Bunnies.

Easter's getting pretty close, and the bunnies are everywhere. Here's one from a supermarket circular.

And there was another in the bushes I planted on the side of the house. I was bringing Nipper, the young dog, around on the leash when suddenly a brown rabbit burst out from under a large bush and tore tail down the hill in the back. I thought he'd fly into the tall weeds that form the border of the yard, but he stopped dead just before that.

You might think, if you were a bunny rabbit, that it would be silly to sit in the open in front of a dog. Why not dash for the cover? But when the rabbit stopped dead, motionless, in plain sight to my eyes, he suddenly became invisible to my puppy.

I had read that dogs' eyes pick up motion better than ours do, but they still see only half as well, and their color perception is not as good. The brown bunny motionless against the brown weeds was indeed invisible to Nipper, although I could see him easily. Had Nipper really been on the hunt he could have followed his nose, but at this point in his career the only things he wants to kill is deer and birds. They keep moving all the time, so no wonder. I shooed the bunny out of the yard, though, just in case.

As for Easter bunnies, I have one that works as a kind of tribute to the talent we just lost: J. Geils. No, actually, I'm talking about Mr. Warmth, the great Don Rickles, one of America's greatest comedians.

Appearing on this very stage...

Of course we know Rickles was the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story movies. Had they done an Easter-themed adventure, he probably would have dressed as you see here. (It appears that Hasbro no longer makes this version of Mr. PH, so I may have a collectors' item.)

Rickles himself was of course Jewish, and this is the week of Passover, but as far as I know Passover's never had a successful cartoonish mascot like the Easter Bunny. Certainly Hasbro has not released any Jewish holiday themed Mr. Potato Head toys. Mr. Latke Head would be pretty neat.

Pixar fans are saddened that Rickles did not get to record his lines for the upcoming Toy Story 4 before his passing at the tender age of 90. But I have no doubt Disney will resuscitate him. As Peter Cushing found out, mere death is not enough to escape the grip of the Mouse.

I mean, I know Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection, but that's not the kind we have in mind.

Dare I say it? MASH UP!