Fox Finds Breakfast

We have willingly shared our home with foxes for as long as we have been here.  A den was found by us that served as the first home of newborn cubs.  Watching them begin to explore their world is a treasured memory.  One day I found a recently dead fox in the path to the garden by the woods.  A proper burial marked by a suitable field stone seemed appropriate.  Following a bitterly cold February week, a female and male came to the surface from a network of woodchuck tunnels and promptly mated near the area shown in the first photo.

We seem to be on the morning path taken by this fox. This week we saw the fox on Tuesday, Wednesday and again this morning. Today was the best yet!  He first appeared on that same path mentioned here making his way to our lawn.  Being alone his concern was breakfast.  Our snow here is widely marked with rodent tunnels as they go about their business walking on the surface of the grass under the snow.  The fallen stone pile was a temporary spot for stones found when making garden beds.  Hastily placed these stones remained upright for years but movement caused by the north wind became apparent.  Then the pile partially collapsed.  To date none of my carefully built stone walls have fallen while two temporary piles have tumbled down.

In this picture the fox has found his breakfast.  He flipped the rodent onto the unbroken surface of the snow then appeared to wait.  No chase followed as the rodent remained motionless.  Fox breakfast quickly followed.

As a measure of just how much we share this land with native animals, Mr. Fox is walking directly toward our living room window.  Perhaps he sees this ground as his not mine.  He continued to approach the house.  A moment was taken to mark a flower stalk directly adjacent to the house.  That leg in the air action identified this fox as male.

Two days ago bright sunlight and warm air combined to remove the dangerous remains of the recent rain, ice and snow storm.  In all of our years living in upstate New York we have never seen a storm like that one.  Frozen hard bare ground captured and held all of the rain ice and snow mixture.  The bond between the ground and the ice laden snow was so tight that I could not break any of it free with an ice chopper.  Walking outside was treacherous but no falls followed the few necessary trips taken.  This recent warm spell accompanied by rain dissolved much of the ice but what remained was incredibly smooth and slippery.  As is usually the case the liquid runoff drained down the hill until its path was blocked by the road.  Our pond quickly drained as a deep sand glacial deposit is under a thin layer of soil.  Ice abandoned by its supporting water invites one to walk on it accompanied by the delightful sound of ice crunching.  So far the size of the puddle and its slippery sloped margins remain unbroken.
 

Critter Clues

Ed has been using grass clippings to make new garden space back in the wilderness garden. It works really well although there is a slight aroma while the grass clippings dry out. The other day Ed drove his tractor back to the wilderness garden and discovered interesting holes in the  somewhat firm surface.

Divots were scattered in the grass. It made Ed think back to the day last fall when  he came eye to eye with a coyote. He thought perhaps  coyote or even fox  pups  were having fun tossing the clumps of grass in the air in harmless play. Several days went by and both of us forgot about these clues left by  our wild visitors.

Once again it's time to ready the wilderness garden to plant next year's garlic. Ed arrived at the wilderness garden to find it had been disturbed again.  This time the clues of wild visitors were a little more grizzly. Pieces of meat were found hidden in the grass mulch. Clearly we have a dispute about just who the owner of this space is. Ed moved the  meat cache out of the way. As far as he is concerned that garden space is reserved for his garlic. As Ed spends more time preparing the soil to plant his garlic in the garden, I expect the critters will back away. It's not because of the garlic, although it is supposed to keep werewolves at bay. I think Ed's presence will be enough to send our visitors to another part of their range.

These fresh footprints in the recently turned soil look large enough to have been made by a coyote.  Clumps of sod were strewn about as the animal retrieved its stored meat.   Ed usually leaves a kill site as the coyotes may be near by and ownership of the kill is clear.  But this is his garden.  A meeting of the minds will be reached and the fence will keep the coyotes out.  Coyotes may be clever but Ed is stubborn.  He will stay out of the woods near their den in case coyotes are vindictive.

Garden Prints

The sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue.  When I looked out the window this morning I noticed some interesting tracks in the garden.  I put on my boots, hat, and coat and headed outside with the camera.  This first set of prints are on the patio at the top of the ramp from the basement.  I'm pretty sure they belong to a skunk.  The diagonal pattern is distinctive.  These tracks went down the ramp to the basement door.   We give the outdoors to the critters after dark with good reason.  I must have been sheltered from the wind by the house because at first it seemed quite nice out but it was really cold.



I headed over to another set of promising looking footprints.  These I think, and really hope, are fox tracks.  The straight line of double register prints make the chances of my wish being true very good indeed.  If the fox has returned to our garden, it is most welcome.   In its absence the numbers of mice have increased dramatically.  We haven't had a lot of new snow, but now the wind was blowing hard enough to make swirls of snow that danced across the garden.  I found more tracks from mice and birds to photograph, but with the temperatures in the teens, and the wind incredibly cold I headed in. When I checked my pictures I found that the longer I stayed out, the more blurry my photos became. Maybe I was shivering enough to move the camera or maybe I was in a hurry to get back inside.  It's too chilly outside today for me.

Breakfast In Bed

The experience of caring for parents in their last days was fresh in our minds when we designed our new house. Since one can be forced to spend much of their day in bed, the view from the bed had to be able to take one outside. The bedroom windows face south and east. No neighbors allow for no curtains. The locust tree with its several bird feeders fill the eastern view from the bed.

This morning the effects of yesterdays fight with the new storm had me lingering in bed. The mystery raptor flew into the locust tree. This bird is a frequent visitor but we have been unable to make an identification. It is either a small hawk or a large falcon. The flock of morning doves followed the raptor toward the tree. The raptor shot into the incoming doves and grabbed a dove in midair. It was our intention to feed the birds from our tree. We supply suet blocks, bargain peanut butter and seed. The birds that are drawn to the food we provide are themselves food for larger birds.

The morning show was not yet over. There was movement on the hill behind the locust tree. The fox was also looking for a meal. Sometimes the new snow remains trackless for a day or two. Yesterday's storm left a generous snowfall. Its surface is crisscrossed with many different tracks this morning. The late winter breeding season is close at hand.

Good Morning Garden

I love the way the garden looks in the morning when it's still in the shade of the hill. It's all misty and wet with dew. There's even a rabbit right next to the patio behind the bench. (Shh. E.F is still sleeping.)


The area where the sun has reached looks very different.

We spent yesterday visiting my daughter. It was a Mother's Day and her birthday celebration. We had a very nice trip. Just past the end of the driveway, the fox ran across the road with something brown in his mouth. It's nice to see him in the neighborhood. Whatever that brown thing was, he's welcome to it.

When we stopped at a rest area, I made a small spectacle of myself looking at a halo around the sun. It's like a circular rainbow, and a sight not often seen. I wanted to get a good look, so I was standing there with my arm up and my hand covering the sun. One or two people stopped to join me. Others looked at me like I had just lost my last marble.

We passed by an area that has recently experienced a forest fire. The earth is blackened, but some of the trees are leafing out, and I saw a few Canada May flower leaves pushing up through the black along the edge of the fire area. It will be interesting to see that area come back. Nature is amazing that way.

We had a nice dinner and a wonderful time playing in my daughter's garden. Her garden is in the woods as opposed to our garden in the middle of a field. She is just getting started. I hope she finds it fun.

We saw a bald eagle on the trip home, you've gotta love that. Ed brought in some of the plants for the night. It was a little chilly for some of them to stay out. That was the extent of our contact with our garden yesterday. It looks like it had a fine day without us.