Violent Thoughts

I had violent thoughts this morning at 5:09 a.m.  The hens were clucking away again.  As the tone and topic of the chicken talk turned from concern to panic I realized there was a fox out there.  The fox was on the far side of the chicken run.  The chickens were throwing themselves against the sides of the run in panic; feathers flying through the air.  I yelled at the fox and it left the immediate area.  I could tell by the way the chickens were talking that the fox was still visible.  So I got out of bed again and looked.  The fox was still in the yard and looking at the chickens.  I yelled at it until I saw it take the path down the hill past the compost pile.  And then I went to bed thinking violent thoughts.  Knives, I thought, knives inserted handle down and blades aimed outward.  Shards of glass, five to six inches high, embedded in the earth at varying angles like I saw on top of fences in Nairobi.  I was offered a shot gun to use over the weekend but I turned it down.  Now that the fox has spotted these chickens will it harass them all summer long?   I looked forward to summer during this long miserable winter and now this?  I have a lead on where the fox den might be.  A block away a neighbor has a big wood pile. On top of that wood pile the red fox has been spotted stretching first forward and then backward.  If I was to disturb that wood pile I would keep that fox busy moving it's kits to a new spot.  I run the risk of the fox moving to a den even closer to me.  If that fox comes by when I'm not home the chickens could panic themselves to death.  Or the fox could dig under the run and get in.  I could wrap the run in fabric so the chickens couldn't see the fox and panic.  I could move the chickens into the garage for a week so they are safe.  Maybe the fox would loose interest in this yard.  I guess the urine of the Boston Terrier isn't working.  Or I could get an electric fence.  I've read the people with pets live longer.  Pet owners are constantly trying to solve problems.  I think the mental activity of solving problems is what leads to a longer life.