Ever since I started blogging on the much-missed Opera Community, I have been followed by a joke that foxes are, well, following me. Almost everywhere I have been in this world, I have been greeted by one sitting, as they do, watching at a distance.

Of course, they watch me in my garden as well…

Fox Pretty Face4 15 Dec 2017

This is a vixen known locally as ‘Pretty Face’. She is a veteran member of the Horse Meadows Group, which dominates a large area of my parish. Her tiny muzzle and cat-like ears are so distinctive.

Her neighbours to the north are the Across the Road group, who have had a lively year. Four cubs were born to them last spring; they soon dwarfed their parents – in size, but also in personality, which was no small challenge. This one has become known as the Cavalier Cub. He’s still a nightly visitor.

Fox Cavalier cub2a 9 Dec 2017

He has grown into a fox of strange habits. Last night, he stood up on his hind legs with his forefeet on a conifer tree and proceeded to scratch his claws like a cat. He’s very playful, almost puppyish; you can see a video of his games here.

I haven’t seen his mother for a long time. She was a tiny, white-footed vixen who seemed wildly hostile to all other foxes, even her mate.

Fox White Socks2 19 May 2017

And another place that foxes tend to turn up is in my drawing book 😉

Fox drawing

6 responses to “The Fox in the Shadows”

  1. Beautiful photos and what a stunning painting, Adele!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Your artwork is lovely! Our foxes are very secretive and rarely seen, but I hear them every once in a while.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Eliza! 🙂 Our British foxes vary quite a lot in their elusiveness. They are easily spotted in some regions and very shy in others. But yes, always quite noisy!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Glad to see that your local foxes are healthy looking and playful. Nice video, too 🙂

    I am not sure if I told you, when we were on our way to Vernon, BC on December 23, I’ve seen a fox, jumping through a knee deep snow in a field near a farm just outside of Falkland. It was quite away from us but its small body and long tail were enough to distinguish it from a coyote (we’ve seen one hunting just a minute before fox). We were in a car on a busy highway so stopping was out of question. But I was happy for this was the first fox I’ve seen ever since I moved to Canada 🙂

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    1. Oh, that’s great that you saw a fox. They’re not easy to find in BC.

      I’ve seen a couple of the garden foxes since I returned from Spain – it feels like I have been away for a long time, but of course it was only a week.

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