March 9, 2011
Beware of the Bunny!
The lower bark of these pussy willows (Salix discolor) was gnawed off this winter by hungry rabbits, leaving a band of exposed orange wood just above the snow line. The unusually deep and persistent snow left plant- eaters with very few options. A patch of sassafras near Black's Nook was also debarked. The damaged plants will probably die. Fortunately for both the willows and the sassafras, larger specimens were left untouched, perhaps because the bark was too thick to be gnawed.