Dan Antion

Short Walk Interrupted – #1LinerWeds

When I am home, either on vacation or on the weekend, Maddie has come to expect that I will take her for a walk in the morning. She has a certain routine, and when the boxes are checked, we’re supposed to go. I have to try and explain to her that “it’s raining” or “it’s already too hot” or “it’s yucky humid” but usually, I cave into the sad face, the running to the door and the barking at her leash. In other words, she has me well trained.

The big reason why I cave is because she’s so happy when we start walking.

I’ve mentioned before that we have a short walk and a long walk. Well, as of last week, we have an emergency even-shorter-than-short walk. On two occasions, we had to cut our walk short. One was a normal Maddie thing – the presence of others on the planet. A guy pulled into the park with two dogs in his truck. Maddie isn’t a social animal, so that would normally send us around the park’s back side. But, that woman with the walker was walking over there. Topping it all off was a woman walking her dog toward us on the other side of the street. I turned Maddie around and headed home while she cranked her head around to keep tabs on all the bad guys who were following us.

The next day, we left even earlier. It looked like the coast was clear. Until. We. Came. To. The. Park. Maddie stopped in her tracks and would not move. I looked around to see if that lady in the walker was on the prow, but I quickly spied who Maddie was looking at. Two foxes. We’re guessing a mom and a young one, because we’ve heard that the fox we had seen a few weeks ago was tending to a couple of pups. I looked at Maddie and said:

“How about we call it a day and head home?”

At the sound of the word ‘home’ Maddie turned around and started walking.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, I’d encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

The gallery includes a few pictures of the fox family and a few shots from along the way on that day and other days this past weekend. For those who were wishing Maddie good wishes, she seems to have bounced back from whatever had her in a funk. The video shows her walking over to her cot. Not running yet, but at least she wants to sit.

This pretty much says “this park is closed.”
I don’t want to get too close to that guy.
I love that tail.
“I don’t think we should go this way, Maddie.”
These guys were moving very fast.
“We going to go. Please don’t follow us.”
“I know the foxes are in the area. I’m going to nibble a few things and then hide.”
“Hey, did you guys hear, there’s some foxes on the loose around here.”
“OK, I’m getting out of here until those foxes are gone.”
This little girl came to our door the night before, during a thunderstorm. She lives at this house.
Mushroom or drink parasol?
Mushrooms are everywhere.
Maddie’s is closed for vacation – now what do I do for breakfast?
I don’t think this is how the carts are supposed to be stored.
Home Depot is supposed to be open.
The sun is rising later each day.
This little guys bangs open the mailbox to let us know he’s there.
Sometimes I grab this and ask MiMi if she knows which foot it is. She’s rarely impressed.
“Please just let me sleep”

86 comments

  1. Cool shots of the foxes, Dan. It’s a real treat to spot them, though I suspect it would have been a little easier to observe them if Maddie had not been in tow. Of course, I also enjoyed the other, more frequently observed critters that inhabit your blog postings.

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    • Thanks Mike. I’m not sure how long we’ll have the foxes to watch. That’s a town soccer field they’re trotting across. Those tails really do get your attention. Maddie seemed to know that those aren’t other dogs. No barking, no growling. It was like “nothing to see here, let’s go home.”

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    • Thanks Judy. She does seem like she could be holding court on that cot. She sits for a few minutes, then lays down. She’s not been getting much cot time with this sticky weather we’ve been having.

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    • Thanks Gwen. I’m glad you enjoyed this. The foxes are fun to spot, but I think the bunnies and the squirrels are not that happy. There’s an area about 1/2 mile from our neighborhood that is known as Fox Hollow – I guess we know why.

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  5. Yes, Maddie has you well-trained, Dan. I wish in that pretty little head of hers that she knew most people are not bad and would offer her some love if she let them. But, I suppose as long as she has “Dad”, the Editor and Faith to give love and take care of her, she’s okay.

    Oh, and don’t forget her outside sitting cot. Yeah, life is good.

    Great shot of the foxes. I’m surprised you were close enough to take photos.

