Bunny Beware

I invested considerably longer time than typical editing and recomposing the Featured Image. The foreground lawn was flush with sunlight, while the bunny sat stilly in the shadows. The crop puts the rabbit lower in the frame than my preference but better presents ambient lighting—that is within my arguably limited Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic skills.

The portrait comes from Leica Q2, today, along Mississippi Street between Adams and Madison in San Diego’s University Heights district. During our previous 13 years living here, cottontail sightings were rare occurrences. But something is different in 2021—my wife or I see the little hoppers fairly frequently and not at expected early or late day. Surprising timestamp for the photo: 9:24 a.m. PDT. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 28mm.

Many more of my neighbors are growing gardens this year than in the past. Maybe news stories and social media scares about food shortages is explanation. Perhaps people worry about SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 variants spreading and return of lockdowns. State your reason(s)—no doubt there are several, but my guess: fear about something is an undercurrent.

Animals go to where they can eat easiest, right? Your garden is a rabbit’s smorgasbord. Something else: California has returned to drought conditions. Bunnies need to drink, too, and freshly watered growing fruits and vegetables is a source. I am just speculating, of course. You think differently?

As for the title, the rabbit sat still while I used the camera. Either it wasn’t afraid enough to flee or stayed motionless as a protective tactic. I wonder what predators that behavior thwarts and which ones it doesn’t.