Rainy

Late yesterday afternoon a few hard rain showers moved across the mountain, and I got to thinking about the fox kit in the barrel, worrying that the barrel would fill up with water and drown it.

So when I got home I went to check on it. It was still there, and the bottom of the barrel hadn’t filled with water, though it was a bit muddy. I decided I would toss some straw from the bale I keep in the back of my car (having no better place to store it) into the barrel. I keep the straw for the chicken pen and add it at little bit at time to their digs.

I grabbed an armful of straw and tossed it down there and headed back to the car. Once there, it occurred to me that if I added another armful of straw the little fox might be able to climb on top of the straw and get out of the barrel, if it wanted to, and if nothing else the straw should keep it dry during this rain.

When I got back to the barrel, the little fox was already climbing into the first armful of straw. It looked like it was trying to dry off or get out of the mud.. I added the second armful of straw and left. The straw now comes up to within perhaps 10 inches from the top of the barrel. I think the little fox would be able to climb out of the barrel if it got atop the straw.

This morning I checked on the little fox again, but overnight the straw had been rearranged so that I could no longer see the bottom of the barrel. The straw now covered the entire barrel opening instead of being heaped onto one side as I’d left it. I couldn’t see if the little fox was still in there or not. Either way, tossing it an armful of straw was about all I could do for it.