It's A Boy

I was riding my bike when the red fox walked by directly under the living room window. What a gorgeous creature with beautiful red fur that looks incredibly soft. I watched as he sat below the window casually scratching an itch behind an ear with his back leg. How close was he? Close enough for me to be certain that this was a male fox I was looking at. I got a little excited and tried to take a picture. Of course I pushed the wrong button . By the time I got the camera straightened out, the fox had passed through the garden, and climbed atop the far stone wall. He stood there for a short while ten headed west , marked his trail with urine, and dropped out of sight down into the notch.

Another plant order got called in today. We ordered some new plants from McClure & Zimmerman for the shade garden, to be planted in the spring: Jack In The Pulpit, Shooting Star, Ensata Iris, Bloodroot, Trillium, Acidanthera and "Crested Iris. Our first seed order should be ready by Monday.

Coffee Company

The garden was still tinted blue this morning, while I sipped that first cup of coffee. I was delighted to see the fox just up the hill from the garden. I watched as he stuck his nose under the surface of the snow, and then pounced like a cat in an attempt to catch whatever that delicious smelling creature might be hiding under the snow. Picture a fox leaping up, placing all four feet together and then landing with its nose and feet penetrating the snow. Sometimes it would still be sniffing as the nose disappeared in the snow because it would come up blowing to clear its nose. Perhaps he was tired from being up much of the night, because he pounced many times, coming up empty each time. Next he picked up the scent of something that had left footprints in the snow. I watched as he sniffed along the trail disappearing behind the bushes, and then caught a few glimpses of him climbing up the side hill into the pines. What a great way to start my day!




Thinking the morning couldn't get more interesting, about 5 minutes later, I was very surprised to see what I first thought to be another fox at the bottom of Ed's path. I soon realized it was not another fox, but a coyote. The difference in size and gait is unmistakable. Unlike the fox, who seems so at ease in the garden, the coyote headed directly up Ed's path and disappeared through the notch. If he knew he was being watched, he clearly didn't like it. I can't help wondering if these animals are ever in the same place at the same time. Now I'm not so sure about our midnight serenades. Is the singing the foxes or the coyotes? Is it possible that they get together and the coyote sings bass while the fox sings tenor? I'll never find out. Once it's "country dark" outside here, I don't venture outside, but listen from my window.

As is often the case , no pictures were taken while interesting things were going on in the garden. The pictures were taken after the company had left.I was way too enthralled while they were here, to even think about the camera.

What A Great Ride!

My exercise bicycle is positioned so that I can do my 2 miles on the bike and still observe the birds at the bird feeder or look out at the garden. Today I got a special bonus, the fox dropped by the garden for an early lunch. I watched as he walked right through the garden disappearing behind the pile of finished compost that's under the bird feeder. He was out of my line of sight for several minutes , but then reappeared and walked away carrying his lunch in his mouth. He stopped as soon as he was no longer out in the open. Although he was some distance away, I him watched for some time. Finally he disappeared into the brush. This is one of our "wild" areas. Stone from the farmer's fields was used to fill in a depression. The ground is uneven and sometimes wet. It has brush and briers. It's just about the right distance away to be the source of our night serenades. We will not go there searching for a fox den. We want them to stay, and take away as many furry little critters as they can eat.

It wasn't until I saw this picture that I noticed the faint pink color of the buds on the Red Maple trees. It's an early sign of spring to be sure, but another real day brightener.

Back To Winter

Our spring-like weather disappeared overnight.  I sat by the window this morning watching the snow fall.  With it comes icy roads, shoveling and plowing.  From the comfort of the living room, the scene is unbelievably beautiful.  As I sat drinking my coffee and staring out at the snow, a fox ran through the garden and up the hill into the trees.  Usually when we see a fox here he's moving slowly.  This fox ran with effortless speed and grace that was astounding.  I would hate to be a rabbit trying to escape such an animal, it would catch me for sure!  I've seen what I was pretty sure were fox tracks, but it was a thrill to catch even so short a glimpse of the animal.   He's so welcome here.  With all the rabbit tracks in the garden he can stop by for dinner every day if he wants.  He was too fast to get a look at his tail.  I don't know it it was white or black, but whether he's a red fox or a gray fox it's bunnies BEWARE!

Frozen Footprints

The weather has moderated a bit today. The goal of readings above zero seems within reach. Yesterday no tracks in the snow were evident, but now the animals are moving. I'm still curled up in my den, but maybe after several frigid days they are hungry.

Just what can we tell from this great set of tracks? The print on the left is easy to identify. It's Ed's size 11 boot and measures 12" long. The other tracks belong to a fox. The footprints in a line like that clearly were made by a fox

When a fox walks his tracks double register. That is the hind foot is placed directly on top of the print from the front. It seems like it would be difficult to do that , but if you are smart like a fox , I guess it's easy. There are two kinds of foxes here, the red fox, Vulpes vulpes, and the gray fox,Urocyon cinereoargenteus. We have seen both kinds based on the white or black on the end of their tail. According to my reference, Tracking and the Art of Seeing, these less than 12" apart tracks are more likely to belong to a gray fox.

Gray foxes are native. Red foxes are from Europe. I'm not entirely convinced that there hasn't been some hybridization going on. Until we moved here I had never heard of a gray fox. The most incredible thing about a gray fox is it's ability to climb trees. I even followed some tracks to the edge of the woods once, and saw them end at the trees. Frankly I was spooked at first to think that a fox could get up in the trees, but gray foxes just have a lot in common with cats.

I love having a friendly fox hanging around the garden. Here's hoping our fox found the furry breakfast he was looking for.