Luckily, the fox is used to what might be otherwise awkward pauses in conversation. He's not exactly immune to them himself, even if he didn't also know others who were just as bad.

"Many have lived here longer than I have, actually." He doesn't live on the farm, but he means being in Aldrip.

"Others house their animals here, any that are too large to stay at a residence. Some have been left behind by those who evidently returned home. I tend to the land more than the animals myself, but the whole farm is a bit of a group effort."

He doesn't specify if he means a new arrival to Aldrip or simply new to helping at the farm when he asks, "Are you new, then?"