Foxed!

[altivo]

Tess and I found a fox in her pasture this afternoon when we went out. She or he had caught something about the size of a chipmunk, and took off bouncing away from us in a way that more resembled a rabbit than a fox. In the past I've seen them running gracefully and fast, but this was a series of long leaps that really covered ground. I expected it to lead to a quick disappearance, but no. Foxy sat in the northeast corner of the pasture and watched us for a good ten minutes. Tess wasn't very interested and decided to roll in the grass but I was watching back just as intently as I was being watched. Finally the fox took off through the fence and to the the east into the oak woods, still carrying the prey in his/her mouth.

Still debugging small things with the Samba installation on the Alphas, but mostly it's working now. Because I was forced to change the UIC on my personal accounts to make it work, there were a number of nuisance side effects, some of which are still unresolved. In spite of that, I have to say the Alpha systems are amazingly stable and steady runners.

Feels like there might be thunderstorms in the offing, just by the air, but I haven't heard any warnings. Better now than on the weekend.

I need to do some ironing and get to bed. We're having a group photo taken tomorrow morning at work so we can present it to our director on her retirement. I plan to take Argos' head along and offer to hold him like a hand puppet in the photo. He works quite well that way.

Comments

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

I was going to say I think he'd object to being a hand puppet, but perhaps not ^^;

And Hi! Finally got this cross-site posting thing figured out, not that it was difficult, but took me time to find, well, time. Glad you seem to be doing well.

[altivo]

Hiya! *hugs* I began to wonder if I'd ever hear from you again. Argos doesn't mind being a hand puppet as long as it's my hand. ;p

There's one more step to the cross-posting setup. If you would, I need you to add this account as a friend on LJ. Otherwise, I can't see your posts over there any more. Go here and click "Add friend" if you'd like to do it.

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

Done!

As for digging into this, I was a bit concerned since I haven't seen you on the radio show lately, and after tales of storms in your area, which then moved into my area and wreaked havoc... so my worry drove me to check in. And I was missing you. Everyone needs a plushie librarian in their life.

But I can't claim it was all pure hearted. Something came up in conversation the other night that made me think you'd be a great resource, which made me feel guilty about not making the effort to keep up with you, etc... and here I am. On to the future with the reconnection.

[altivo]

And it works. I can suddenly see your posts, at least up to May 25. If you had my LJ account on any filters, I'd appreciate it if you'd add the OpenID one.

So is your school term over? I assume it is.

I've been skipping the broadcasts partly since Rex hinted that some people were staying away precisely because I was there. I'm always glad to hear from you guys, though. You can PM me on LJ or DW, or e-mail tivo.overo on gmail.

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

I haven't been very active, as per usual, and I think I locked a bunch of stuff to private at some point, but you should be able to see further back than that. I had forgotten to put you on one list, so that might have been the issue. Try it and see, or I don't know...

And that is a very altruistic thing to do, if the reasoning on parties involved is outright silly. I'd prefer you there to be honest.

And one school term is over, yeah... I'm 3 weeks into the summer term :p Still hoping to graduate in December.

[altivo]

You're pushing right along then.

Sorry, I meant that May 25 was the most recent post I can see. Nothing since then, but perhaps you haven't added any. I can go way back all right.

Well, yes, the broadcast thing is silly, but someone was apparently pretty adamant about it and *shrug*...

It seemed as if more and more I was sitting there saying nothing for fear of causing more drama.

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I haven't updated since then. haven't really had much to say...

And as far as I'm concerned, speak. If it starts drama, that's the other party's problem.

[altivo]

Well, I'm not one for making drama in someone else's space, and the space belongs to Rex.

[moonhare]

took off bouncing away from us in a way that more resembled a rabbit than a fox.

Interesting. I use gait to judge an animal's 'type' when I can't quite make out their form. The fox I saw here last night did the classic 'about face' when it saw me, never missing a step, as if it planned to walk toward me and then turn right around and walk quickly away.

[altivo]

Yes, and that confused me too at first, but the color and size were wrong for a cottontail and we don't have jackrabbits here. Then at the far end of the pasture, about a football field away, he turned sideways for a moment and the profile with tail held straight out behind was unmistakeable. I really enjoy seeing foxes on our land, and it usually only happens two or three times a year, most often about now.

Yes, I've seen that "about face" move too. A couple of years ago I walked out of the woods into the pasture just as a fox was headed across and right toward me. She turned right around and retraced her path as if that had been her intention all along. At that time there was a den dug into the berm at the head of our creek, so I knew where she was going. She may well have had kits stashed there.

Others in the area complain about coyotes, but I've not seen one in twelve years here, not even when we had lambs in spring. Stray dogs, yes, far too many of them. I've seen coyotes elsewhere and wouldn't object to them either, but they don't seem to come around our house and land.