Lovely...but

Funny how often that little word but comes into conversation!
3 times in the last week I thought I caught a glimpse of a small fawn dog at the edge of my garden but it was off like the clappers into long grass when it heard/saw me and so I never got a good look at it until this morning.
It ain't no dog it's a huge Hare
Good god I had no idea the speed at which these things go. It was quite near the house and took off like a rocket down the drive in a blur.
I knew there were hares around but I have never had 1 in my garden before that I know of.
Amazing creature to see up quite close BUT here is the snag, what kind of damage am I looking at garden wise? I had notice something had pulled up and eaten some pathetic attempts at cauliflower (not fussed) and something had been scrapping the soil to try and get to my Sarpo Mira crop (fussed) but that is now more or less all lifted. Would this be the Hare? I still have tonnes of Anya potatoes in the ground as couldn't eat them all as new potatoes so left them to hopefully mature and store a bit. Are they likely to be targeted? If it has the odd nibble at things then quite happy for it to do so but if it is on a par with the damage the flaming deer do here then not quite so keen.

 

I cant advise on what they will damage but can vouch for the size of hares. I came close to one on a dog walk some years ago and it was huge !

Luckily the dogs were on lead at the time and the didn't get to chase after it.

 

Diet similar to rabbits, probably do less damage as less numerous than rabbits and more solitary than deer.
If it comes to it they are good eating.

 

Dreadful idea @NigelJ but quite right .Hare was my grandmother's favourite meat. I couldn't possibly think of trapping and eating it tho......altho I thought that way about the deer until they started decimating my garden. By the sounds of things @wiseowl I have everything in my garden to keep him/her happy so expecting a long occupation. This is a slight drawback to being really the only garden in these parts, everything else is pretty much farmland. Might as well hang a Tesco's sign at the end of the driveway for wildlife but unless things get severe I'm fairly happy to accommodate what's around here.