Last night was busy!

That is what Tom said to me as he left for the gym early this morning, coffee in one hand, bag over his shoulder and work clothes flung over his arm. We were looking at the potted plants on the porch and a daisy had her head bitten off, while the soil around had been dug into two small holes. At three in the morning I was woken out of my dreams by what seemed like human screams and shrieks. I bolted right up in bed and sat to attention listening to the sounds. It reminded me of the fox we had heard awhile back. Only this time it seemed more intense, urgent, high pitched. At first I looked outside the windows and seeing nothing, wandered through the living room and studies. The sound stopped and as I returned to bed, the yawping resumed. This time, more intense than the last. I just could not help it. I started to weep. It sounded too much like a human in terrible distress.

Finally, I just had to wake Tom up. How did he sleep through it anyway? We went outside to see what we could see. Nothing. Dark wooded shadows, still of the night, and yet the screams persisted. Tom set out like our courageous warrior, in his Saab of course, and headed down the valley to see what he could see. He said bravely, "I am going to see what's happening. But you stay here." "Are you worried what I might see?" I asked. "Yes," he replied stoically. I took him seriously, gulped back my tears and watched from the window as he drove away.

When he returned he described the fox as sitting on a piece of grass and across the way a gray cat lay quietly watching. I wondered why I had not given him a camera to take pictures for the blog. All was well. Just nature. Just the warning cries of a fox in the woods, in the night. These were the sounds of a busy night in the Wissahickon. By then, I had made a cup of tea and calmed down. It was four in the morning.

We were lucky to fall asleep again and an hour later, the robins were warbling me awake.

A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Citizen Tamarika

Comments

[tamarika]

Frank,
So helpful! Between you and Michael - science and magic - I will be able to awaken to fox yawps with much more ... wisdom ... I wonder, though, if the haunting sound of those cries won't still bring out the tears just because of the association with the sound.

[tamarika]

Am so glad this post inspired yours, Michael. Your piece created a magical atmosphere that helps drown out those haunting "yawps" from early this morning. Thank you for the link.

[Frank Paynter]

Foxes and feral cats fill much the same eco-niche. I can see why the fox was agitated. He didn't want to share the mousies!

[Michael]

Great post, Tamar! It inspired me to post something related on my blog (click on my name for link).