Morning visitor

[altariel]

Just sat down at the kitchen table (I sit looking out into our newly-renovated back garden), and caught a glimpse of ginger passing across the lawn. "Blimey," I thought as I looked up, "next door's cat is getting big."

But it wasn't next door's cat, it was a fox. It stopped and turned and looked right at me, then turned away, yawned and padded off. Gorgeous, although I wonder now if I should worry about my more regular visitor, the grey squirrel of great busyness.

Sorry if this seems commonplace to you. I am a pitifully urban creature of the kind that would be standing wan and anxious at a rural railway station in a story about evacuee children. I think I've only seen a fox once before. Also, our garden isn't that big, and so a fox looked pretty grand out there in the morning sun.

ETA: Busy squirrel just nipped past, heading in the other direction.

ETA2: Ooh, there goes the fox again - heading after the squirrel! Blimey, it's all go around here this morning.

Comments

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Over here I've seen wild rabbits up close, which was a first, I think - also pheasants, and once a heron. It's amazing how you can get so used to living in towns, and then suddenly realise that there are wild animals out there :)

[archbishopm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I always at first glance parse foxes as cats and coyotes as dogs. Fugly dogs.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

quarryquest sees urban foxes all the time in London. I think she's around Kelburn.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Next door's cat is a big old beast as well, slinks around here clearly thinking it's a tiger.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

The peacock really is the growning glory. We did that RSPB Birdwatch thing earlier in the year and absolutely no birds came past for the whole hour. I'm looking out now and the garden is teeming with creatures.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I knew conceptually there wre urban foxes, but always assumed they came out at dawn and dusk. This one is trotting around in broad daylight like it owns the place!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure when she sees them; I just know she does.

[muninnhuginn]

There was a story a couple of years back in the local papers about the fox that wandered along East Road, took a quick look at the courts before wandering into the staff restroom at Ridgeons in search of lunch.

I do occasionally worry about my hens with all the foxes around, but a fence too high for a hen to fly over is probably too high for a fox to jump.

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

Grey squirrels are evil invaders who've almost entirely killed off the red ones. I'd be cheering the fox on if I were you.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-D

The fences between our gardens have lots of gaps to slip through - and the back of the house is accessible from the front: not good for hens, I imagine.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Aw, I know, but this fellow is so sprightly and chipper I can't bring myself to blame him for the crimes of his ancestors.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It must be amazing to see them wandering around London.

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says they make excellent stew. I've got my eye on the two that invade our back garden and bury walnuts in my veg patch.

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Lovely! I like grey squirrels, and foxes are just plain beautiful.

My boss, who sometimes judges poetry comps, once made a poem out of really bad first lines of entries. My favourite, the ponciest by far, was

"Squirrel at my window, framed rodent".

[altariel.livejournal.com]

"Squirrel at my window, framed rodent".

*winces*

BTW, I saw the headline on today's Sunday Telegraph and thought of you: "Secret plans to slash Navy".

[altariel.livejournal.com]

*snort!* I wonder how many EU regulations that violates.

[muninnhuginn]

They're surprisingly good at ignoring open gates and such in favour of guaranteed food and a warm pod. Although I have found Mrs Fred lonely in the back garden with Mrs Jack lost down the side alley. Fortunately I don't think they can squeeze through the bars of the gates at the end of the alleys.

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Why keep it a secret, I say?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It was the Telegraph, after all. Don't want to frighten the horses or the servants.

[executrix.livejournal.com]

Well, it doesn't matter how many times you serve foxes with a cease and desist order, they STILL bury walnuts in the veg patch.

Cf. thestrals, I wonder if there's some particular characteristic or experience that allows some people but not others to see urban foxes?

BTW this is my "simonhamster" icon, which I suppose counts as a framed rodent.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

Oh, lovely! There's a fox (or maybe more than one) that comes round occasionally at home, though I don't think I've seen it for a little while. I know what you mean about it seeming so strange, though. Even though I've seen it quite a few times, it still always takes me a moment to recognise what it is,

There are squirrels, too - in fact, one appeared on the front lawn last week. Having mown the grass a few days before, I told it that there wasn't anything there, but it promptly went and dug something up and ran off with it. Outsmarted by a squirrel.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Well, they tend to hang out in the more suburban areas: you don't normally see them trotting along Oxford Street or sussing out the bins in Knightsbridge. But we have them round here, which is all fairly built up, and I've seen one lolling on our lawn in the middle of the afternoon.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

We also have urban hedgehogs round our way.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

Cool! I hope Mr or Ms Fox keeps coming back to entertain you. I don't think I've seen foxes in the back green, but I have encountered them sauntering along the pavement on the other side of the road, walking home from work one evening. I think they are slightly less frequent now we have bins for our rubbish rather than putting sacks out on collection day.

Wan and anxious you would be homed by very kind family who would cherish you, I am sure. And you would have marvellous adventures. With foxes.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Now I'm surprised I've not seen hedgehogs here. Our back garden used to be a wilderness, four or five feet high grass and tangles, and I bet there were hedgehogs then. We may have lost them when it got cleared :-(