Fox In The Copse…
An amber early evening sunset silhouetted
Branches of mature trees, like arms angled in desperation
And the regular gushes of a swirling October breeze
Infiltrated the woodland to mither my passive frame.
Yet despite the silent climbs of squirrels which fretted
Above and tuneless magpies which squawked their frustration,
There was no other activity in the copse to appease
And despite the tempting food laid down, no badgers came…
An enveloping dismal dusk dulled the dank visibility,
Only the freshly dragged soil by powerful claws near one sett
Capturing the attention. Then as stronger wind gusts began to chill,
I shivered involuntarily and turned to spot the quiet incursion
Of an oblivious, healthy, stalking fox feeding behind me voraciously.
Slowly, stealthily it neared where I stood but with no hint of fret
Until it became aware of my presence looming quiet and still
And it veered towards the boundary fence and the safety of diversion…
Pete Ray
4th October 2023…
I stood for an hour at Temple Balsall but saw no emergence of badgers and I became quite cold as the wind gushed and the copse darkened.
The roast chicken morsels and wild food laid down had clearly alerted a fox and when I turned round, I watched it feed for a few moments, before it headed towards me. Then it suddenly altered its route, as it realised I was there just a metre or so nearby and it scuttled away along the boundary fence…
No sad badgers, though…
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