February 3, 2009

A Sure Sign of Spring

Yesterday was Groundhog's Day, and I have no idea if the little guy saw his shadow. We had a better sign of Spring at our house.

My husband and I were busy trying to revive an old TV in a back room when My Constant Companion (Samantha) went ballistic, barking and jumping, making a dreadful fuss. We stopped and stared at her, puzzled for a moment. Then I realized: this is Terror Alert Level Red. I hadn't seen this behavior since last summer.

Could it be??? I looked out the window toward the backyard, and there he was: OSAMA! Osama is a plump rabbit who made his hideout under our yard barn last Spring. He (she?) would emerge from under the barn near dusk every day, sitting in the same spot, seemingly doing nothing but enjoying the fresh air. Samantha would keep vigil and when she'd spot him, all hell would break loose in our house. "You'd think that rabbit was a terrorist," I remarked. So, we named him Osama.

Sometime in mid-summer, Osama vanished. I suspected that Samantha and the weed trimmer finally sent him fleeing to Pakistan, or a neighboring lot. We never saw him again--until yesterday--sitting there in the melting snow in his favorite spot. Welcome back, old friend. Spring must not be far away.

POSTSCRIPT, Nov. 2010
Several months later, Samantha caught Osama. It didn't go well for Osama. As upset as I was with her, I did praise her being a hell of a lot smarter than George W. Bush.

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