A Walk with Wildlife

5am, dappled dawn-light on the footpath and brambles heavy with sweet white flowers. I am awake, to a point. And grappling with my camera while watching those who are bright, even though they have been trotting through the tangled summer woods long before me.

Well, probably. Fox activity patterns are not a military schedule and the old idea that they’re strictly nocturnal is definitely a myth. Like most of us, foxes have multiple timetables to juggle: for food, for youngsters, and for avoiding complications such as hostile people (and hostile rival foxes). So while they are often inclined to the crepuscular – twilight hours – it is not uncommon to see them sprawled blissfully in the sunshine in broad daylight, or wandering down quiet tracks when the sky is hot.

This vixen and her not-so-little one were definitely up to something.

They melted into a nearby field and were gone.

When I reached my own home, I found another dash of orange in my garden.

Also alert, also on a timetable known only to himself. The season written in his stripped back summer coat, the balancing of priorities in his watchful eyes.

The sun is now higher. All three of these foxes are probably resting, but I cannot know for sure.