NOT the parrots, 2:30 am

Last night I was jarred awake by what sounded to me, in my groggy state, like a murder taking place below our bedroom window. It was a distressed, gutteral scream, advancing from the field next door toward the house. Heart pounding, I nudged Scott who was already semi-awake. "It's just the parrots. Go back to sleep," he murmured. "Those are NOT parrots! Something is DOWN there!" I whispered horsely.

Ten seconds of silence, and then we heard the cry again. It was clearly not the parrots, and Scott, now fully awake, hopped out of bed to join me at the window. Just then, a lone fox emerged from the brush bordering our front yard. It was beautiful. It stopped in the driveway and surveyed the path. Then it looked up at us. It lowered its ears and made the cry again, and then trotted off down the road.

A few minutes of research on the Internet this morning reveals the cry to be part of a territorial dispute. Click here and then select "Territorial Response" to listen to the call that can wake the dead (but not Scott). Make sure your speakers are turned up to get the full effect.

For the past week I've seen at least one fox per day not far from the house, including 3 sightings on Saturday. No wonder they are disputing.