My Day so far...

[Rainbowmum]

It's just me and the kids and my sis is not answering the phone so I'd like to share my day so far with my WAB buddies if that's okay!

This morning I got up and was filling the kettle the second time to make my wake up brew when out of the kitchen window I saw a flash of ginger fur. I thought oh it's the neighbours cat but then I saw the tail. I knew immediatley it was a Fox and rushed into my back room and there 1 metre away sat on my patio was a beautiful Fox. It then went and sat on the lawn. At this point I was faced with one of two choices. Rush and get a camera....or wake my kids. I chose the latter and rushed into their rooms, plonked the sleepy 7yr old on the window sill and ran around shouting "quick, there's a Fox in the garden". I think my kids think I am mad My 13 year old came in and we watched as the Fox went into next doors garden, had a scratch then came back into ours. My 10 yr old arrived just as the Fox had left After this excitement they all scarmbled back to bed and left me grinning

It was strange because neither of my kittens would go out this morning and I wonder if they could smell/sense the Fox.
A Fox question then. We live in the city but in a nice bit with many big gardens. At the end of our road is an old landfill turned palying fields then the river mersey and it's LNR's. Where would a Fox live around here?
I grew up round here and remember seeing them as a child but never with such a good view as today. When I saw it I thought how to some people they are vermin, hunted etc. but to me it was very beautiful.

I then packed my lunch and headed off to do my first ever session at coppicing. There were only 6 of us and it turns out the coppiced hazel will be taken to a local very eco garden centre where they will sell it for many uses; bean poles, fence posts etc. The warden wanted free labour, the garden centre the hazel so it seemed a good deal. Hopefully as my friend and I were the only ones there not working for the centre, we may get a discount on stuff when we go there ! It was a beautiful day, blue sky, sun and a lovely little coppice wood. You can even ignore the M60 that is very close after a while of sawing and lopping!!

I am tired now but am re-fuelling my energy for a night out involving curry and a pub! My kids are missing me as it's been a mad few days with Mum in then out a lot but hey I'll make up for it next week.

Hope your day has been a good one too and thanks for listening

[smartie]

Sounds like a great day, and very productive. We've been in London helping a friend celebrate her birthday and have been deprived of both wildlife (saw one black headed gull and a crow on the A41 but otherwise zilch) and sunshine. We've been rained and hailed on all day.

Enjoy your curry.

[Dorcas]

int coppicing brilliant - doubt I'd have the strength or the back to do it any more

my day so far - sold one of my pics and delivered in person and had a cup of coffee and a lazy morning in Leeds

think I'm on a caffeine high now!!

re Fox - what a wonderful experience for you

[Wolfhill]

What a great experience it must have been to see a Fox as close as that!! I've only ever once seen an adult Fox and that was years ago, where I live they are always killed by gamekeepers as one of the local farmers rears Partriges for shooting.

[RogerTheCat]

So far today I have eaten breakfast and lunch. I have watched TV all day broken by the odd visit to the pc. My plan for the rest of the day involves eating, watching TV and surfing the net. I am not having a very productive day but i feel so chilled out I dont care

[Paul mabbott]

Interesting *and* healthy day (I've spent most of mine finishing off this year's compost heap - not quite so interesting but energetic!). I know the dilemma about waking the kids or getting the camera - I had the decision about a Badger once ... at 1 in the morning ... but they loved seeing it!

Originally Posted by Rainbowmum

.............
lawn. At this point I was faced with one of two choices. Rush and get a camera....or wake my kids. I chose the latter and rushed into their rooms, plonked the sleepy 7yr old on the window sill and ran around shouting "quick, there's a Fox in the garden". I think my kids think I am mad My 13 year old came in and we watched as the Fox went into next doors garden, had a scratch then came back into ours. My 10 yr old arrived just as the Fox had left After this excitement they all scarmbled back to bed and left me grinning

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by RogerTheCat

So far today I have eaten breakfast and lunch. I have watched TV all day broken by the odd visit to the pc. My plan for the rest of the day involves eating, watching TV and surfing the net. I am not having a very productive day but i feel so chilled out I dont care

Seems to some up today for me too, the diabetes causing me a bit of trouble today too... must leave the cream cakes alone, seems that I can't even think about them let alone look

[Deer Stalker]

Conservation task clearing ride edges in an inclosure in the New Forest today. Knackered, wet from the rain & scratched up from brambles but good fun.

[aeshna5]

Sounds like you had a brilliant day, Louise. It's always so exciting to get such a good view of a wild animal. When I was young I got so excited at seeing a Fox + went on special evenings to see them.

Times have changed in that Foxes have become very common + fairly easy to see in London (Smartie, how could you see so little in London- there's so much here if you look for it?) + I see them most days- infact where I work they usually sunbathe/sleep on my roof. Yet I still love it when I see a fine Fox. A few years back many were suffering from mange which was a pitiful sight + distressing for the poor animals, but seems to have gone for now.

Coppicing is good fun + useful for woodland wildlife, not to mention good for waistline before all those mince pies, etc are consumed! Hope you gave yourself a little reward for all that hard work!

I spent most of morning at London Wetland Centre, but weather was like monsoon season, though at least with hides I could shelter while watching birds. During 1 torrential squall over 100 Black-headed Gulls faced into rain all holding their beaks skywards- it was like special choreography. Scarcest bird was a Jack Snipe bobbing up + down behind a Common Snipe, always fun birds to watch.

[Garden Carpet]

Louise you are so lucky.. I have never had a clear view of one.. always in passing in the car.. tho did see one once in Poole town centre crossing a road behind another car.. went round the block but lost him.

