We’re fortunate in Bismarck-Mandan to have wildlife thriving among us. It’s not uncommon to see all sorts of creatures in our yards and on our streets. Back in my law enforcement days, I even remember a call about a deer running up and down Collins Avenue! While urban sprawl may be a problem in more densely populated areas, we still have the luxury of sharing our city with indigenous critters. At my house we count ourselves especially fortunate.

I wrote a while back about Greg, the bunny living in our yard. Sure, he ate some of my wife’s flowers at first, but he’s since given that up. We now coexist peacefully, and he’s really cute besides! We had a little bit of a scare today, however. On the way to church this morning, I saw that a bunny had been struck and killed by a car just around the corner from our house. While I admitted it would be jumping to conclusions, I speculated that it was probably Greg. After all, we’re far from the outskirts of town; how many bunnies could there be on an average city block?

My fears were put to rest today as my wife came upstairs. Glancing out a basement window, she spotted Greg taking a peaceful little bunny nap in one of the flower beds. Talk about a relief! We’re both animal lovers, sure…but I think anyone would admit that having a cute, furry neighbor living nearby is heartwarming. It’s easy to get attached to a little guy like this too, since we see him in the yard quite frequently. Thankfully I can report this day that, while tragedy certainly did strike around the corner, our long-eared friend is safe and sound, and able to nap comfortably.