While our hedgehogs have been hibernating, hopefully among the woodpiles scattered round the garden (remnants of the vicious hedging which used to run along one edge), I have been concentrating more on our foxes and one in particular has been causing me worries.
I noticed him at the beginning of November a ragged-tailed fox who seemed to favour his right hind leg which seemed to give him some discomfort as he put it to the floor.
I kept an eye out for Hopalong each night. Sometimes he turned up, sometimes he didn’t. When he did turn up I tried to spot any regularity in his timings, thinking I could put the food out as close to his normal arrival time as possible.
Unfortunately he did not have a regular time.
Others did, but then they weren’t hampered by what initially seemed to be a tender paw.
I did notice, however, that his coat and tail improved rapidly and I put this down to the fact that he was getting decent food on a regular basis.
By the middle of November his coat, and especially his tail, were beginning to look more like a good winter protection.
Yet as the rest of his body thrived that single leg seemed to be withering more and more each night, dangling and not touching the ground.
Over the best part of last year I have watched my little menagerie of wild animals and birds call in at my garden cafe and I know that some no longer visit because birds fall victim to cats, hedgehogs are prey to large creatures and foxes frequently fall foul of cars and lorries.
I’ll continuer Hopalong’s tale tomorrow.
I still hope he’ll return.
Robin's Nest 