F~F~Friendly Fox
May 22nd, 20162026
- 14th March 16:10 Disturbed fox in shed when collecting a dry piece of sycamore. It seems it has a den under the wood pile. Seemed small/young.
- 24th April 18:07 Saw fox run from Harewood Gardens to top of Leo
- 25th April 12:13 Saw fox adjacent greenhouse. I said hello, they turned to look at me and carried on checking the are down to the fence/gate.
- 28th April Seems calm. Stop when I said hello, to see what the noise was :)
28th April 11:05 - 29th April 18:11 Saw fox in track as I abruptly step out with a brisk walk to get water. Startled the fox :(
30th April 19:54 Heard noise under cabin and thought it may be the fox.Went out and saw it wandering about. I called out and they stopped but only wandered around, back and forward. Same thing happened a few min later, noise, but then I saw it through the window. The slight noise of opening the door and it dived under the cabin.
- ay 13:06 Walked past the open door, gazed under the caravan, whence I called out, quietly. Then went off down the lane to △
May 9th
October 08:10 Fox eating apples from compost pile.
2022
- 16th January 09:45 Sat by the door and saw a fairly large and dark fox go by, towards the gate, then some 2 or 3 seconds later another, slightly smaller with a white under tail and more.
This may be a couple, the larger being male and supports the notion that I seen a different one from the 'friendly' one. The second resembling the 'friendly fox'
2021
- 24th October : 10:14 Hearing a pheasant I opened the door abruptly which startled a fox, so it sadly ran off quickly.
- 10th July : 10:07 Just caught a|the fox crapping outside the workshop, it looked a little embarrassed. It may not be the fox I'm used to it was a bit skinny and darker ??
- 7th July : 15:14 The fox looked at me and approached to within a few metres but backed off to sniff around a veggie bed.
- 6th July : 10:34 Saw the fox by the apple tree and wandering around for some 14 min
- 5th July : 09:32 Saw the fox run by, maybe as it was raining?
- 3rd July : 11:05
3rd July : 11:05 - 1st July 10:07
1st July 10:07 - 27th June : 10:32 Sadly hearing a squawking pheasant I rushed out to chase it away and inadvertently scared away the fox :(
- 26th June : 16:45, Met up whilst I was mowing the grass by the wagon, it showed interest. I stopped and it came up to with a couple feet. It went away and came back some minutes later
- 21st June : 17:14 As I open the door of workshop, I saw the fox duck under.
- 5th June : Morning The fox walked up to within a foot of me, I think it was going to sniff me but I moved my head to look at it better so it moved back a bit.
June 5th 2021 8am The fox actually got closer than this.
Clickhere for wider picture.
Then click on the image to see full size. - 4th June : 09:00 Looks like a young fox. It was happy enough to approach, but twitched when I opened the door. It decided to play by picking up my weeding fork and dropping it some three metres away with a fling. Around 10am visited again but throwing some cake wasn't appreciated.
June 4th 2021 10am
June 1st 2021 The fox was happy to roll around whilst I spoke to it.
2020
2018 7 Oct: Gavin said he had a brilliant encounter whilst preparing one of the beds in the 'Compost Field' that Vera used afore. 2 Aug: Again whilst cooking the fox wandered up as close as 4m and looked around for about 9 minutes. 20 Jul: Whilst cooking outside a fox came by some 5m away and nosed around. I said hello then it walked on to the apple tree.
2017
10 Aug: Arose to see what was making the noise to find:
2016
10 May: Although I've seen foxes before and on the land, never very close; so it's a bit of a surprise and a delight to have seen one by the caravan. The first time was on I managed to get my old phone to take a snap which only showed a brown blur to the east of the veggie patch. Today however, even though I had to switch my Galaxy S3 on, I managed a dozen snaps while the fox wandered from the same easterly point,around the south,
up the path
below the onion beds,
below the onion beds,
Tick Count : 2025~2026
May 3rd, 2025- April 25th 2026 I found a small tick whilst working naked. I though this was early but found a comment from 2019
- May 3rd 2025Found two small ticks on my leg. One embedded and later crawling, again whilst working naked.
May 22nd 2025Found two. One on my inner thick and one on the my wrist; again whilst working naked. There have been a few in last few weeks
Tick Count 2019
April 22nd :: 2 One small dug in on left lower abdomen. Later found one crawling up my leg
- May 1st 2025 I found a small tick whilst working naked. I though this was early but found a comment from 2019
- May 3rd 2025Found two small ticks on my leg. One embedded and later crawling, again whilst working naked.
May 22nd 2025Found two. One on my inner thick and one on the my wrist; again whilst working naked. There have been a few in last few weeks
Tick Count 2019
April 22nd :: 2 One small dug in on left lower abdomen. Later found one crawling up my leg
Blood Suckers > Ticks et alia
April 14th, 2016And I don't mean us humans that consume anything, anywhere at anytime but those little buggers that feed on us, or in this case me. I've been the source of food for many ticks, horse-flies, and mosquitoes.
Although horseflies and to a lesser degree, mosquitoes, cause initial bites and prolonged swelling unlike ticks they do not stay attached given their ability to fly.
Ticks: although sometimes feeding for days before discovery, being small are fairly easily removed; although care has to be taken not to leave their mouth claws embedded in the skin as this may lead to infection. There is always the possibility of contractingLyme's disease(which I hope I haven't as " . . . development of infection is rare" . . . "1 in 50") Diagnosis
Recently (Feb 2016) I had an itchy area on the inside of my left wrist. It took some weeks before I took serious action. (Update May 2017: Still have a tendency for left wrist to be itchy, seems like either a virus or immune issue?) I thought it may be scabies as they breed under the skin and cannot be removed like ticks.
Before Treatment
Scabies are not as such, blood suckers, but burrow beneath the skin to lay eggs and they are not, as I imagined, likely to come from other animals as those are different and not so viable, although see the final paragraph copied below. No doubt a better term would be flesh eaters though I have found no detail on their diet. Other than a few extracts from wikipedia below a lengthy document can be downloaded from https://www.michigan.gov/documents/scabies_manual_130866_7.pdf
See Borax treatment"A number of medications are available to treat those infected, including permethrin, crotamiton, and lindane creams and ivermectin.[6] Sexual contacts within the last month and people who live in the same house should also be treated at the same time.[10] Bedding and clothing used in the last three days should be washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer.[10] As the mite does not live for more than three days away from human skin, more washing is not needed.[10] Symptoms may continue for two to four weeks following treatment.[10] If after this time symptoms continue, retreatment may be needed.[10]"
. . .
"Permethrin is the most effective treatment for scabies,[34] and remains the treatment of choice.[11][35] It is applied from the neck down, usually before bedtime, and left on for about eight to 14 hours, then washed off in the morning.[11] Care should be taken to coat the entire skin surface, not just symptomatic areas; any patch of skin left untreated can provide a "safe haven" for one or more mites to survive. One application is normally sufficient, as permethrin kills eggs and hatchlings, as well as adult mites, though many physicians recommend a second application three to seven days later as a precaution. Crusted scabies may require multiple applications, or supplemental treatment with oral ivermectin (below).[11][35][36] Permethrin may cause slight irritation of the skin that is usually tolerable.[16]"
. . .
"The most frequently diagnosed form of scabies in domestic animals is sarcoptic mange, caused by the subspecies Sarcoptes scabiei canis, most commonly in dogs and cats. Sarcoptic mange is transmissible to humans who come into prolonged contact with infested animals,[55] and is distinguished from human scabies by its distribution on skin surfaces covered by clothing."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabies
