Winter Thyme In The Garden

This morning as I drank my coffee and gazed out the window , I watched as once again a fox came trotting down the path on the hill toward the garden. I called to Ed, but the fox's speed was fast enough that by the time Ed got out of his chair to see, only tracks in the snow remained. The fox had disappered into the brush.

This afternoon I took the camera out to the garden. Most of the garden is covered in snow. I did catch some woolly thyme peeking out of the snow on the South facing edge of the stone patio.



These are some tracks made by the fox this morning. They are not quite a neatly made as they would be if the fox had been moving slowly. The rabbit tracks that are on either side of the fox tracks were made before or after the fox went by. I know there was no rabbit there at the time. That's lucky for the rabbit.



It's not only the fox who makes use of Ed's paths. This rather large rabbit hopped right through the garden staying on the path the entire way. It would be so nice if all the critters would be so polite. Smaller bunnies have been slipping through the wire and nibbling on the kale. This garden that seems so quiet sure has a lot of traffic!

A Fox Tale

Last night near midnight when we were snuggled in our bed, the eerie sound of animals yipping came from outside the bedroom window. I listened for a minute, but curiosity got the better of me. We have seen both coyotes and foxes here in the past. I just wanted to see if I could tell who was serenading us, so I got up and cranked open the window just a crack. The animals went silent in an instant. Obviously they were close enough to my bedroom window to hear, smell, or see me. I crawled back in bed, a little disappointed.

Just before noon today we noticed movement on the hill beyond the garden. After watching for a short time, we realized the movement was a fox. Ed watched while I went to get the camera. By the time I returned to the window, a second animal came down the path. It was another fox! Imagine our excitement seeing two foxes in the garden. I really wanted to watch, but I really wanted pictures too. Both foxes are in this picture. One is obvious. The other is just above the bird feeder camouflaged by the longer grass.





As we watched, both foxes, first one then the other, walked closer to the garden. They were together but separate. Distance always separated them even thought they were moving in the same direction. First one would move and then the other would move in the same direction but at a distance. One fox stood motionless as the other approached it but then the moving fox veered away toward the shade garden. We got a chance to get an even better look. The tips of their tails were white, making them a pair of red foxes. They spent a fair amount of time exploring the area around the finished compost piles and the bird feeder. One appeared to be eating something, perhaps a mouse that lives and feeds between the compost piles.



After that they trotted off again, first one and then the other, disappearing out of sight over by Ed's temporary stone wall. One of the foxes hopped up and stood on top of the wall giving us one final exciting look. There is a south facing den in the side of that hill. Ed would like to catch a glimpse of a fox sleeping in the warmth of the afternoon sun but we would rather leave the foxes undisturbed. If the young are born near our garden the mice and rabbits that spoil our garden will become fox.

It's a thrilling prospect to have a pair of foxes frequenting the garden. I hope they stay. We have plenty of rabbits and squirrels to spare. If we are incredibly lucky, we'll get to see kits in the spring.