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    • Thanks Mary. Maddie’s little head is a scary place some times. She has issues in there. We love her, she seems to know that, but she doesn’t quite know what to make of the rest of the world. The foxes, though. She understood that the foxes were not to be aggravated. She stopped as soon as she spotted them, and she was not at all upset when we headed home.

      That lady in the walker – she’s real trouble :-)

      And yes, I am a very well-trained human. “Let’s go for a walk , Dan.” “Let’s go outside and sit, Dan.”

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      • I used to have a cat that would have made a great companion for Maddie. He was afraid of almost everything, especially other people. I wanted so badly to get into his head and tell him not to be afraid.

        Yeah, those grandmas with walkers are dangerous. It’s a good thing Maddie is suspicious of her. ;-)

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  7. This just proves that even routine walks can quickly become ‘unroutine’! Maddie’s walks have suddenly become much more complicated. I hope all those bunnies and outdoor cats stay safe with a predator around.

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  8. What fun to see, and photograph, the foxes, Dan! I understand about the people and other distractions from when we had our foster dogs. :-) I also like the shot of the cat peeping out from under the car, although I guess a certain number die each year from being tucked underneath a vehicle when it starts.

    janet

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    • We’ve seen the foxes twice, Janet and they are amazing. They are so fast when they run but they look like they are just trotting. I’d love to see how fast they run when they are serious.

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  9. These animals are getting so confused as to where to go … people are moving in to their territory which sends them into places they normally would not go. Just two days ago I heard there was a black bear sighted about 5 miles from our home. No I did not run with my camera, thank you. Quick reflexes, Dan, to get those foxes. Good for you! I know all about fumbling for my camera when I see something I MUST capture, only by the time I get my camera up and ready, what I was going to shoot is long gone. Have a great day today! ☺️

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    • You’re exactly right, Amy. They are building out an industrial park in an area that has been called “Fox Hollow” as long as we’ve lived in this town. It’s sad to see the continual loss of habitat.

      I was lucky, in that when we (Maddie) first spied them, they were in the middle of the soccer field. I had time to get my camera, but they were moving fast. The juvenile stopped to look back at us. I’m guessing mom straightened him out later.

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    • Thanks Teagan. Our larger cat, MuMu has added a new element to the morning routine. She sits in “her room” and yells at me as I am on my way into the bathroom to shower. I now have to kneel down and scratch her for a while. This started about a week ago, and now it seems to be a thing.

      Have a great Wednesday!

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  11. Wow! Cool pictures. I wonder what brought those foxes into a populated area. Love the video of Maddie. I would cave to that sad face every time too. Love our fur babies.

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    • As I mentioned to Amy, they are building out an industrial park in an area that has been called “Fox Hollow” as long as we’ve lived in this town. I think these guys are just losing their habitat to development. It’s kinda sad, because they won;t be able to stay around here. Two hours after our walk, there was a youth soccer game on that field.

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      • That is sad that they are displaced but kind of interesting how the adapt to changes in their environment. Better than some people you might say and by some people I mean me :)

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  12. The fox photos are interesting. I don’t often see them around here, but they are nothing like dogs so maybe Maddie knew that instinctively. Or maybe she just wanted to get home to sit comfortably. It was hot and humid out, right? Don’t underestimate the MiMi’s influence on her!

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    • That’s a good point, Ally.Seeing MiMi makes me want to turn around and go back to bed when I’m leaving for work. I give Maddie credit, though. Both times we’ve seen the fox, she’s noticed it well before I did.

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  14. So fun that you captured pictures of the Fox family. I’m so impressed with Maddie at how she goes right for her cot to enjoy the view. She’s a gorgeous dog!

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    • Thanks Shelly. As soon as Maddie sees the her cot is not on the porch, she knows where she’s heading. If I’m carrying something to drink, it’s easier to just let her go. She actually wants to be connected, that’s why she’s on the leash, but she hardly ever pulls against it when she’s on het cot.

