The Story of Squirrel and Rabbits

Several years ago I picked up a little red{ish} rabbit statue at Target

and brought him home. Doug teasingly {and lovingly?} called me PJ.

♥

PJ was my mother-in-law's name, and I think at that time Doug may have been concerned that one day, in the not so distant future, our backyard space might resemble his mother's - full of whimsical statues and figurines and what-not's. PJ loved herself some whimsy!

 

And back in the day when Doug's dog, Misty was still around, there was a regular routine of a tennis ball being thrown in our backyard. One evening as we relaxed on our patio - me sipping wine and Doug tossing the ball for Misty {over and over and over and...}, I noticed that he appeared to be deliberately aiming the ball at the rabbit.

 

When I asked, half-expecting him to deny it, he sheepishly admitted that I was right - the rabbit was his target. "What?!?! What has that rabbit ever done to you?," I asked. "Uh...well...he's staring at me," was his comeback.

 

Thus began the story of the red rabbit, and his friends who came to share this space.

 



Not long after the red rabbit arrived, we I added a squirrel to the mix.

Next thing you know, a gray rabbit arrived...

Now, you might be thinking, "Where is this post going, Deb?!?!"

And I'm about to tell you. 

 

 

These three garden friends, simply known as "Squirrel and Rabbits" around here, get moved from time to time. In fact, every time Doug cleans up the backyard, he moves these three into different positions. They've been known to tell each other secrets, be mad at each other and stand back-to-back, stand in a row facing a sun symbol {worshiping the sun...}, and most recently, they were caught playing hide-and-seek.

 



{you can see the gray rabbit way back by the fence...}

 

I love that this little collection started with the thought that I was just like PJ, but what I love even more is that Doug's sense of whimsy is more like his mother's than we knew in the beginning. It's always so much fun to see what he comes up with when he moves these garden friends around.

 

Perhaps Squirrel and Rabbits will make future appearances on this blog.

I wonder what they'll be doing next...

♥

PS: PJ was born on the 4th of July, so tomorrow we'll remember her on her birthday. She was red, white, and blue through and through, and she spent her life serving in a volunteer capacity in her community and also as the wife of a career Marine. Long live her lovely memory. ♥