Fox in the Birdyard

From Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins. One of my very favorite children's books.

That's our best guess anyway... no evidence, except for missing birds and a barking dog. We heard some squawking on Monday afternoon, and upon investigation found that Rutherford Domingo was nowhere to be found. Jake crowed around the yard to be sure. He probably swaggered right up to that fox, ready to fight. His last act was protecting his hens, which is what roosters do, but a fox with a family to feed was not impressed, apparently. I was a little sad... but the yard has been quieter and safer in the days after Monday.

On Tuesday, Jake came home to a missing duck. Maude. Our last runner.

This same Tuesday I rendezvoused with a friend whose dad had hatched out some Blue Swedish ducks and Chinese geese. The yellow goose is Ryan Gosling. The gray one is Cygnet.

They were just on a supervised field trip here. They're not out and about in the big bad world all by themselves just yet.