Just a quick update for anyone worried about Reynard and Talbot. Our boss got some fox deterrent powder to be added to water and sprinkled around the garden. Mateo trundled out with his watering can, putting the most solution in the sandpit since they clearly like it there. On his way back from sprinkling around the rest of the garden, he passed the sandpit. One of the foxes was sitting happily in the sand, happy as Larry.
We suspect the deterrent is not effective.
For those of you getting attached to these foxes, don’t read on. Instead have a look at this fox from my garden during lockdown and then move on.
So, nature can be quite grim. And inexplicable. Don’t worry, Reynard and Talbot are still alive and harassing children, but one fox isn’t. Mateo found the head, but only the head, of a fox this morning, in the bushes. Did one of the children exact revenge on another fox? Perhaps the children were the aggressors all along?
Some of you might remember the cat’s head that Jessica found a few years ago. I think the police said that that foxes did it, but we were never satisfied with that explanation. It’s all very strange. Where did the body go?
inkbiotic 
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek
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My guess is it was a hawk. It grabbed the fox by the head and flew off. The strong talons ripped the head off in flight, so the bird let go of the head and grabbed the body, continuing its flight. The head falls to the ground and the mystery begins. By the way, the Hawk was named for the mystery he causes. His name is Sherlock.
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Does Sherlock have a nest filled with various items, each coming with a mystery of its own? And is there a pipe in there too? Watching the hawk carry the fox’s body across the sky must have given a few late night wanderers a sight to remember. But of course, now nobody believes them.
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The nest is too high to see but I bet answers to a lot of disappearing things lie within.
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One day, when the rest of us are distracted by carnage and rage, one inquisitive and unstoppable child will start climbing and not stop until he reaches the nest. He’ll see inside. He’ll never tell, but you’ll see it in his eyes. He doesn’t need to ask questions anymore. He knows.
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He or she… will know. Mystery solved. Oh, what happened to the fox head?🦊 Taxidermy?
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I wanted to put ‘they’ to make the hero gender neutral, but I don’t feel sure about how to use that yet. But yes, he or she 🙂
A while back, Mateo was talking about the collection of skulls he had as a kid. He was explaining how he cleaned the skin and fur off to access the shiny bone. I didn’t dare ask about his intentions for the fox head!
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I wouldn’t ask either 😱
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A cat’s head a few years ago? Clearly this fox’s head is part of a revenge attack, so be prepared for a turf war dedicated to vendetta — or is the correct term vixendetta?
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I never expected a turf war to happen on an actual lawn! But this turf war shall be known forever as the vixendetta, because that name is excellent 🙂
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Oh no! Poor fox! I hope it is not the children…
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Darnell has put up a convincing argument for it being a hawk 🙂
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You have a history. Tell Mateo to keep an eye out for a hawk’s head on the lawn…
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Not Sherlock! Surely!
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I get the occasional fox in our back yard. I’m not pleased because he is too interested in the chickens. Somehow the fence is not a problem for the fox. Always trying to outfox me. Sometimes he’s successful.
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I’m not surprised you worry about your chickens, if our children can’t fight them off, what chance does a chicken have?
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My dad once had a foxes tail in the garage.
It seems they leave their bodies parts around.
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Maybe they got caught in the door. We found a squirrel tail hanging on a tree at work one time. Mateo decided to wear it on his hat. Which I guess is the same as a Davy Crockett hat, but that must have been cleaner.
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May be they are like lizards, they grow their body parts back. Something like, hey I don’t like my face…too many wrinkles! Let me grow a new one!
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I have a feeling the body probably became a meal. Did the third fox have a name?
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Sadly, no. At least, not one we knew.
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