At Home with Mr. Fox (and other wildlife)

These pictures were taken almost two weeks ago when I had the afternoon off from getting some dental work. Dental work is generally a bummer, but capturing these shots made it worth it. I was actually walking from the kitchen to the family room, when I saw the fox right by our bird feeding station. I think he was checking for some seed. I kept walking hoping he didn't notice me so I could get the camera out of the family room but when I came back he was gone. Molly however was pressed against the glass of the window, looking towards the field, so on a hunch I snuck out to the front porch and took these shots. I think he's so used to no one being around that I was able to get these. Also, thank the zoom lens. Here he is goofing off, being a a fox. the blurry picture of him is just to show you how close he was to the road, as a truck went past.

After several minutes of watching Mr. Fox, I reluctantly went back inside. I was going to do some yoga before going to work, but a thought kept nagging me, how could I get into something when another photo opportunity could present itself? So I did a little laundry, tidied up around the house, so I could still look out windows. Finally I got the camera and went on the front porch to check on him. My timing was impeccable, I got these shots through the glass of our front door. I'm posting all of these so you can see what his "gait" looks like.

So after he whipped around the left side of the house, I rushed back to the dining room thinking I would capture him high tailing back to the back field and fence line. I waited, and I waited. No fox. Where could he be? He could have double backed and crossed the road or he could have went back into the field or even cut across the neighbor's house. After about ten minutes, I went to the front porch and started walking quietly into the yard in front of the herb garden. For some reason I had this sense that he was on the south end of the house, maybe sunning himself in the dirt where we removed one of our garden boxes when we got the shed. It's a good thing I got the zoom, I got this shot of him, asleep under our propane tank without him knowing. Look at him in his afternoon napping spot!

Luckily, when I left for work a couple hours later, he had already vacated the spot so I didn't have to worry about him getting scared by the garage door opening. I also checked under the propane tank and realized that he's probably been using this tank as a nap spot for a while, as there are two circular depressions in the long grass. How could I have not noticed it before? My fox sense wasn't over yet. When I drove home that night I idly wondered if I might see the fox even though it was full dark and right before I pulled into the driveway he darted in front of the car and curled up in the ditch where our culvert is. My biggest fear for Mr. Fox at this point is that he will get hit by a car. He's been spotted at the corner our road and the busy state route. I haven't seen him since, but if I do and get a snap of him, you know I will post it here. I've been too busy to catch any decent humming bird pics. I need to just sit on the front porch at about 7:30 in the evening but am always caught up in doing something else. Ah well, I better get on it as they will start migrating around Labor Day. Speaking of migrating, we have 15 kildeer running around our yard. They are so great, I love the way the run, their cry, and their plump little bodies being scootered about by their legs. We didn't have any Kildeer nesting in our yard in the last two years which I don't get at all because of all the gravel for the lavender. I've spotted bluebirds in our birdbath, they'll be on their way out soon and I only see a few swallows here and there. Speaking of birds, I'll have a chicken post very soon.

And here's a couple midling deer pictures taken in low light as I was caring for the chickens.