I found some things

 I found some things today, some not very pleasant things, and I'm going to tell you about them.  

But first, you should know that a family of foxes has taken up residence under one of our decks.  There's a mama, a daddy, and at least 5 babies.  They're right outside our bedroom window*, and the foxes have been providing for Hubby a pleasant distraction from work during the past couple of weeks. 

You should also know** that I have mixed feelings about a fox family living under our deck.  The fox family will have absolutely no qualms about killing and eating my chickens, if they get the chance.  In fact, it is likely that these foxes are the ones who injured Rocky and took Buttercup and probably Koko last year.  That was not very nice of them.

On the other hand, if they're living under our deck, we know where they are, and can use that information to protect our girls.  If they were living somewhere else, I might not even know they were around until something bad happened.  Plus those pups are so dang cute.  I watched three of them pouncing on leaves and each other for about 20 minutes the other day, and I was charmed.

So, now that you know that, here's what I found, in order of discovery:

1. Fox poop.  On our deck.  It's like dog poop, but more fibrous: all that fur they eat passes right through.  That wasn't pleasant.

2. A dead chicken (not one of ours), with its head missing.  Very unpleasant.  None of the neighbors that are immediately adjacent to our property have chickens, so whatever killed it took it from at least 1/4 mile away and transported it here.  Having gone to that much trouble, I don't understand why the predator (probably one of our fox parents, since it was in the general vicinity of their den) didn't bother to eat it.  

3. A granola bar, still half in its wrapper, in our garbage disposal.  Also not pleasant.  It was soggy because we'd been using the sink all day.  How did it get there?  I don't even know what to say about that one.

Thankfully, that was it for the day.  I can think of some things I could have found that are even less pleasant than these, so I guess I'm glad those were all the things I found.

How about you?  Have you found anything, pleasant or not-so-much-pleasant, lately?

*****

* Which is also Hubby's "office" window during business hours.  

** You should also also know that foxes are not dangerous to humans unless the foxes are sick.  And these foxes are acting like typical foxes, that is, afraid of humans, so they don't pose a danger to us.