Mr Reynard in my garden - a word picture

Thanks to Nan, at http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.co.uk/, I am inspired to create my own word picture today.  Last night we had a large dog fox in our garden.  Nothing unusual about that you say, especially if you live in a large city and are visited by urban foxes, or if you live out in the country.  But we live at the very edge of a small rural town, and whilst I have seen a fox make his own path through a field sometimes whilst waiting for an early bus, this is something new.  He has been before - I have seen his droppings several times.  Also, John comes to bed after me as a general rule, and several times he has told me in the morning that the fox visited.  So I told him, after the previous visit, that he should wake me up.

Then last night I got a whispered "wake up!, wake up!, the fox is back!"  We can sit on the edge of our bed and view the garden, and we had a grandstand view of a very large fox indeed. looked quite dark in the fur, with a magnificent "brush", wandering around on our grass.  He seemed to be vacuuming up smells.... that's all I can describe it as..... his nose down and slowly, slowly wandering round.  No pattern to the wander, perhaps he was smelling our cats, which are out there during the day?  Perhaps he was hoping for a wee mousie or two for supper?  Certainly there are 3 chicken next door who are kept in their shed overnight.... but he never went near that side of the garden at all (perhaps his nose is failing him?) So for at least 20 minutes we had the joy of watching a wild creature only a few feet from the house.

Now I know they are killers, and I have been told that they will take the throats out of a whole group of chicken and not eat one of them.  I know that they are hunted as vermin.  I know all this but still, the joy of seeing a wild creature at large in our own garden was just - wonderful.