This weekend is Mothers birthday and my two sisters appeared.. one from spain for the day!!!So it has been out for lunch two days running. Or not running.. I sprained my ankle getting out of bed on Friday morning and have had to drive hither and yon two days running.. thank goodness my friends car is automatic and the damaged ankle the left one.
All in all a lovely weekend but might consider trading it for a Fox in the garden!!
Jaki

[Fourwings]

I'm affraid I am going to suffer wildlife/camera withdrawl symptoms soon, I've not been out for two weeks now due to other commitments, family etc....., still I do spend all Spring and Summer out in the field to the extent that my wife forgets what I look like

On the plus side I took a few hours out this afternoon to go and see the new James Bond movie "Casino Royale", a fantastic film and quite easily the best Bond movie to date.

[smartie]

[quote=aeshna5;73372](Smartie, how could you see so little in London- there's so much here if you look for it?)

Sure there is, and to be fair I did see a couple of grey squirrels from my friend's back window, but I didn't like to mention them, seeing how they set everybody off Otherwise there really wasn't anything to see yesterday in Crouch End high street in torrential rain, honest...

Saw a deer in my garden when I got home, but that's qualified good news, as it was chewing something I'd planted only recently.

[nightshade]

A nice day indeed.If you plant for it the wildlife comes.Bristol on a sunny day you can see foxes asleep in the sunshine on garage and bungalow roofs

[Alan]

Sounds like you had a great time Louise. As for foxes, you’ve certainly got more chance of seeing them in towns and cities these days. The population density is far greater than the countryside due to all that free grub we chuck out, and the food that’s put out for birds also (they’re quite partial to nuts and raisins/sultanas).

As far as where the foxes live, they usually only live underground (the Fox earth) when the cubs are born and raised in the spring. In towns you often get the earths on railway embankments or under garden sheds or other quiet places. The rest of the year they live above ground, and will shelter under hedgerows, long grass or maybe outbuildings or garden shrubs etc in the town. As was mentioned, you often get them sunbathing on flat roofs, sheds or similar places that gather the heat.

I was out (yesterday now) with FungiJohn at Clumber Park near Worksop. Fabulous weather for November – was quite warm and sunny after driving there in the rain. As usual had a great day fungi spotting (still quite a lot about if you look hard enough), as well as admiring the autumn colours. A right good laugh as usual too!

Alan

[Tormentil]

My Day so far...

Up at the crack of 0830

2 shots of caffiene (to get the nerves together)

2 doses of nicotine (to bump start the old lungs)


The day is beginning to look better now.

[mrs fish]

How lovely for your kids to see a Fox in your garden Rainbow Mum.
At the end of the summer hols I took my parents and girls to Trimley marshes bird reserve, on the way back while watching the combine harvester do its job we saw a Fox run in front of us, it was beautiful, as it ran across the field one of the farmers started driving madly in his landrover trying to run it over, this went on for five minutes the poor Fox was getting so tired every where he tried to run the landrover followed him and then another farmer came along and shot it dead
I just couldn't believe it, we were all devastated and it ruined our day out.
I can see why foxes now like to live in towns it must be safer for them.

[smartie]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

How lovely for your kids to see a Fox in your garden Rainbow Mum.
At the end of the summer hols I took my parents and girls to Trimley marshes bird reserve, on the way back while watching the combine harvester do its job we saw a Fox run in front of us, it was beautiful, as it ran across the field one of the farmers started driving madly in his landrover trying to run it over, this went on for five minutes the poor Fox was getting so tired every where he tried to run the landrover followed him and then another farmer came along and shot it dead
I just couldn't believe it, we were all devastated and it ruined our day out.
I can see why foxes now like to live in towns it must be safer for them.

Your children must have been distraught - how awful to see that.

We know we have foxes close to us on the railway embankment at the bottom of our garden, as we hear them a lot, but have never managed to see one in the garden itself. I keep hoping.

[Susie]

Foxes are a bit of a pest where I am - they rip open the bin bags and poo everywhere! Still, they are lovely to watch (when they aren't ripping open bin bags and pooing!) lol

On Saturday some lightening fried my modem on my computer, so I won't be posting for a while. Enjoy the peace while it lasts )

[Rainbowmum]

Originally Posted by Alan

I was out (yesterday now) with FungiJohn at Clumber Park near Worksop. Fabulous weather for November – was quite warm and sunny after driving there in the rain. As usual had a great day fungi spotting (still quite a lot about if you look hard enough), as well as admiring the autumn colours. A right good laugh as usual too!
Alan

The weather was beautiful here on Sunday. Blue sky and sunny. Perfect weather for coppicing which is what I did for a few hours. I won't begin to mention how every muscle I have is now aching.
It was nice again today. I have done a nature detectives training day then a walk round the ecology park where I saw many birds including a goldcrest The weather is so nice at the moment but I hope it hasn't peaked too early as we are coppicing and fence making on Weds and last time we did this it rained all day. Fingers crossed!
It can rain after midday on Weds, we should be done then lol!!!

[Rainbowmum]

Originally Posted by Susie

Foxes are a bit of a pest where I am - they rip open the bin bags and poo everywhere! Still, they are lovely to watch (when they aren't ripping open bin bags and pooing!) lol

On Saturday some lightening fried my modem on my computer, so I won't be posting for a while. Enjoy the peace while it lasts )

I have had bags ripped open in the past and assumed it was a cat.
I suppose they are just doing what they can to survive but it isn't nice to go out and see that mess in the morning!!

[Alan]

You'll have to take some pics of the coppicing if you can Louise, and post them on here

Alan

[Rainbowmum]

Originally Posted by Alan

You'll have to take some pics of the coppicing if you can Louise, and post them on here

Alan

Sure will. The coppicing on Sunday was just adults but on Wednesday it is our green team of home-ed kids and their parents at our new site. I am designated official photgrapher so will snap away and post some