The rabbit

It had to happen. It does every year. And sure enough ...

Last week, we had a little warmup, and some of the snow melted. Didn't get that warm, but highs in the 40s are nice when you've been stuck in the 20s for so long.

Today, we got hit, but good. Large parts of the Midwest are seeing hail, heavy rain, damaging winds and even tornadoes. But the same system doing all that has also given us a heck of a snowstorm. It may be our biggest storm of the winter. Not sure of that yet, but I can say (from personal experience) that it's the heaviest/densest snow of the year. "Heart attack snow." Very heavy to lift and shovel. As I did late this afternoon.

For as heavy as the snow is, it sure drifts well. It's cold and windy tonight, and the snow is blowing and drifting all over. I had to drive about 15 miles away tonight, for a meeting, and the snow was blowing all over the roads. They had the highway cleared well enough for me, and the driving wasn't too bad. All the same, I'm glad I don't have to go out later tonight. Closer to Lake Superior, they have blizzard warnings out.

Last Saturday, it was a nice, springish day (springish for us, of course; everything is relative). Highs were in the 40s. Some of the snow had melted.

After we got home from that volleyball tournament, we (David, my wife and I) were going to watch a disk at home. My wife was late coming in. She had seen something across the street (which is the main highway through town) by the streetlights. A small critter moving near the curb. She wasn't sure what. A squirrel, maybe?

I looked. I could see the movement. After a few minutes, I put my jacket on and went to see. David came along.

It was a rabbit, lying on its side in the grime by the curb. We have a number of rabbits around the area, and you usually can see their prints in the snow each morning. My wife watches just before dark, as one occasionally comes around for a bite to eat. (She loves to feed her birds with stale bread and crackers and whatever.)

Obviously, if this one could have hippity-hopped away, it would have. Evidently it had been hit by a car or truck. Regardless, there it was. It was moving and was obviously seriously hurt. Now what?

I knew that I had to do something I had never done before, certainly not deliberately. I felt bad, but what else could be done? If I grab the rabbit at its shoulders, twist its body one way and snap its head the other way, its suffering would be over. I sent David back to the house and crouched down, petting the rabbit's side.

That's when I noticed that the rabbit was lying still. I pressed its side. Its legs were quiet. Its eyes weren't moving. I pressed again. Nature had taken care of matters.

David brought out a shovel, and we moved the rabbit off the road and onto the curb. Not sure what's the right thing to do for deceased critters, but I didn't want it to become highway pizza. I didn't feel like seeing a movie after that. But I do know how grateful I felt that I didn't have to do what I felt I had to.

The rabbit may still be out there ... now under a foot-deep white blanket. So it goes.

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Cripes, do I have a lot of snow to shovel tomorrow morning!