The Easter Bunny Came Calling
In My Backyard

A week ago as I stood in the backyard talking with an old friend Lori, a surprise visitor showed up in the gardens. A golden bunny hopped half-heartedly away from our curious cat, Masheala. My friend and I watched amazed as the bunny would hop a bit, stop until the cat caught up to him and then hop away again. My friend and I decided to try to catch him, but he would have nothing to do with being captured. He let us get up to him and just barely touch him and then off he would go again. Between the cat and humans you would think the bunny would run as far away as he could. It was obvious the bunny had been raised by humans, as he showed little fear of us.

Giving up on catching the bunny, Lori and I went back to talking, watching Masheala still trying to figure out the golden bunny. All of a sudden the bunny turned on the cat and became the chaser of the cat instead of the chased. We laughed as we watched the bewildered cat run away from a bunny in hot pursuit. The cat jumped up on a bench to get away from the golden bunny and the bunny parked himself under the bench, keeping the cat trapped on the bench.

Soon the bunny tired and hopped away (to the relief of the cat) to investigate the underneath side of our kept bunny, Charley Brown's cage. It was obvious he was hungry and in search of food. I knew this bunny would find my gardens tasty and it would resist attempts for me to run it out of the gardens. I also knew if left to wander, the bunny would soon be dog or coyote food. I tried once again to catch the bunny and he wouldn't have anything to do with my attempts at capture. I grabbed an extra bunny cage and placed it on the ground close to the other bunny hutch, added food and water inside and waited close by the trap. Within five minutes the bunny hopped into the enclosure and I quickly closed the door.

We have had bunnies for a few years now. It started when my daughter wanted one for a pet. My daughter took her first bunny to rabbit shows and happily won ribbons, while I happily used the bunny manure in the gardens. When Buddy Chew passed away friends gave us Charlie Brown as a replacement, but this time it's Mom's rabbit and responsibility. He is a sweet rabbit and provides plenty of manure for the gardens and compost pile.

Since the golden bunny showed up before Easter time, he is named Easter. He is tame and seems relieved in the protection of a safe cage. He will provide more manure for the gardens and make a nice pet as a bonus.

Now if he would just show me where he hid the golden egg.

Reprinted from Rainyside Gardeners website

Mom’s Special Easter Memory

When I was about 8 years old, I had the best Easter I can remember. My sister, Linda and I had found an abandoned cat in late fall and with winter approaching, our parents had agreed to let us keep the cat. We named her "Patches," because she was white with large black patches.

Winter passed and soon it was spring. When Easter morning arrived, my sister and I awoke early to see what the Easter Bunny had left. What we found was a set of instructions for an Easter Egg Hunt. The hunt led us all over the house. We found small piles of Easter eggs under pillows, behind chairs, and beside plants.

Finally, we reached the last instruction, which told us to visit the cat’s basket. Quickly my sister and I raced downstairs, and looked all around the basket, but there were no shiny Easter eggs to be found. We looked closer at the basket and noticed Patches, but something was different. There, snuggled against their mother were 5 tiny kittens. They were so beautiful and small. The kittens were a mix of colours, gray, black and white.

My sister and I spent most of the next few weeks watching over and playing with the kittens. We named them: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor and Tiger. It was the best Easter we ever had.

Reprinted from Sugar Bush Kids website

It’s Easter morning and Caroline, who is nine years old, has just finished getting dressed in her frilly, laced trimmed, white Easter dress.  As she combs the last lock of her curly, brown hair, and puts on her hat, she looks in the mirror and says to “Perfect!” Now, I can show Daddy how pretty I am and tell that him that I am all ready for church.

Just as she is about to go downstairs, she hears a noise from outside. So, she wanders to the window, looks out, and sees that a big, black dog has treed a cat.

