Jackrabbits

This photo is reported to be from the journal of Lewis and Clark.  I see these hares almost every morning when I walk.  We still have some vacant lots near our subdivision that are cultivated for hay or grain.  I walk the edges of these lots and that's where I encounter these interesting creatures.  I wonder how much longer it will be before they are pushed out of my area by development.  I wrote a poem about them and I hope you enjoy it.

Jackrabbit Blues

  

With houses hogging every lot

the habitat is shrinking fast

for hounded hares of Harlingen

who cling to every clump of grass.

They‘re long and lean

with ears to match

and walk with rocking gait.

Rumps up, heads low.

In howling wind they hunker down

on sparsely covered bits of ground

and run with blinding speed when danger’s near.

Then disappear in broad daylight.

And when I think we’ve seen the last

I scan the vacant lots’ tall grass

and there they sit, this tiny band

of hounded hares from Harlingen.

 Dennis Price