The call of the wild

The frantic rush over the last couple of days has been somewhat less frantic than I had expected. In fact, I got on so well on Tuesday that I almost met myself coming back before I had even set out!

I was awake early this morning. It was caused by a call of nature - of a sort. It must have been only just about getting light when the dog woke me by barking after she had been disturbed by a vixen. Fern soon gave up and I lay there for a little while listening to nature in the raw. For those who don't know it, the call of the vixen is a truly weird noise. It sounds remarkably as though there is a human being, probably a child, howling in agony. I suppose we all know - or imagine we know - the sound of a dog baying at the moon or a wolf howling in the snow. Since the dog, the wolf and the fox are all canines, one might expect their calls to be vaguely similar. Indeed, the howls of the dog and wolf are. But not the howl of the vixen. That really is an unearthly noise that cannot be satisfactorily described. It can only be heard.



Now to write up the minutes of yesterday's Lions meeting, then finish off (as far as I can) November's Jungle Jottings. After that, walk the dog and take her to kennels, pack the case and car, babysit my granddaughter for half an hour, then a Chinese take-away. And first thing tomorrow, off for a semi-relaxing week. I do have jobs to do over in France - but maybe more of that another time. Meanwhile, I have scheduled a few posts for while I am away.