“Oh!” She says to herself as she runs downstairs. She love cats, so without thinking, out the door she runs. “Get out of here, dog! Shoo!” She screams. The dog does not move, but continues jump and bark. It is out to kill the cat, she thinks. A dog is a cat’s worst enemy. So, she pulls at his neck and tugs at his tail, but the dog does not budge.

Running to the back yard she finds a rake from out of the storage shed. She swings the rake toward the dog, thinking that she will surely threaten it and it will move away.  Nevertheless, the dog thinks she is playing with it and it jumps at the rake knocking Caroline down.  She jumps up and starts swinging widely and screaming even louder.  After several swings, the dog moves back, but not far enough to assure the cat of its safety.  Caroline, dusts herself off and determines that she is going to save the cat.   She knows that she has to be smarter than this dog.

Changing her strategy, she starts to climb the tree.  While climbing, she is gently assuring the cat that is safe to come down. "Here, kitty, kitty," she calls. The dog watches and barks.  The more the dog barks, the higher the cat climbs.  So, she inches up the tree.  As she climbs, a branch snags her dress and tears  the lace .  She looks down to yell at the dog and fear grips her soul.  She cannot move.

About that time, inside the house, her Dad calls for her.  “Precious, come and show me your pretty, new dress.”  No answer.  “Honey, where are you?"  As he looks inside her room he says,  "It’s almost time to go.”  Where is she?  He wonders.  He looks for her downstairs.  By this time, he is worried.  As he is walking to the kitchen, he hears the dog barking.

He runs outside to see his daughter frozen in the tree.  He climbs the tree, then gently shows her which branch to step on while he lovingly calms her fears.  When they reach the bottom of the tree, he grabs her and pulls her to safety.  She falls into her dad’s strong arms and cries.

In tears, she looks down at her dress, which is now stained and torn.  Embarrassed and hurt, she lowers her head.  Her Dad touches her face, raises her head, and asks her, “Why didn’t you call me? I would have helped you.  Dear, the concern that you had for the cat was good, but you needed my strong arms and advise to get it down.  I love you and I am strong.  If you would have called me, I would have rescued the cat and you would have stayed spotless."

What is the origin of the Easter Egg?

First Imperial Faberge Egg - 1885

From earliest times, and in most cultures, the egg signified rebirth and resurrection.
The Egyptians buried eggs in their tombs. The Greeks placed eggs atop graves.
Given as gifts by the ancient Greeks, Persians, and Chinese at their spring festivals,
the egg also appears in pagan mythology, where we read of the Sun-Bird being hatched
from the "World Egg". The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a festival
commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime —
"Eastre" — through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.

Eggs were wrapped with gilt or gold leaf, while peasants often dyed their eggs. The
tinting was achieved by boiling the eggs with certain flowers, leaves, log wood chips, or
the cochineal insect. Spinach leaves or anemone petals were considered best for green; the
bristly gorse blossom for yellow; and log wood for rich purple and the cochineal for scarlet.

In parts of Germany during the early 1880s, Easter eggs substituted for birth certificates.
An egg was dyed a solid color, then a design, which included the recipient’s name
and birth date, was etched into the shell with a needle or sharp tool. Such Easter
eggs were honored in law courts as evidence of identity and age.

Decorating and coloring eggs for Easter was the custom in England during the middle
ages. The household accounts of Edward I, for the year 1290, recorded an expenditure of
eighteen pence for four hundred and fifty eggs to be gold-leafed and colored for Easter gifts.

Easter’s most valuable eggs were hand crafted in the 1880s. Made by the great
goldsmith Peter Carl Faberge, they were commissioned by Czar Alexander III of
Russia as gifts for his wife, Czarina Maria Feodorovna. The first Faberge egg, presented
in 1886, measured two and a half inches long and had a deceptively simple exterior.
Inside the white enamel shell, though, was a golden yolk, which when opened
revealed a gold hen with ruby eyes. The hen itself could be opened, by lifting
the beak, to expose a tiny diamond replica of the imperial crown.

From ... "The Great Idea Finder"