Fox in the Garden!

Last night or rather in the early hours of this morning, Polly started barking. A normally quiet dog, this was out of the ordinary for her. I looked at the clock and it said 03:34 - What is she barking about?

I had a peek out our bedroom window. There in the light above our back door and in front of my car was a fox. It was just standing there, staring at the house. Polly was still barking and obviously asking to go out.I don't want Polly bitten and I don't want her to think that it's her job to rid the garden of visiting forest creatures. We have had badgers in the garden in the past and if Polly ever decided to go head to head with a badger, she could be very badly injured. I praised our dog for letting me know that the fox was there, but I didn't let her out. I went out myself and got the fox to move along. That sounds braver than it actually was. To get the fox to leave our garden, all I had to do was open the door.

The fox was obviously looking for a chicken dinner and my chickens were safe in their hen house. As it has been so muddy in the chicken run, I've been letting the hens out into the garden lately. After seeing the fox, I am not going to let the chickens out unless I am home with the dog. A hungry fox will come into the garden during the day. I've lost many chickens in the past during broad daylight to foxes. The mere presence of a dog will prevent the fox from getting too close. They are very timid creatures and will never take on a dog.

Interrupted sleep - 3:30 in the morning! I'm going to be yawning all day.