Common Nature

Sadly, I didn't have a phone on hand to try to get a photo.

But I just found out that a startled fox on a London balcony will, if feeling cornered, drop two storeys onto the top of a garden wall, bounce off that onto the ground, land with somewhat less dignity than it had intended but apparently without injury, and trot off hurriedly.

In my defense, I really didn't mean to make the fox feel cornered; it's just that my immediate, automatic response to "unexpected furry cat-sized creature" is "stay still, make crooning noises at it, try to edge a bit closer." Had I fled, it would have been able to go round to the other side of the balcony, where you only have to drop down half a storey to an adjacent roof.

ETA: I can't help noticing that there is a very well-chewed yellow foam ball on my balcony, which I did not put there.

Also, by way of apology, I have left a dish of water out on the balcony, because it is a heatwave.