Quite Possibly the Worst Sound Ever

Recently, I've been having difficulty sleeping through the night. It's not due to caffeine, a guilty conscience, or eating weird things before I go to bed. Nope, it's due to quite possibly the worst sound ever going on in the middle of the night.

On the nights it doesn't rain all night it starts sometime between midnight and four o'clock in the morning. It goes on anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours - last night it was an hour and a half!!

It sounds like a combination of a crying baby, screaming lady, and 20 blackbirds all cawing at the same time. It is truly unique and completely annoying.

I always thought it was a bird, although it is an odd time of night for a bird to be up - we're not talking dawn yet. But nope, imagine my surprise to discover that it is a FOX!!! Who knew foxes made such hideous noises? It's quite disconcerting and a bit scary when you awake to their horrible sound. I mean seriously? It sounds like someone is being killed!

So, for those of you whose sole point of reference for foxes is the fox hunt on Mary Poppins or Tod in The Fox and the Hound, let me inform you that they are not particularly lovable close up.

Good thing I don't own a gun or know how to use one (and the fact that they're illegal here doesn't hurt) or I may have been sorely tempted to get back to my West Tennessee roots and attempt hunting for the first time.