She Found the Baby Bunnies

…not alive. This was a remarkably calm moment for my fantasy author. She was raking the front yard Sunday and had disturbed one of the bunnies (there's got to be another word for these creatures because I feel like little Kaylin calling them…rabbits?). She had disturbed one of the young rabbits when she gathered up a pile of grass clippings it was hiding under. The things truly are cute, I have to admit. It hopped over to hide next to her foot since she'd just removed its cover. How much intelligence can these things have?

She was thrilled to see it out frolicking, no longer confined to its nest, and she wondered where its sibling was. Well…that's where our story turns quite sad. I won't give details, but I'm wondering at her level of sanity. I mean, when something as cute and pathetic as a baby bunny (two of them, actually) is lying dead next to its nest, you would expect Sandy to crumble. I figured the day was shot at that point. Let's take her back in the house and deal with this emotional turmoil. For some reason neither of us has figured out yet, she just went around back, told the black snake that lives back there to slither aside because she needed the shovel, and buried the poor little things down by the driveway.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that there is now a dish of water and mound of vegetarian fare by a make-shift, baby-bunny-sized lean-to in the bushes by the front porch. The remaining rabbit will live like a king until the banks kick Sandy out of this place. But she's got a plan to wean the creature toward this wildlife mecca on the property next door. It shouldn't be difficult. (And, yes, she informed the snake out back that he is to leave the rabbit alone or there'll be a manic-depressive woman with a shovel in his future. I'm pretty sure I understand all of that.)

I guess that's something you have to deal with when you live in a swamp in Southwest Florida. Life and death. There are many species out here that Sandy Lender enjoys watching. Some shiny blue-and-black skink visits the back porch to sun itself in the late afternoons. Egrets and herons visit her pond in the back yard (and vultures have been known to watch her back there as well, which she finds disturbing on a variety of levels). A juvenile alligator lived in the culvert down at the end of the driveway last summer, but he left when that dried up. I understand completely why she wanted to live here, why she wanted this to be the home where she finally found stability. What a shame that the idiot she supported through school wasn't interested in helping her keep it…

Tags: fantasy author, Sandy Lender, rabbits, swamp, Southwest Florida, black snake, wildlife, skink, egret, heron, alligator

She's Got Rodents in Her Yard -- And She's Happy About It

See, my fantasy author, Sandy Lender, is a sucker for any small, helpless creature.

Now picture that creature as a baby bunny. Oh, yes, I hear all the ladies oooohing and awwwwing and making sweet, lovey sounds now.

Okay, double the cuteness factor because the nest Sandy uncovered in her front yard has two baby bunnies and they shivered and quivered and squealed in utter, trembling fear over the big human staring at them. They had their tiny pale ears plastered back against their heads and they huddled together in their burrow just waiting for certain death.

She's hoping Mommy Bunny moves them to a more secure location. "If I could find them, an owl or a hawk can find them," she said.

I half expected her to stand guard overnight.

Well, she'll have a fit if I don't mention that she's got rodents in the second and third books of the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy. You may have heard that she's completed the second book and is just editing it now to turn it over to her publisher. She's almost completed the third book, which is why I'm so keen on keeping her happy and writing nice things about my bride. (I'm making a pretty big assumption there because she's not actually letting me read what she's writing...) If you'd like to get your hands on a copy of the first book in the trilogy, or see what everyone's making such a nice fuss over, visit http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=dp_return_2/002-3163519-8684042?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books. There are currently only two copies left, but Amazon has put in an order to get more.


Tags: Chocies Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, fantasy author