Jeanne Crisp

Last time we left you with a dilemma. What to do about a nest of cute baby bunnies found in the middle of the carrot bed at the Mukilteo Community Garden?

Several of us came to the same conclusion: Nothing. We couldn't imagine ourselves harming those critters, even though we knew there was a good chance we'd eventually wish them gone. Within a few days, they had dispersed, perhaps to munch their way through the garden, perhaps to get munched.

After all, it is the Year of the Rabbit. Which makes one more rabbit story so fun.

In mid-May, I received several texts and photos of a large white rabbit running aMUK in the garden. Chances are this rabbit was dumped off by someone who no longer wanted their house pet. It was making short order of new plants all over the garden (including my celery!) I told all renters there was a bounty on its head – a homemade cake of the catcher's choice. For two days, several groups of adults were thwarted by the rabbit's ability to leap over raised beds while we had to follow the paths. So, I was very surprised to learn that Olivia, 6, had caught the rabbit.

I wrongly assumed this sweet girl had gone to the garden with her parents to tend their bed and had seen the bunny, which then allowed her to walk right up and lift it into her arms. Nope! Olivia and 3-year-old brother Alex spent an hour chasing the rabbit through the paths of the garden, finally cornering it in a spot where she could grab it by the scruff of its neck and drop it into the cage I'd left on site.

Olivia earned a carrot cake for her efforts. The rabbit's tale continued.

My neighbor Irene, an animal lover, said she'd adopt the rabbit rather than me taking it to an animal shelter. She named it "Panda" due to it being white with black markings. After I delivered the bunny, in the cage, she went online and ordered supplies and a hutch, which my husband Tom assembled for her. A week after captivity, Panda was safely in the hutch.

The next morning I received a text from Irene: "Watch out for your garden, Panda escaped." Half an hour later, I noticed Panda in a neighbor's yard. I contacted him and we spent a few hours running around with a net, finally snagging Panda and returning the bunny to the hutch. The next morning: "Uh-oh, Panda's out again."

There was another effort to catch Panda, but it failed. Since then, early June, Panda has roamed free in my neighborhood. Irene posted lost bunny signs and has gotten phone calls from several blocks away. But no one has been able to catch Panda, so he/she continues to be the neighborhood rabbit. Lately, Panda makes a regular appearance in Irene's yard each evening, hopping up to her for a nightly serving of rabbit pellets and then sleeping under a rose bush until the next morning's adventures. Irene believes she'll be able to catch him when the weather turns colder, then we'll look at making the hutch escape-proof.

In the meanwhile, we surprised Irene with a sign attached to her front fence that said Panda Crossing. So if you travel on Federal Avenue in Everett, and spot the sign, now you know the back story.

After all, it is the Year of the Rabbit.