What's with the rabbits?

Three plus years ago I heard about the children's book called "The Velveteen Rabbit." My friends were surprised I'd never heard of it, but I was more of a Nancy Drew reader. The following Christmas they gave me a copy of the book.

When I arrived home that evening, there were rabbit tracks beside the entryway to my house. Now, I'd never seen rabbits on this part of my property before. In the front, where the big spruce are, yes, But not back here.

Here, I'll show you. This is the end of my house with the entryway along the side of the garage.




And, here's the covered walk to the front door.




On the outside of the walk is where I first saw the rabbit tracks (we call them snowshoe hares) three years ago. They have become a common sight since then.


But never, never, have they come up to the front door...


This is the mat at the front door, dusted with snow that blew in from last night's snowfall. The little round tracks that look like cat's paw tracks, or a small dog's track, are the hare's front feet. The elongated tracks that look like snowshoe tracks are its hind feet.


These critters are taking over.

Is there a message here that I'm missing?