Torsgad November 3, 2022 Surprisingly Following Through

 
    I want to thank John Bouchard (aka Mr. Hot Coco) for his recent November 1st blog post. Turns out his post was not so much about not videoing an important event, when he thought he was, as it was the success he and a friend experienced fishing in a Clark County Lake-version of a Minnesota farm pond; where tons of fish were trapped because of ceaseless drought conditions and low water levels. The fish were starving, striking at anything that broke the surface of the water, including potato chips, bread crumbs, and unbaited hooks. Even a guy raised in Canada could catch these fish.

    However he did make mention of his ineptitude (his words, more or less) of attempting to take videos of wildlife while multi-tasking, [fishing and filming] as a deer swam across the lake toward him, and all he got of the event was images of the shoreline near his feet. I sympathize completely; been there, did that.

    My blog is about thinking to use a camera to video an important event and following through, just in time.

    We used to have a dog named Cubby; she looked like what perhaps, how a bear cub might look, newborn. She was a playful sort, not mean and bitey, like say a Kansas chihuahua for instance. Even so, she always tried being protective of the family homestead, acting brave when the situation called for it, but basically retiring from any real confrontation requiring the use of bared teeth, growling, or physical contact whatsoever. To her credit, she could bark incessantly so to alert us of any impending danger or interference she had identified as having potential to disrupt or, in some cases, harm us or our abode. She was good at that. Engaging, not so much.

    Yet, she was not a pushover when it came to wild animals -- unless they were bears, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, lynx, or cougars for some reason. But did you see I didn’t mention foxes? And that’s because she was lethal when it came to foxes. Their big eyes and little pointy-noses particularly annoyed her. 

    Foxes would enter her yard uninvited and, just poop (and presumably, pee) on her farm lane whenever they wanted.

 

    “The nerve of some feral canines!” I could imagine her thinking; she acted perturbed to no end.

    So it was back in 2009 or thereabouts, when I heard her bark and caught a glimpse of her running toward the woods north of our house. I quickly investigated her questionable behavior seein’ as there were few things she chased for long those days. No longer fleet of foot, rabbits had begun thinkin’ she was a hoot with her gray muzzle, snuffling nose noises, and shuffling gait. 

    They’d roar past her in a wide circle and give her tail a little pull when they came back around just to be ornery; but when even squirrels started doing that, that was the last straw. I began seeing her doing one legged pushups trying to rebuild her strength, and swim laps in the creek to recreate her youthful endurance although it tired her out to the point where she'd just sleep for hours. She was determined not to be taken lightly, just because she has aged, a bit - however, the fox had other ideas. 

    Seeing this beginning to play out, I stepped out the door to video it using my digital camera -- not my phone. It is the best wildlife interaction video I ever thought to take -- and did (successfully).