Window

Opening the Window

Living in Aguanga means being surrounded by distant mountain ranges and dried meadow grass. Coyotes, hawks, rabbits, and ground squirrels dominate the broad areas separating each house from the next. The sky even seems broader here than down the hill in areas such as Temecula or Palm Springs. It is also the kind of silent and sleepy place Washington Irving might have loved to frequent had he traveled out west, with about the same level of community involvement as old Sleepy Hollow.

For over fourteen years grand Cahuilla Mountain has greeted me each morning through my window, a purple peak rising from the foothills easing towards its base. On slow days when there is nowhere to go, or the weather is bad, this window is often my main means of watching the world outside.

And that world has some interesting tales when viewed from this angle.

Bread Caper

Whenever the bread at our house goes stale or moldy, my family never chucks it in a trashcan.

Nope.

Instead, we grab the offending loaf and head into the backyard. There we place each slice upon different sections of our fence for the birds to find.

While some pieces take days to disappear, in most cases I can sit at my window and watch crows descend on the food within ten minutes. Sometimes it feels as if they must post a watch-bird nearby to give the alert to all their avian kindred. In particular, there is one raven who snatches the bread in his beak and flies off rather than enjoy his meal in plain view.

Even the squirrels have gotten used to the free handouts. On several occasions, I have looked out to see a squirrel scale the wire, take the slice in his or her mouth, and either nibble his/her prize there or flee to the safety of the gigantic bush in the yard.

Gigantic Bush

If there exists an “Animal United Nations” anywhere, than it must be in my family’s backyard. The same retreat to which squirrels steal away with bread is also home to quail families, rabbits, hawks, mice, lizards, and snakes. They venture from here at various points during the day, enjoying the sunshine beyond while using the bush as a home base if they feel threatened at any time.

Not that there is much for our animal neighbors to fear. Ever since our Rhodesian Ridgeback hound, Sasha, turned senior citizen, she has retired from chasing around furry critters in favor of table scraps.

Comfy Rabbits

The rabbits who reside in the bush and under our house exemplify the easy lifestyle lead by the creatures safe inside the wire fence. They feel so safe, noises like opening windows or shouting people cannot stir them from feasting on the lawn. I have had instances where, taking a peek outside, there have been no fewer than ten rabbits lounging about in the open.

And by “lounge,” I don’t mean they simply sit there. The rabbits living in our backyard stretch out on their sides to sunbathe. If they feel particularly leisurely, this might lead to rolling in the dirt to scratch their backs.

They also play.

I hadn’t realized rabbits played games with each other until I watched two warden members face off beside the bush. At first they seemed to just sit there, performing an awkward staring contest. And then one rabbit shot right at her partner, and that rabbit leapt in the air. They ran around and repeated the same game time and again.

Rabbits play leapfrog.

But this game wasn’t limited to those specific rabbits. It soon spread throughout the warden, and even the squirrels would join in on the activity.

If I knew they wouldn’t run away at the sight of me, I had the flickering desire to play the rabbits’ game too.

I believe they do know I watch them, and I have taken to whistling out my window at them. The rabbits always perk up their ears, listening. They do not run on hearing the sound.

They simply listen, and have even wandered closer once or twice.

Almost everything I have learned about rabbits comes from observing our neighbors, who are probably more scared of being stepped on by us than the fact we are here.

There is one other thing about our rabbit friends to say: they are hardcore.

They can tear holes in thick wire using their teeth and pull it back.

They push aside heavy cinderblocks to get underneath the house.

They attack with teeth and hind feet if they get irritated with each other.

Closing the Window

Our backyard is amazing.