Foxy and the Scalawags

Last summer, there was a family of foxes around, which we saw regularly, a vixen and two kits. The dog fox was very wary, and we only saw him once with the others, but often on the trail cameras. In late June and early July, there was a lot of overnight digging in the garden beds. I had hardware cloth and rocks covering any bit of bare ground. I did have some plant causalities, but it wasn't until later in the summer, that we really laid eyes on the culprits.

One early morning late in July, I was just getting up, when Hubby, who had come down to put on coffee... whispered up the stairs..."Foxes are right behind the house." I tumbled (quietly) down the stairs, and crept out to the back porch. There was Mrs. Fox and both kits down in front of the barn. She was going about her business, hunting around the barn. They were wrestling, chasing each other, tumbling together, fluffy, bushy tails whirling. I spoke to Mrs. She stopped and listened, the kits rushed into the edge of the woodshed at the sound of my voice, then when she carried on unconcerned, the kits came back out and started wrestling again. They tumbled over and over, then stood up on their hind legs facing each other like little boxing kangaroos. Mrs. went over and joined in, wrestling one kit to the ground, all four of its black legs were in the air. She groomed him vigorously, then walked on, toward the back of the barn. Then the chase was on...the kits ran, one chasing the other, across the lawn at the north end of the pond and disappeared into the entrance of the trail around the pond.

As the summer progressed, we saw the family often. We always spoke softly to them, and they showed no alarm at our presence. The kits grew, and became more and more independent. One morning I watched them in my garden beds, playing hide and pounce around the broccoli stems.

In late September, the kits had moved on to establish their own territories. Foxy was still around. She watched me dig the potatoes and settle the gardens in for winter, keeping a distance, but showing curiosity in the things I was doing. I had many one-sided conversations with her.

About the middle of November, we stopped seeing her. This spring, the dog fox has a new mate. They are both very wary, and it is rare to catch a glimpse of either one.