Somebody emailed me this picture a while ago, and soon after I heard the news that the conservationists in SW Brisbane had won their fight to preserve and protect a little pocket of bush wonderland from developers.

Hidden amidst the urban sprawl, away from the hustle and bustle of city life lies 200 hectares of secluded natural bushland and forest.

The locals treasure this place for a tranquil secluded walk or cycle, and they call it "Pooh's Corner"

 

www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/south/see-the-last-of-br...

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My little story of yesterday feels like it came out of Pooh Bear's collections.

A tiny turn of event that puts one offtrack from the usual quiet routine and gives one food for thought.

 

But one could read too much into these occasions I think… draw on insights, perhaps presume on a change in life direction ..

Just best to receive it as it is.

A little sparkle that just comes and goes.

The Tao of Pooh..

 

In short, came across a wild bunny in the park.

And I got to hold it.

( And for the wise guys out there, yes it was actually a hare.

I Choose To Call Them All Bunnies )

 

Afterwards as I sat cuddling Miss Woolly later on her sofa and looked up through the window at the moonless black night sky, the clouds had disappeared from that wild storm we had, and all the stars were twinkling so brightly .. something Pooh would enjoy ..

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Which brings us to yesterday.

 

For some reason I was ahead of the Girlz in the park for a change, detoured towards a tall clump of stringy yellow wild flowers, stood there contemplating a photo possibility, though without the camera at that point, would bring it back tomorrow.

Risk in that, as quite often, they'd either be mown down or died off a bit by then..

 

Why did I look down? Just a habit in snake season, I s'pose.. a little patch of brown in the shadow of the scrub, with only a few inches growth of grass around it.. Perhaps thought it was a cow pat, to be avoided, it wasn't moving …

 

There he/she was, a pretty as a picture, a little bunny, nestled in the grass..

Well, ok, they are actually hares, but I Call Them All Bunnies ..

 

At first, thought it was dead… no movement at all, eyes were open, unblinking… didn't dash away..

Maybe died from fright of the thunder in the afternoon storm, soaked from the rain, out in the open.

 

There were habitat shelters feet away, so if it was alive, wouldn't he have hunkered down dry in these places ?

 

For a few seconds, I stood there, sadly pondering this sweet little guy and his short life… then there was a twitch of the nose !

…and another !

Was he injured? He still wasn't moving ..

And a credit to the Girlz, as they did obey when told not to come over..

 

Someone else would've walked on…

But I was stuck with doing nothing or something, and neither was comfortable.

 

If I just pick him up with bare hands, and look at him for injuries, like a broken leg or bite mark, would he bite me?

I had no idea. Do they carry horrendous germs that would give me yet another health challenge ?

 

Then what? I had no container to put him in either.

So back to the car and it started raining again, and off home drenched, to collect a few things.

If bunny wasn't there when I returned, that would be nature's answer for me. It meant he was fine.

 

On the way home to pick up a suitable travel container, gardening gloves and some doggy towels to line the container and one to wrap around him, I stopped at Marie's house to ask her advice.

 

Marie is a stout, pepper pot shaped lady, who surprises me, that she took on the commitment of wildlife carer, as she's obviously not in the best of physical health.

 

Had met her a few months ago on my previous mission, a rescue of a turtle dove, found on the road, not moving out of the way of cars, just sitting there.

 

He didn't struggle when I picked him up, so I thought, Oh, there Must be something wrong with him .. had a look and discovered a huge chunk of his chest missing down to the breast cartilage but smoothly healed over.

 

This wound had happened ages ago. A bite from a dog? It was too large for a little cat's mouth to do that. How did he survive !!!???

 

Rang the local vet and they gave me Marie's ph. no.

 

On arrival, Marie came outside to receive her new guest, and I opened the back car door, gently rolled back the cover, and what did I see, but the dove sitting on top of the basket, and in the next instance, flying past my head to the nearest telegraph pole.

 

My first reaction was to to laugh in embarrassment, that I'd assessed the situation so wrongly and wasted Marie's time and preparation.

Then laughed with relief .. said to Marie, I think this fella is going to be alright !

Marie wasn't fazed, smiled and said that these doves were surprisingly tough.

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So here I was at Marie's door again, she was kind and helpful, also reminded me these little guys often do 'freeze' and pretend they're 'not there' if they're frightened, hoping to be undetected as I passed by.

 

As Marie herself stuck caring for the feathered variety, she referred me to Lorelle in another nearby street, as she was the 'furry' wildlife lady.

 

We agreed that BunBun might be ok and gone by the time I returned to the park…and that's what we hoped anyway..

 

Walked around the spot to find him again, couldn't see him in the dwindling light, thought, Good, that's my answer..

Was just leaving, and there he was, he hadn't moved.

 

Expected him to wriggle madly and spring out of my hands when I put the towel on him and picked him up, but he was so quiet and still.

Oh, this is not good, I thought..

 

Had a peek in amongst the towel, his face was nestled between front paws, he was adorable.

He didn't look sick nor distressed.

He looked relaxed.

He didn't look real.

Was I really holding a wild bunny?

 

Uncovered and had a quick look at his back half while his front half was still wrapped in the towel, and all looked normal.

No injuries. Perfect.

In fact, his little back legs, waved just a bit, to climb back into the warmth of the towel, as if to say, "Hey, I was comfy..all snuggled up like that.."

He wasn't a baby bun, but he wasn't an adult either.

 

This time I'd made sure there was a heavier cover on the travel box, so he couldn't get out while I was driving to Lorelle's.

 

With my terrible sense of humour, couldn't help thinking about the monster rabbit scene in Monty Python's "The Holy Grail", where this cute bunny flies around attacking the Knights of Ni..

Didn't want That happening in the car.

 

Anyway, had phoned Lorelle and she was waiting outside, holding a basket with a hinged lid and a bunny rug in it, all prepared.

Another wildlife carer with a big heart.

 

But did say for me not to be too hopeful, as it's common for them to freak out so badly and suddenly die just from the stress of human contact.

 

She also told me that these hares do not burrow, they live on top of the ground.

So what about that farmers' tale I been told about burrows ruining paddocks and injuring cows falling into holes ?

Must be another sort of hare..

 

It may have been that we stood chatting for a few minutes, making human noises, as he went to leap out of her arms when she had a look at his face.

When I held him so peacefully before, all was really quiet.

 

A little while later, still peeling off rain soaked clothes and drying wet dogs at home, Lorelle phoned to say she was releasing Bunny back in the same spot the same evening, as she was sure he was fine and he would want to feed at night.

 

Better to get them back to the natural as soon as possible, rather than keeping them, stressing them out unnecessarily and trying to hand feed them.

In fact, he'd just scampered across her kitchen floor quite well !

 

It did run through my silly head that I'd love to be a wildlife carer, ( and yes, I did impulsively offer volunteer assistance to Lorelle, but she didn't need any ) … and was this another turn in life's path to follow …

Or do I have a habit, that I rescue beings who are really okay …

 

At least Bun Bun got dry..

 

That's what Pooh would say, I think ..

 

Also learnt they're not territorial, so he might've moved on by now … but I still left half an apple out there tonight x

 

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