Waking Up to Spring

  Our lake "opened up" totally yesterday (for you Southerners, that means no more ICE). This is always a sign of Spring despite what the thermometer says. I woke this morning (sunrise ~6:00 *yawn*) to a crystal clear, blue sky, above freezing temps ... and critters galore. Our house sits ~100 ft from the shore of a small, very small lake, Medomak Pond, decorated with a handful of houses and no motorized boats.  The glassy surface was disturbed ever so slightly by the wake of a beaver paddling close to the shore.  Along side the beaver, in V-formation were 8 Harlequin ducks, barely causing a ripple as they glided along.  

Watching intently from above, in one of the oak trees just outside our kitchen window, was one of 'our' bald eagles.

  

I never know which of the eagle family is in the tree until I tip-toe out with my camera and huge lens. The adults have eyes in the backs of their heads and sense my approach early on. The juveniles are less skittish and often let me get to the base of the tree before flying off. This is a game I never get tired of, and am still trying to get that one great shot.

And then we have our fox families with whom I have a love/hate relationship. I love them because, well, they are foxes... beautiful, fluffy, healthy red coats with white-tipped tails. They run effortlessly, almost on air. And the cubs!  cuter than any puppy. A few years ago, the den was in a thicket between my barn and riding arena. Seven cubs were always out and about, playing in the bushes, basking in the sun on the warm sand of the arena. Mom & Dad were never very happy when I got close with my camera and eventually moved the pups to a safer location. Each year the den was somewhere else, but we always saw the fox families in the early morning or evening, frolicking like kittens.  

I hate the foxes because they LOVE my cats.  We have been lucky so far, but Yang in particular has had too many close calls. She is always the one who manages to get chased and treed by a fox several times each spring. I soon learned whenever she was AWOL for 24 hours to look UP during my searches and listen for her YOWL. Twice last year I saw a fox sitting at the base of a tree in which Yang was perched high above. In one summer, Yang was treed at least 5 times (that I know of). She failed the "Climbing Down from the Tree" class in kitten-school so many of those times we would lug a ladder to the tree and help her. The one time she tried to come down by herself didn't go so well...

 

Two days ago, Kevin looked out the back and saw the first fox of the season.  We were delighted until we noticed he was hunched down, ready to pounce.  I stepped outside, clapped my hands and yelled until he ran off. 30 seconds later, FuzzButt and Yin came roaring out of the bushes as fast as all 8 legs could carry them to the house... tails in full fuzz!   This is why part of me dreads seeing the beautiful foxes on the farm.

I end this post with a sad note from Polly in Aiken. Our community Bunnie (remember Sophie?) has passed to the Great Carrot Patch in the sky. Polly saw her limp body just across the street from her house. Soon after, a woman appeared, put Sophie in the trunk of her car and drove off.  We hope it was her original owner who will give her a nice memorial service. Now I face the difficult task of breaking the news to FuzzButt whose last meeting with Sophie was a Pax de Deux of sorts in our back yard one evening.  The tides turned when Sophie began to follow FB everywhere she went.  If I called to her and she'd come up for a pet, Sophie would charge up too!  FB was NOT going to let this mammoth thing get close to her, so she'd run off only to be hopped after.  Kev & I got quite a chuckle watching the interaction.

Here's to you Sophie... it was lovely knowing ya'.