This past spring, as I prepared for my husband to move to
West Yellowstone for work for five months, I found myself worrying about
getting lonely in his absence. It was an unusual concern for me to have
considering I lived on my own for several years prior to getting married. But
since marrying Andy, I have grown accustomed to waking up next to another
beating heart each morning and a smiling face embracing me at the end of each
day. What was I going to do without someone to keep me company every day….especially
at night.
Little did I know that a small, cotton-tailed ball of fluff
would soon begin his daily check ins on me in Andy’s place.
Not long after Andy packed up and headed for West, I began a
routine of checking on the progress of our grass seed filling in our back yard.
After getting home from work each night I would walk out our back door onto the
deck to see how the bare patches were continuing to fill in. On one such night
I noticed a small brownish rabbit resting in one of the patchier areas of grass
just off our deck.
“Hey there buddy!” I hollered out to him smiling.
After giving me a quick once over out of the corner of his
eyes, the rabbit deemed me harmless and remained nestled comfortably in his
spot.
Having seen numerous rabbits bounding about between the
yards in our neighborhood since moving into our house, I didn’t think much
about this rabbit’s visit….until I came home the next evening to again notice a
rabbit sitting in the same area of our yard. It looks suspiciously like the
rabbit from the night before with its chestnut brown coat speckled throughout
with patches of grey.
Turns out….it was the same rabbit.
Over the course of the next few weeks this curious critter
made his nightly appearance around the same time and in the same section of our
yard. He just sat there peacefully staring off into the distance. Occasionally he
bent his head down to munch on a clump of grass. Wanting to befriend him and
encourage him to hang around, I began leaving small pieces of bell peppers in
the grass where he normally sat. I had no idea whether rabbits ate peppers but
it was one of the only fresh vegetables I seemed to have around. And while he
never seemed to eat very many (if any) of the peppers pieces, he did continue
to show up nearly every night.
Once I realized this rabbit might be hanging around for
good, I decided it was only appropriate to name him. And the first name that came
to mind was “Bart.” It may sound strange, but there was a comforting nature to
Bart’s presence in our yard each night. I guess you could say he filled the
husband gap during the week while Andy was away working. I had someone to check in with each night when
I got home. And while he wasn’t as interactive as Andy or even a dog, he was
still there waiting at home for me each night.
Oddly enough, once Andy returned home in September Bart stopped
coming around. I guess he realized I didn’t need him as much anymore. Every
once in a while I still catch a glimpse of a rabbit scurrying about our
neighborhood. But I’m never quite sure if it’s Bart or not. I do like to think,
however, that Bart continues to keep secret tabs on me and make sure that Andy
is in fact home now to watch over me. I do hope when spring returns that so
does at least the occasional appearance from my friend, Bart.
