Hare Stalks Photog

I consider this a decent, but not special, picture of this White-tailed Jackrabbit. However, the story behind it was lots of fun, so here goes.

I was meandering slowly around the yard here in Montana looking for the small wildflowers that have started to bloom when a rabbit jumps up and runs maybe 15 feet (5 m) and stops to stare at me. I froze and watched out of the corner of my eyes for a bit and it didn't move, so I thought I'd slowly go to the house and get my camera. When I got back, much to my surprise, the rabbit was still there, although it had turned around. I very slowly and without looking directly at the rabbit circled around, maybe 10-15 feet [3-5m] away, so that I could get a reasonably clear view of it's face. Then I ever so slowly set my tripod down and sat on the ground behind the camera. After several minutes (and several pictures), the rabbit started moving very slowly and carefully TOWARDS ME! It maintained the pose shown here as it moved each foot maybe two inches per step until it finally turned sideways and moved back into the daybed that it had left earlier. I then slowly backed away and returned to the house (< 10 yards [10 m] away). The field guide that I consulted convinced me that it was a White-tailed Jackrabbit and offered the interesting tidbit that the White-tailed will often reuse a day bed for several days. It also says that, "they can be surprisingly approachable if your movements are slow and unthreatening".