strawbunnies

Back in May, we came home from a spring camping trip to find our wild strawberry patch growing up at a fast pace. We had planted a dozen or so strawberry plants in mid-summer last year, and they rapidly multiplied themselves as soon as the growing weather hit this spring. This was the first time I was seeing them produce their tiny fruit, and I was pleasantly surprised to find so many ripening strawberries upon us before the end of May.














Then, while I was looking closer at the cute little berries, I was even more surprised to find this cute little critter hanging out among the plants.














Cute as it may be, it was trying to burrow underneath our strawberries, and I was not having any of that. I shooed the bunny out of there, and tried to fluff the trampled plants back into shape. Later in the day I saw the strawbunny lurking near the patch, eyeing up the cool green expanse of leaves and the dirt underneath. Now, I know these bunnies are cute, and I'm fine with them lounging languidly in our lawn all spring and summer, I really am. But once their bunny pursuits threatened my edible garden area, I allowed no points for cuteness. Their digging would damage the roots of the strawberry plants, thereby interfering with my burgeoning plans for back yard sustenance. Although I normally coo over fuzzy animals and babies, I quickly adopted a more pragmatic, cold-hearted stance toward these coprophagic critters: "Sorry Strawbunnies, but find a different patch of dirt to dig!"

The husband and I covered up the strawberry patch with a sheet of garden fabric, which we left in place for around 5 days. It did the trick and prevented the bunnies from accessing their desired burrow dirt, forcing them to seek out a different patch to dig. And our strawberries kept on producing fruit well into July, so our defense tactic was a success. But I think maybe I should share our bounty with the neighbors whose yard the bunnies relocated to. Sorry neighbors!