The Other Squirrel

While the most wretched sciurus carolinensis (The Gray Squirrel) gets the most attention here as nuisance mammal, there is another hairy specimen that deserves attention, too. That would be the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, known to scholarly admirers as sylvilagus floridanus--"Wood hare of Florida". Rabbits are a regular part of the landscape here and I often encounter one in the early morning hours, and not infrequently in the early evening. I sometimes catch the rascal working underneath bird feeders, and this one appeared to me to be taking rather more than a passing interest in safflower seeds. These seeds may be too bitter for squirrels, but evidently not for their long-eared cousins. Fortunately, they are not going to be climbing into the feeders any time soon. Thank the heavens!