I was on my merry way to the barn this morning, juggling a cup of coffee with cinnamon and whipped cream in one hand and my bright yellow and red Scottish lion umbrella in the other when I got a big surprise. A large cat seemed to be slipping between the two green tubular metal gates that keep the cows in the cow yard. I could see immediately that it was not one of our cats, because although it was the right shade of grey, but it was orangy brown too.
It neatly threaded its way between the gates, obviously a habit, as it moved so neatly, and ran straight to my feet....whereupon I darned near tossed the coffee one way and the brolly the other.
Because it was no cat, it was a grey fox. It was as startled as I was and did a 90 degree turn, claws scrabbling in the stony path and vanished into the tall weeds of the heifer barnyard. The encounter didn't last ten seconds, but the fox was less than ten feet from me when I realized that he wasn't a cat and he realized that I wasn't ....well, whatever a fox might mistake a middle-aged lady with a gaudy umbrella and a mug of java for. Perhaps a minivan with a bad paint job or something.
I know the goosebumps on my arms didn't subside until halfway through milking. I also now know that the rustling bushes along the walkway that we have been blaming on a woodchuck might just be something much more interesting.
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7 comments:
Much cooler than a cat or woodchuck!
Wooo, how neat is that! Unless you have chickens or something that the fox can get into. Are grey foxes about the same size as red foxes?
Love the Scottish brolly. :)
Neat story! I once had a somewhat similar encounter with a coyote when I was out getting the cows from the far side of the property as a child. The coyote and I were within a metre (yard) of each other when we finally came out of our daydreams and saw what was happening and went our separate ways. Humm, almost bumped into a black bear and a bull moose on different days in the same way on the Applachian trail now that I think of it. Perhaps I'll see one of our foxes today?
Hi FC, it sure amazed me. Normally you don't see a lot of greys around here and i have never seen one from up close. I think it kind of amazed him too judging by how fast he ran away.
Hello Carina, I think greys might be a little smaller. I will have to look it up. We do have chickens, but they are pretty wily. I also love my umbrella and really shouldn't take it to the barn. I won it at a Scottish dinner several years ago and was just delighted. It is really gaudy....fairly glows. lol
Hi OW, amazing how oblivious wild animals are sometimes; that is a neat story. My son came upon one yesterday while driving the tractor. It wouldn't run away even when he spoke to it, so he tossed a pair of fencing pliers at it. It yipped in astonishment and trotted away then. A pup of the year I think, since coyotes are pretty heavily hunted around here and it was far too tame to have been an adult. Before they started eating calves we used to like to see the tame pups in the fall, as they like to hunt mice near the machinery. They are a bit less popular having eaten some newborns on us.
Anyone who sports the Scotish lion is OK in my book. We havn't had any close encounters...yet. Did have a bear run in front of the car several weeks back.
That makes my armadillo commonplace! I would love to see that!
Hi cubby, up here an armadillo would be downright astonishing! The fox must go by quite often. Now that I know where to look I see his tracks.
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