Tales of Maidencombe - More Maidencombe Magic

Mr Cruisedog and I have had a quiet time of it on our Night Patrol recently. All vixens are still absent - looking after their cubs who should now be about to leave their earths and watch the adults hunt.
With a full moon and clear skies, we set out on our two mile journey across the cliff paths and meadows. At our first port of call, two heads appeared round a hedge opening - 'Stoker', a slight lesser fox and a young badger sow, side by side. Quite unusual this, as badgers and foxes almost always clash, being competitors for food and territory. The badger sow advanced, her snout held high, sniffing hard and I stepped on Mr Cruisedog's lead as he leaned forward - knowing that he's not keen on badgers. A few slices of dog chub (mainly protein with ash and vitamins) were deposited on the grass and we moved on. Glancing back, I noticed that the dog fox had circled around behind us (a usual trick) and was already at the food.
Entering the meadow, 'Fergus' was waiting and as we advanced, I reached for my bottle of mange treatment and squeezed 5 drops of the tincture onto a chicken thigh. Fergus is undergoing a thirty day treatment period for sarcoptic mange and the spread of the mite has at least been arrested.
Mr Cruisedog turned and stood still, looking back up the hill. A fox was following us about 40 metres away. Not recognising it in the gloom, I threw a piece of chicken towards it. A few seconds later and something came rolling past us. It was a slice of chub and it became clear that it was Stoker who was in the process of carrying the chub (probably back to a vixen in her earth) before dropping it when he saw the chicken.
At our last stop, an old favourite, the one-eyed badger boar advanced fearlessly to claim his nightly banana, taking it quite gently from my hand and retreating backwards into the hedgerow to eat. A large, as yet unnamed dog fox - in splendid condition, with full brush and thick winter coat came in close and lay down with his front paws folded (a sign of trust) and was rewarded with a lamb bone with plenty of meat left on it. Crouched on a wall high above us, a black cat watched proceedings in awe - what it made of the very strange sight of a human feeding foxes and badgers with a large collie cross dog sitting untethered close by is anyone's guess. Night's 'scoreline' ... two foxes treated for mange, 6 foxes and 5 badgers spotted ... a good Night Patrol and more Maidencombe Magic ...