Fox Sightings and Other Visitors

Last Wednesday I was seated at this laptop when movement caught my eye. I looked up and saw a lovely red fox walk through my backyard along the edge of the glen. It stopped under my new suet feeder and sniffed up at it. It won't get any closer than that (but that's the subject of another blog) and then veered off over the edge of the glen.

About ten minutes later the same thing happened again, but this time the fox was moving faster as though it was chasing the first fox.

Yesterday morning I looked out the bedroom window at the backyard and there was the fox again trotting along the edge of the glen from west to east. I called for Dan to come see and as we watched the fox veered to its left and came up on the deck, lifted its leg and marked the upright beam with its urine! It continued on the deck and Dan speculated it was going to do the same thing to the other beams, but we lost sight of it as it continued east our sight obstructed by the rest of the house.

The other visitors have been the regulars: birds and deer. The latter I just chased away from my English laurel bushes. They were having a fine breakfast out there. I didn't think they liked to eat those kinds of leaves. I haven't seen any evidence of them eating there before. But why am I surprised? They eat anything that's green.

Tree Trimmed

The house is decorated and ready for Christmas.

Each year the mantle has a new variation.


One year Emily or Sarah received these Father Christmases to paint. I've added some more to them. I suppose whoever's they are will want them back some day?

Egg Ornaments

In 1991 every time I used an egg I would blow out the insides rather than crack it open. I gathered at least 6 dozen eggs this way. Sarah and Emily were 5 and 10 then and they undertook the project of painting the eggs as ornaments with me before Christmas. Our tree that year was covered with egg ornaments.

Since that time I don't always put these ornaments on the tree but do like to display them on a smaller one. This year I purchased a better looking small fake tree. Here is my egg tree this year with a close up on some of the ornaments.

Untrimmed Tree

We have enjoyed cutting Christmas trees over the years. Last year we found this place in Carroll County that had a wide assortment of trees. They discounted trees when trees were the last ones in the parcel and they wanted them cut so they could plant new in the spring. Dan and I went back there on Saturday. We found a tree that stands at least 10 feet tall that was marked $29. Others of that height were $92. We think ours was marked down because it had a yellow hue next to the other trees. For us, it fit the price, was the right size and shape. Here at home its looks green.

Here is is untrimmed.