IN ANSWER TO THE PROVERBIAL QUESTION...

While painting that first little woodland girl with antlers recently, I got to thinking about this facebook clip I saw not long ago, of friend High School Debbie's darling granddaughter dancing around in a funny animal hat, to her very favorite song --  this crazy/wonderful music video by a Norse brother-duo called Ylvis, which went viral a while back. The song is based on a children's book which asks the proverbial question, "What does the fox say?" And, well, believe it or not, I actually know the answer to that question.

You see, we live on a piece of property which the original owners dubbed "Fox Hill." This spring I was delighted to find Mama Fox trotting past my window each morning as I sat at the computer, occasionally followed by her kits.

Over the past several years we have sometimes heard a strange noise in the night -- a cross between a bark and a cough, almost like someone was trying to clear their throat. One night Lex and I had the windows in the house open, and we spotted something perched on our big retaining wall, making that strange coughing sound. We couldn't see it clearly, but could make out pointy ears and a fluffy tail. It was too big to be a house cat, so we wondered if perhaps it was a small bobcat or mountain lion. Then one evening when John was coming up the outdoor staircase, he reported seeing a fox making a strange cough-like sound, and we finally put two and two together. That was Mama Fox calling to her kits, or warning us away whenever we got too close!

So there, now you know.