More LLV Adventures Continue

Just getting going on my route yesterday morning, around 10:30ish, I spied what looked to be, two young foxes in the grass, by the edge of an open field!

To be honest, they caught me by surprise because they were just casually laying out and grooming themselves. It was a chilly morning and these youngsters were taking advantage and basking in the sun. It was cute how they were both laying next to each other when I first saw them, seemingly not a care in the world.

Of course that changed when I pulled over to watch them and take some pics.  As you'd expect, they got nervous and darted off but not before I snapped these two photos below, which unfortunately only captured one of the two -

Something to don't see everyday.

#Blessed

Some Privacy Please...

Doing errands yesterday afternoon Emilie and I came upon this beautiful fox.  We spotted her and were able to pull in next to her and grab these pics.  She was almost oblivious of us at first, as she stopped to do her business.  Only when we started whistling did she notice us and get a bit hurried.  Once she was done, she quickly scooted in the other direction.

Of course we immediately jumped on Facebook to warn everyone in Franklin that we saw a fox out in the daytime and that those folks with small dogs and cats should be careful...HAHAHA, no we did NOT do that!  NO PSA needed if you have a smidgen of a clue about wildlife.

You Sly Foxes You, Hubba Hubba!

Morning walks are the best, so quiet, calm and peaceful.  The calm before the storm of man awaking and ruining it with their hustle and bustle.  Often times I'm treated to seeing things most miss.  Take for example my walk on Tuesday morning - 

As I made my way up the driveway of the school, a mile down the road, I noticed an animal on the soccer field.  At first glance I assumed it was a dog but didn't see any owners milling about.  As I got closer I realized it was a fox, however, she was just standing there looking at me; never turned and ran, which was unusual. I suspect most people at that point would have assumed it was a rabid fox because foxes aren't out in the day and they would have immediately posted to Facebook about their find with a reminder to keep a close eye on your cats and dogs, UGH...oh the misinformed dipsticks!

Turns out it wasn't one fox but TWO foxes!  The reason they didn't turn and run is because they were "stuck" together, OUCH!  They tried to scurry away but their 8 legs had them going in different direction.

What I was witnessing was a pair of foxes mating!  Here is what the Google machine has to say - 

"During mating, a bulb-like mass of tissue surrounding the baculum tip (called the bulbus glandis) swells as it engorges with blood and the pair may become locked (or tied) together – this is known as a copulatory tie or copulatory lock, and is present in most canids."

Seemed like a rather odd place, out in the open, for these two to consummate their affection for one another but interesting just the same.

Perhaps, like most folks these days I recorded a 30 second clip of this pair trying to make there way to the woods -

Exposed!

Similar to a strip dance where the cloths come off, our chicken coop is slowly taking her winter protection off too, hubba-hubba!

The door plastic was the first to be removed about 5-6 weeks ago.  Last weekend I removed the rest of the protection along the lower section, as you can see in the photo above.  

The girls seem to be happier since they can now all see out without jockeying for a spot at the door and there's fresh air blowing in.  I'll remove the the remaining protections in the coming weeks.

One of the downsides to exposing the girls is they're now also easily seen by predators.  We had a big beautiful fox out there yesterday morning, excitedly running back and forth along the front of the coop.  Foxes won't typically try to get in, as they get too excited, rather seems they try to scare them out.  Either way chickens aren't the brightest and are easily spooked, so needless to say they were squawking and running and flying with each lung from the fox; feathers everywhere.

A Fox In The Hen House, Perhaps!

Surprise surprise!

I was shocked to see who had a hanker'n for apple and was swayed to into the trap.

This young fox pup was calm, leary and beautiful!

I explained to the pup that she was more than welcome under two conditions; 1 - she stay way from and leave any new chickens alone, and 2 - that she catch and eat as many chipmunks as possible!

A gentleman fox hand\paw shake was all we had and good enough for me. 

Crafty As A Fox

We had a 4-legged visitor this morning, and what an absolutely beautiful animal it was!

The chickens alerted me to his presence with their distinctive, something's amiss, carrying on's!

The good news, from what I saw, he didn't seem interested in the chickens or at least he wasn't near the coop or fussing with them.

I opened the window and began to clap in an effort to shoo him off.  He did scoot but didn't bolt.  He made a long slow arch to the driveway side of the house.  Looked like he was thinking about crossing the street but something scared him back.  By the time I got to the downstairs window that overlooks the driveway the dude ad caught, what looks like a bunny, and was devouring it.

This dude is welcome anytime, so long as he leaves the chickens alone and continues to catch and eat rabbits and other small unwanted critters.

He wan't having an attempt at a closer photo opt, nope.  He heard the slighter slowly opening, grabbed his breakfast and took off into the woods.

More Proof!

Also visiting early Friday morning the above fox!!

You might remember that I posted a short time ago about an early morning visit from a fox who was showing WAY TOO much interest in our chickens.

Well, I'm pretty sure this is a different fox and from the looks of him I'd say he's in the process of shedding.  What a beautiful animal for sure.  Once he spotted me watching him he changed directions and off he went.  He was a good sport though, before he left, to strike this pose for me.  Really hope they stick around and cull down these darn chipmunks that have already begun stealing our green strawberries, alas...