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  15. Wow, so glad all the other little guys spread the word about the foxes….Ha! Got me thinking about Dan Akroyd and Steve Martin going out to look for ‘foxes.’ What a hoot. MiMi cracks me up. Nothing phases her. I’m glad Maddie is feeling better. I love how she goes straight to her little cot. So sweet.

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    • Thanks Lois. Everyone seemed to be spreading the word about the fox family. Maddie seems to be back to normal today,

      MiMi really isn’t bothered by much (except when Maddie is being a jerk).

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  16. I am so glad Maddie is feeling better and she had no qualms about heading home after seeing those foxes. Smart girl! You got great shots of them. I can’t believe the length of the tail on one of them.

    It seems that the boundaries of where humans live and where wild animals live are all but erased. Good to know there are people like you who respect these wildlife creatures and are willing to go home and give them some space.

    Never saw a ‘pleated’ mushroom before. We have some very large and strange looking mushrooms too. They’re even growing out of a wood flower pot!

    It’s still like a swamp here. Had one thunderstorm after another yesterday. Same predicted for today…..and tomorrow. Hope weather is looking better in your area and it’s conducive to working on that roof. If not, that allows more time to cuddle with Maddie and keep her calm!!
    🔹Ginger 🔹

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    • Thanks Ginger – We go through cycles of activity, every time they start building in a new place.Those tails are amazing,

      I never saw a ‘pleated’ mushroom before either. We’ve had so many little mushrooms popping up lately, it’s giving me a chance to practice those close-ups.

      I’m hoping to get some shingles down this week-weekend, in between the rain. I’ll have to make time for giving Maddie a walk or a sit. I do have to plan on working in the swamp.

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  21. Glad Maddie is feeling better. Love all the photos. When I lived in Wilmington, Delaware, my X-husband brought home a baby fox he found on one of his construction sites. After a few days of its hissing and pooping all over the place, my X finally grew a brain and took it back where he found it. Bad idea to capture wild animals as pets!

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  22. I’m glad Maddie is feeling better. I’m also glad that she’s a clever girl, and steers clear of foxes–they look dangerous! The lady with the walker, I would probably be okay with, but you never know about other dogs.

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  25. Good old Maddie – she’s a practical lass, with a lot of common sense … and the green green grass of home is better – love it … cheers Hilary

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  26. We used to have red foxes around here but I haven’t seen them for a long, long time. Too many humans, I guess. Now we have lots of bunnies and coyotes… guess who wins that contest? That women with the walker is a menace and Maddie is smart to keep her distance. God knows what she would do if she got too close.

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  28. I love the fox images! It looks like Maddie was cooperative enough so you could get some nice pics to share, and keep. A fox sighting in the daylight eludes me. I’ve only seen two kits walking along the side of a mountain road at about 1 in the morning driving down from photographing the stars. No way to get a decent image at all for me unfortunately.

    I’m glad to see Maddie is feeling more like herself, and nearly trotting the path to her cot.

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  29. It would be good to read first, before getting confused – that’s not Maddie, that’s …it looks like …a fox?? Good, she didn’t turn into a fox:)

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  32. Aw! I’m glad Maddie’s feelin better! She sure is happy to sit, too :)
    It’s too bad there was so much stranger danger that day, but home is one of my favorite words, too.
    Your foxes are different, too. Hm. I don’t have time tonight to look up fox varieties, but hm. Some other day.
    I wrote too too much, too. Hm.

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  33. Nice post. So these foxes are monitored by some authority or they’re just free? Over here, Vasai (my town) has plenty of mountains and right behind those ranges is wildlife national park. So, there are incidents when leopards jump the fence and enter the civilian territory. There are incidents when the leopard enters a school or residential buildings and creates a bloody mess. It normally takes 4-5 days for the authorities to search and take control over it.

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    • These guys are wild, and not particularly well managed. On the other hand, they were fine, until we started building an industrial park in their habitat.

      The local Animal Control Officer has been notified, and perhaps will trap and relocate the foxes. I haven’t seen them for over a week, so either that happened, or the kits have grown to the point that they can manage by themselves.

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