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Tag: bunnies

August 18, 2014
Kathy
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Always Bunnies in the Yard

Posted in Musing About Art, and Reference Photos

I’ve written over the years about the many, many bunnies that make our yard their home.  They are still happily invading the garden and living the life around here.

Momma bunny enjoying the sun
Momma bunny enjoying the sun

This gal is sunbathing in the backyard. We are doing some reworking of the yard and she loves the dusty dirt to hang out on.

Time for your close up!
Time for your close up!

When I can, I try to catch some photos of them. Although this photo is a little blurry, it lets me see how her fur is colored and the proportion of her eyes and ears to her face.   I haven’t painted rabbits in a while, but she would look marvelous in a painting. 🙂

June 19, 2012
Kathy
3 Comments

Leap of Faith

Posted in Reference Photos

This morning I watched as the three baby bunnies took a literal leap of faith out of their nest into the big world.  How exciting!  I’ve written many times about the rabbits that live in the yard.

One of the rabbits living in the yard

About 2 -3 weeks ago the dog was sitting quietly, watching out the backdoor window.  When we came over to see what had his attention, we saw this:

Rabbit with dried grass for nesting

Neither of us had seen a rabbit gathering dried grass before. She carefully gathered a mouthful of dried grass from a pile of clippings and carried up the deck steps and hopped into a tall planter. She could not reach the planter from the ground, but she could by hopping from the steps into it. The planter is 2 -3 feet off the ground.

Rabbit hopping out of planter nest Here she is jumping out of the planter.  The photo was taken from inside and she moved so fast, but you can get the idea.

gathering dried grass for a nest She noticed us at this point, but kept on with her task.

Bunny nest in planterWe left the planter alone, not wanting to disturb any nest that might have been in the planter.  This week we noticed a small cave like hole.Yesterday we noticed this:

baby bunny in planter nest

One of the three babies. They were starting to move out into view – although I could only get a photo through the screen door glass. They are barely 3 inches – so cute.  This morning when I opened the blinds, I could see one leaning over the edge of the planter. That’s when I noticed that 2 tiny babies were already on the ground, scurrying under the deck overhang. As I watched, the last one took a  leap of faith into the big world and joined his siblings.   Would have been great to have had my camera but it was over in about 4 seconds.  It was so cool to able to see the big event!

Hope your day is a happy leap of faith!

May 1, 2012
Kathy
4 Comments

Bunnies In My Yard And On My Canvas

Posted in Art Work, and Peeking Behind the Easel

We have lots of bunnies in the yard year round.  There are at least four right now that hang out around the yard. They are a blast to watch when they start playing and chasing each other around the grass. They are very comfortable…. ok, overly comfortable…..

overly comfortable bunnies sibstudio dot com blog

and show little fear when we are around the yard.  When the dog is out and about in the yard, they stay where they are, nestle down in the flowers or grass, and  just watch him. Often they continue to munch on grass while they keep an eye on him.  Occasionally the dog spots them and then the chase is on.  The bunnies always win and slip away through the fence. I had the image of the bunnies nestled down in the flowers, keeping an eye on the dog,  when I painted this little miniature painting:

Bunnies and black eyed susans sibstudio dot com blog

And that is a peek behind my easel for the story behind the painting. : )    You can find this painting in my Etsy shop.

July 15, 2011
Kathy
3 Comments

Even More Bunnies in My Yard

Posted in Musing About Art, and Reference Photos

Even More Bunnies in My Yard

Here's one of the newest batch of  bunnies. Do I dare ask how many batches a year rabbits have?…..best not to know, just enjoy they're adorable cuteness!  These photos were taken from inside, through the window.

New babies

What is it about this planter that attracts the bunnies?

Muncing on flowers

Luckily he's so little that all his munching won't do too much damage.

Each one is different - this one has a white spot on his head

Each rabbit is a little different.  This little guy has a white spot in the middle of his forehead. It's fun to get to recognize each individual rabbit as they grow.  I probably won't paint  his little white spot in a painting because it's not very common and would distract from the painting.  Good old artistic license – keeps the painting from looking like I splash white paint on his forehead!

June 23, 2011
Kathy
6 Comments

Bunnies In My Yard

Posted in Reference Photos

Bunnies In My Yard

I've written in the past about the bunnies in my yard. They are so darn cute….. except when they eat my flowering quince bush….   We have  what must be a vary  large new batch of babies nibbling in every corner of the yard.  They are palm size – so little and cute!

They've shown up regularly in my paintings over  the years.  They move too quickly to get lots of photos.  I guess I don't have the patience to sit quietly and wait for them. I'd make a lousy wildlife photographer.  But you can learn a lot about your subject by watching them in motion…..preferably inside with a nice cup of coffee. : – )   If you've ever  watched rabbits, they suddenly take off running in zigzags for no apparent reason, giving you get plenty of time seeing them in motion.  I love the more rounded features and short little ears of the babies.  And over time, you can tell the difference between them by size, narrowness of the face, and variations in fur coloring.

Here's a peek at a few photos I managed to grab of them:

Isn't he a cutie? He or she is only 4 –  5  inches or so from nose to tail.

Sometimes they get way too comfortable around here.  This was freshly planted with flower seeds. Guess it looked like a comfy place to hang out.  This is one of the photos taken from inside.