Fox cubs in the garden.

The other day, looking out of my bedroom window I saw one adult cub and a fox cub playing in the garden.

Then yesterday I saw one adult fox, and 2 cubs playing together.

I am not sure where the den is, with the first sighting it seemed it might be under my neighbour's pampas grass. Often when I am gardening I hear a sound part cough, part grunt coming from there. However a new hole has appeared under the concrete by the autumn raspberries* which was by where the 2 cubs were playing yesterday.

Some years ago, 2 years running, my neighbour's rhubarb and potatoes were ruined by playing fox clubs - it is rather like having toddlers playing football in the garden but without the danger of broken windows.

Already there is a lot of flattened plants, including the tulips, and two foxgloves which have lost their flowering tips. Some of this might be the adult fox lying in the morning sunshine, but there is much more flattened bits than usual.

I got tomato plants and courgette plants yesterday. Too early to put them out, but am trying to think of ways to protect them from the foxes.

But I did enjoy watching them play!

* I cut these down in February but most of them don't seem to be growing again, and I don't think it is the layer of extra earth from the den-digging that's upset them.