The wildlife! It's just nutty around here!

This time of year the wildlife is very active. Foraging for food and trying to fatten up for winter. My feral kitties are getting FAT! Leta is a mousing machine and along with her food she is probably eating 5-6 mice/day!! Seriously, she is a RODENT HUNTING MACHINE!

The foxes are active and everywhere. It makes our walks treacherous!! The other day we headed out on the farm mid-day with five little dogs to meet up with George, the border terrier. In a moment of distraction I lost focus and my dogs took off after a fox in the MIDDLE OF THE FIELD!!! If it were not so scary it would have been comical......two tiny MinPins dressed in their fleece coats and one fancy, furry pap/aussie mix flying across the field after it. However, my thoughts turned to a major dog/fox fight or their path taking them directly into the cow pasture getting the cows running, Spur into herding mode and getting trampled. I had visions of fox bites and cow trampled dogs. THANK GOD they lost it and turned back. I think what happened was the fox crossed the stream and the dogs didn't want to. I was never so happy as to see my fleece adorned tiny dogs and my furry little black tri mix returning. So thankful I sat down in the middle of the field to catch my breath and give them a TON of cookies.

Lisa and the shih tzu's raced after them, too, but luckily Douce was leashed and little Stella just couldn't keep up, so they didn't join in the chase. And even more thankfully George was leashed. George would not have stopped at the stream. :O George has killed bigger ground hogs, so he would have kept after that mangy fox.

This morning and from now on our walks are "on edge". The dogs are leashed a lot more. We pan the horizon for fox, watch the dogs closely for air scenting. This morning we caught them before a chase began. I saw Colby first, air scenting. Yelled to Rich "LEASHES NOW"!!! Spur air scented. Roscoe was oblivious for whatever reason. There is was waiting for us as we came along the road, under the truck. It bolted off, then sauntered slowly. Poor thing looks really mangy, although plenty fat. Probably full of chickens and Nichole's cat. :(

It's a scary place these days, around here. Perhaps the beach will be a safe haven later.