Rabbits and Seeds

I broke down and planted my tomatoes and peppers yesterday (in my yard anyway - tomorrow we will plant them in the garden plot.)  They were starting to get leggy and needed to stretch out under the hot sun with a miles of dirt beneath them.  Of course, now that they are in the ground, it is supposed to go down to the 60's this weekend..... the joys of living in Northeast Ohio.....

I think this year will be a good year for the garden.  For whatever reason, my cantaloupe is refusing to sprout, but everybody else is happy. 
I've also discovered a young rabbit living in my yard. 
As I've mentioned before, I have a small yard - that I rent.  There is not a whole lot I can do with it, because it isn't mine.  While we do make sure to mow, and obviously I plant things, I've made it a point to keep the back corner of the yard as natural as I can.  There is some variety of cultivate tree that a previous tenant left to languish in one of those wooden barrels that I have yet to identify, a ton of dandelion, aster, a wild rose, wild strawberry, Canada thistle and a gorgeous red maple.  It creates a shady, over grown oasis for all kinds of wildlife.  I put a gargoyle statue back there to watch over everybody and I cobbled together a birdbath from things I garbage picked and the birds love it.  I've watched grackles spend 10 minutes splashing around in it, bathing themselves. 

So, this rabbit.  I've seen it in my yard several times during the winter, most often finding it's droppings.  I thought maybe it was after my kale that I had planted in the fall, but it was never touched.  The other day I discovered it hanging out in the huge stand of aster I have growing in the back.  I think that is where he/she is living.  Most gardeners would be freaking out about this, trying to deter it and keep it away from their vegetables.  I was excited to find a wild animal using my yard as a home - my efforts to keep that area "untouched" are paying off.  That being said, I could be changing my tune here shortly when I start noticing my vegetables are disappearing.  But for now, I'm more concerned about keeping the neighbor's dogs out of the garden than the rabbit.  I think they might have something to do with my lack of cantaloupe.