Return from the Night Patrol Friday 01:44 hrs CMT

Not too bad out there - quite mild, about 14C and breezy. Mr Cruisedog emerged from his below bunk bed bunker, Bertie, knowing that the Night Patrol always goes ahead, regardless of weather or illness ... It took longer than usual as Mr Cruisedog disappeared into the darkness on several sniffing errands and I waited patiently for him. Meadow Vixen was absent tonight but My Vixen was in her usual place after missing the previous night and wolfed down her food.
Got back inside and my back was drenched in sweat - will almost certainly feel worse later but we'll deal with it ..

Gratifying Night Patrol

Mr Cruisedog and I never know what we'll see each night we venture out onto the cliffs and seldom seen animal trails.
Tonight, for once, everything went like clockwork.
Meadow Vixen, recently recovered from a gunshot wound, waited for my call before emerging from the trees to take food by hand. As younger dog foxes closed in, she made threatening growls which stopped them in their tracks.
A mile away, My Vixen ran up in rather an agitated manner - a sure sign that badgers were close by. Mr Cruisedog confirmed this by bristling and leaning forward intently. My old friend the badger boar appeared out of the cliff top hedge and had to be placated with a hastily thrown banana. My Vixen took this lull in the 'action' to snatch her food and recede into the gloom.
The previous night, a sorry looking fox had appeared, with a badly swollen face and one closed eye - the victim of an attack by a larger and stronger fox. I hadn't been able to feed it as two other foxes had driven it off. However, tonight, things went much better for the injured fox. Instead of calling, Mr Cruisedog and I waited in silence for about twenty minutes and circling foxes lost interest and drifted away. All this time, the injured fox had been nearby, awaiting a chance to get food in safety. It moved out of the shadows and fed ravenously as we kept a lookout for other foxes.
All in all, a gratifying night ...

An extended Night Patrol

Mr Cruisedog and I had a long cliff top Night Patrol tonight. We hadn't seen My Vixen for four nights running and as the last time we had seen her she was limping, I was beginning to get worried for her well-being. Things were complicated when another old friend, the one-eyed badger boar approached while we were patiently waiting in one of My Vixen's usual spots. Mr Cruisedog doesn't mind foxes in the least but badgers are another matter - and he will lunge at them if they get too close. The old boar was hungry and kept getting closer, holding his head high and sniffing furiously (badgers have poor vision at the best of times and only having one eye wouldn't help) and it was difficult holding onto Mr Cruisedog. Eventually, after placating the boar with a piece of chicken and a digestive biscuit, he moved off and at that point, to my great relief, My Vixen ran up to us. No longer limping, she gobbled down her chicken and followed us for a few hundred yards as we continued on our rounds. With so much going on, time lost its meaning and I was surprised that we had been out for two hours.