What I Saw

For a good two weeks, this mama jackrabbit hung out near our house. Even when we drove the truck in and out of the carport, she stayed put. Not sure if the shade from our house provided enough solace to quell any fears, or if she’d just gotten comfortable with the idea of having us around.

We’re lucky enough to have more than a dozen jackrabbits roaming our desert property. They are enormous – most of them bigger than our cats. Click to enlarge.

For Writers: You might think I’m a bit nutty, but when I look at this picture, the word that comes to mind is “comfort.” This bony animal with all its sharp edges, giant ears and eerie saucer-shaped eyes isn’t what one would call soft, cuddly, or comforting. I know. But when she let me get this close to photograph her, it made me think of comfort levels … how, when we tackle a new novel, we need to get comfortable with our characters. We need to get comfortable with our plot, our themes, new settings. In my current work-in-progres (WIP), I’m just getting to know my characters – rounding them out – and can only hope to achieve the same level of comfort that my jackrabbit mama did with me.