Crazy like a fox?

Destroyed Fuse 

It was such a crazy day for April 21.  We had two rounds of storms, trees down all over the area, lightening stuck the fuse just outside our home.  Thankfully, we never lost power but everyone south of us did.

Adorable! 

Youngest texted me with a picture of a puppy that was found at church between some storage buildings, between the crazy storms.  He has a bit of a soft heart for critters like the rest of our family.  Said it was going to be taken to the pound if someone didn't take it. I told him to send it home with Daddy and we would care for it until it was Adoptable age.  Poor thing still had it's eyes and ears closed.  A lady, who works with Gerber Baby foods was at the church preparing for a special Mom and Baby event they do each year at our church, rushed out and bought a bottle and some puppy formula.  Youngest had already named it Bear, cause that was written on the box he sent it home in.

Honey said it was up to me because I would be the one taking care of it all the time, so while the kids napped, I fed the pup from a medicine dropper and kept it warm.  Can you see a "but" coming? As I was holding in, I started to notice that it didn't look like a normal puppy, at least not one I had seen before. It's nose and toes looked different, it was larger than a normal puppy, and it wasn't soft.   I called my cousin who raised Golden Retrievers, and as we talked, and I shared a few pictures of it, she said "Oh, I think it's a fox cub!"  That started a fury of research and googling (that's a word right?), and it did look like a fox pup.  I found out that foxes are legal to keep as pets, so I started to get excited a little bit, until she texted me that she didn't think it was a fox after all.

Lady was NOT impressed nor happy

Yummo!  Feeding time! 

Funny toes and nose

I found a lady in Austin that runs a rescue organization for wild abandoned/injured critters (raccoons, foxes, skunks, coyotes, ettc.) and after a 45 minute conversation with lots of pictures and questions, she determined it was indeed a coyote pup!!!   That started a debate what it's name should have be:  Todd, from Fox and the Hound Disney movie, or Carl, after a man from our church who's last name was Fox. What do you think?

Since they are predatory to small children, and it was a COYOTE, I knew it couldn't stay.   Oldest and I ran back into town and returned it where it was found, and decided to return after dinner to check on it.  We knew it couldn't crawl off on it's own, but it was hard to leave it there defenseless.  I know, I must have been crazy to be worried about this critter. The hard thing about returning it was I knew that at some point, someone would probably shoot it when it reached adulthood, due to coyotes in the city.  So sad!

Thankfully, when we returned, it was gone.  It's momma had returned and claimed it, which was an immense relief.  I really wasn't looking forward to trying to keep this one alive and find a place that takes in coyotes.  So there is my yarn about the day I held a coyote pup, loved it, and was in total awe and wonder about the sweet and rare opportunity we had.

Stormy solutions

There's a storm brewing on the horizon. I can hear the thunder and the wind is picking up.  When I was growing up, I loved listening to the gentle patter of rain on the roof.  I loved playing in the shallow ditch out front of our house - feeling the mud squish up between my toes, picking up crawdads, and just splashing around.  What does that have to do with now?  Well, even a great rain storm produces thunder and lightening and that's where the problem begins.

We have this German Shepard, Lady, that most everyone is intimidated by.  She will stand at the door when someone enters the yard, she lets UPS and strange trucks know that she would rather they go away by barking fiercely and the hackles will raise on the back of her neck... Really intimidating...

What most people don't know is she is a most loving and loyal dog, tender and patient with babies and small children, can smell a juicy rib bone or burger before it passes the front door.  She believes that styrofoam is the means to getting a rib bone.


This fierce looking dog has a secret.  She is fiercely afraid of storms and strong winds. I think she can smell one before it hits the radar and the thing she wants most is to escape.  She usually starts by jumping on our bed, which is not a good solution at all.  So I usually end up sleeping on the couch with her on one end curled up behind my legs - shaking the WHOLE couch.  If I try to climb into bed and shut her out of our room, she will scratch on the door and make the awfullest racket. 

We have tried so many things and I've grown so tired of sleeping on the couch.  We've tried giving her Benadryl via our vet's instructions - even 3 fast acting caplets do not touch this fear.

Quite by mistake we discovered the only thing that calmed her down....  Putting her in the laundry room, on her pillow, with the DRYER on Air, throw in a towel or two, and close the door almost shut.  We use Dryer Balls, so the noise of all this, calms and relaxes her more than anything we could ever do.  I'm even able to sleep in my own bed!

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family!

SNOW!!!!

I didn't cancel school this morning - I honestly didn't  believe we would get snow.  God proved me wrong!  Oldest came home from high school just after noon and I called home school off about the same time.  Honey just arrived home four hours early and we've got a long snowy day ahead of us!  We're so VERY excited! 


This is our first real snow of the winter season and it looks like it's going to be a good one!  I'm thinking some snow ice cream may be in order.  I remember my mom fixing that when I was growing up as a special treat. Maybe we'll break out the board games, pop some corn, watch a movie...