Different

In the past fortnight, there have been nights when the temperature dipped close to freezing, but the arrival of daylight quickly warmed the air. was not the whiff of cold that foretells the approach of Winter.

There is a very particular bite to the chill that signals the approach of year’s end and Monday afternoon it was noticeable in the stiff wind that brought down showers of leaves, scattering them across the grass and over roadways, to offer visual warning of the coming Winter.

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Fall is stunningly beautiful but so quickly over. The sight of those falling leaves is deeply poignant. It is the end of another cycle, but Spring will come again, the world will be renewed. I’ve always been able to look at it that way, but maybe because the world is in such a sad state just now, I feel particularly melancholic this year.

It isn’t only that, though. This past Summer was different.

The weather could not have been better. In that regard, we were blessed. Except for a handful of days that were over-hot, we enjoyed mild temperatures and just the right amount of rain, evenly spaced.

What was noticeably different were the absences.

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Groundhogs emerged from hibernation on 21st March and we promptly supplied carrots.

It is always a joy to see their sweet faces.

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On 26th May we rejoiced at the arrival of the babies that have so entertained us each year, ever since our first Spring in 2019.

Much as we enjoy these creatures, we know better than to ever take the viewing of wildlife for granted. It is an undeserved privilege to be cherished.

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But I have to admit that we were disappointed when it became obvious that the babies were gone, early in June. The mothers disappeared too, so they probably relocated to another burrow. It is unlikely something untoward could have happened to all of them at once.

So we sadly wished them well and hoped they would flourish in their new home.

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We had been thrilled on 30th March by the appearance of Baldy who we’d not expected to survive a harsh Winter in his diminished condition. Then, over the following weeks, we were surprised and delighted to see him grow a full, healthy coat. We saw him last on 4th August and Grant insists that he is doing fine, somewhere else.

What do I always say? Don’t get attached to wild animals.

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On 24th June we were entertained by a family of raccoons. But they were only passing through. We have seen a raccoon only a handful of times since and possums perhaps twice.

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It was in 2022 that we first began seeing a fox near the house. She discovered a pile of peanuts that we put out for squirrels and birds and quickly developed a taste for them. She visited daily and we also noticed her out by the old stone wall where soon there were kits. They appeared to have a den just beyond the wall.

We were thrilled.

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We could never imagine that in 2025 we would have a family of foxes living in a burrow behind the garage and that we would get to watch 5 kits grow up virtually on our doorstep.

We became quite concerned when we began finding chicken corpses in the driveway, expecting the arrival of an irate farmer, but luckily this crimewave did not continue and eventually the foxes moved away, out of sight over the wall.

It was a unique and wonderful experience. The burrow behind the garage got filled in when a tree fell during the winter and we did not expect to see kits so close again, but we continued seeing the adult foxes.

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One was identifiable by her torn left ear. She came most days to breakfast on peanuts under the hedge in front of the kitchen window.

We last saw her there at the end of May. Soon after, a couple of foxes were seen on the walkway, but their ears seemed intact. I made sure there were nuts out for them every evening but the last time I saw a fox anywhere was 14th August.

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Migrating birds returned in the Spring and we were delighted to have catbirds feed on the porch for the first time, affording us a good look at this lovely bird. But several others were scarcely seen at all and in no time at all they had all moved on.

We put it down to the arrival of starlings, though they themselves stay but a couple of weeks and their temporary ruckus does not usually have such an effect.

For a while we hardly even saw a sparrow. When finally they discovered that the hedge was all theirs, there was much cheerful singing out in the bushes.

We can be happy for them at least!

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Last week we came to the conclusion that the two remaining groundhogs had gone to their burrow early, as our offerings of carrot remained untouched for days. Usually they stay up until the middle or even the end of October. It is silly, but the sight of all those uneaten carrots made me sad. I like to be prepared for a goodbye and I wasn’t.

As I said, silly.

But on Monday afternoon I looked out and saw a familiar furry figure poking about under the hedge looking for a snack, so I quickly ran some fresh carrots out. It may have been a last appearance, but it did cheer me up, as did another sudden appearance…

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Writing about these wonderful creatures I am reminded of how lucky I am to have had them visit my property and I am truly grateful. I must not miss them so when they don’t show up.

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