve convinced myself it was already dead, killed by a cat or some such, and left in our yard for Rita to find, but that may just be wishful thinking.)
Despite the danger for them, it always makes me smile when I see them, as if they’ve chosen our yard, out of all the yards in the neighborhood, in which to frolic. I always hope they are safe. I think I still feel guilty about humans’ impact on rabbits’ environment from reading “Watership Down” when I was younger.
Idle Eyes and a Dormy 
We have rabbits in our back yard too. They live under the shed. Like you, when I see them grazing early in the morning or late afternoon I think of “Watership Down” and wonder who is the head rabbit. Occasionally I see a bit of bloody rabbit fur in the grass. That was one rabbit that couldn’t outrun our local resident hawk.
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Man, dogs will be dogs. Oreo would stare out the window and whine/growl when he saw squirrels in the backyard. When we let him out he’d fling himself skyward off the back patio (about 3 feet high at the far end) and bound enthusiastically after the offending trespasser. I don’t think he ever caught one, but it was a close thing sometimes.
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Every morning on our walks, Murphy encounters at least one rabbit. I can always tell when he sees one (always before I notice) because his gait slows down and his head sinks. He licks his chops and has this concerned stare. I have never let him off of the leash to see what would happen…I don’t want to think of it!
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Another rabbit predator is Red Tail Hawks. Here’s one I caught perched on the marble railing of the RI State House. https://flic.kr/p/PnNVN
Plus they’re everywhere in New England. Here in Providence clear down into North Kingstown etc. there are tons of rabbits.
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I love seeing rabbits in my Dad’s yard when I visit him. The local jackrabbit population seems to have taken over the ‘hood from the nearby canyon.
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BUNNEHS!
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They are gorgeous creatures. In the film I saw two days ago, ‘Leave No Trace’, there’s a whole scene involving a class of young kids being taught how to care for their pet rabbit. They were all so different in size and colour, yet all so docile in the same trusting way – though with noses wrinkling actively this way and that. Gave me great pleasure to see them – and, very importantly, none were harmed or distressed.
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Our Tasha likes to chase hares through the vineyards, but they always outrun her, dodging under the vines between rows. Tasha can do the same, just not as fast.
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Frith is watching you
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