We watch, in hope that they will re-appear each Spring. Wild Irish Hares have become scarce in some places but there are still a few around here. As long as intensive farming is in fashion, all wild animals will be vulnerable. But this week they were back, lolling around between the warm stones and the fresh herbs.
Your heart would leap when they gallop past the window, their long legs stretching them out to full height. It’s like seeing a furry sprite whizz past. They are drawn to the front of the house and after eating, they sit with faces turned to the sun. Living out of doors in grassy beds, not in burrows like rabbits, you have to wonder how they survive the long winter.
Their tiny leverets, have been placed between the flowerpots at our kitchen window, away from the danger of the open fields. They spend weeks there all alone, with the mother returning each evening to feed and check on them. So far this strategy has worked well and we have the pleasure of watching them grow up and fend for themselves.
And even though they are the same meditating hares that I have loved and photographed for years, I can’t resist their twitchy noses and smily faces, and the way they skitter down the path, to who knows where, when they’ve had enough….
More wildlife images in the Wild Gallery here
Amazing photographs, and lovely story.
Thank you! They are magical animals somehow…….
Fabulous photos… we have plenty of hares here… they have all the flowers gone off my daffodils. I planted over 100 bulbs and only have about 20 flowering ones as they hares are chewing them… I haven’t caught them in the act but it has to be them. Still love them though…
O I know!!! I have to keep weighing that one up. Ultimately because it would have been something I would NEVER have been allowed to do as a child, I favour the wildlife over the garden……at least for now anyway……
Loved this! I’ve never seen a hare in real life. The only visitors at the front of my house today were the postie and the huge fat doves who waddle around and think they own the neighbourhood. Do you have to completely avoid going near the kitchen window while the leverets are there?
Good morning Janice! Good question. Actually they get fairly well tucked in between the flower pots and the wall but we are careful and try to use another door further away. However, they really seem to be oblivious of our presence……..as they grow up the dash away and become alert and aware……gorgeous cuddly little creatures……
What a gift it must be to have them come back every year. They are beautiful – no wonder so many artists are compelled to paint them.
Thank you! Yes they are beautiful and they are often found in myths and legends because of their magical quality. We get such a kick out of their proximity!
Love your hare – :-)!!!
Haha! Yes maybe a few pals for Hazel!!:~)))
They are absolutely adorable! Loving their strategy! 🙂
Yea! Leave them alone, don’t worry, they will be fine!!! Chill…….
I am so in love with your sweet friends and cannot get enough, either! I can imagine the thrill of having them so close by to enjoy and get to know. Thanks for sharing the information of how they care for the babies … will keep fingers crossed that they all grow so big & beautiful!
Funny how the older I get, the more I relate to animals and feel their presence just like any of our human beings? You know, all their personalities and their quirks? Thank you Susan x
I think Catherine these are my favorite photos…your hares and your captures of them are priceless. Everywhere there is so much development our wild things have lost their homes and are displaced or slowing in their numbers….so sad!
Donna, how lovely to see your name here to day. Do you remember the working week and being run off you feet? Well…….these guys will cheer me up and distract me in the best way possible so I end up thinking, what the heck……..but I find myself longing for their ease……xx
those pictures make me want to reach out
and stroke them …
Hi Diana! That’s the funny things about photographs, they get us very very close to things and in this case animals! Thank you, I love that wanting to reach out and touch…..but in this case quite impossible!!
Cute litlle ones. An endless fascination it must be to watch them grow and play around!
Thanks Amelie, I never tire of this particular tribe, and I’m still waiting for the boxing matches they are supposed to partake in……to me they seems very peaceful and meditative.