Window to Wildlife

Almost every summer since we moved into this house there has been a mama deer with at least one fawn. Last summer she had twins. I know it is the same mama deer every year because she has a very distinctive ankle injury that never healed quite right - and yet she continues to produce young and survive - which is a whole other post about perseverance. She's an amazing mama. I've only caught glimpses of that mama deer this summer.

The reason she hasn't been through our yard much is because this summer our backyard has become home to a family (or families) of foxes. Baby foxes, y'all! They are the cutest. 

Mama A with Kit 1

Mama A

I can't tell you exactly how many foxes have made our backyard their home because I've seen different numbers and sizes of foxes on multiple occasions. I know there is at least one mama fox, and I believe, based off of the photos that there are two mama foxes. I think the first mama (Mama A) has a single kit, and the second mama (Mama B) has two. 

Mama B with Kit 2 and 3

The first time I saw any sign of the foxes was when one of the mama foxes was in the backyard rooting around in a wood pile. She heard something and quickly slunk under the fence and into the trees. The next time I saw the foxes was in the backyard, near the tree line. I watched as the fox, I refer to as Mama A, was pounced on by her young pup. The kit would climb on a fallen log and as the mama fox approached for some grooming the kit would leap. The mama fox was calm and patient, but also persistent. She just kept up the cleaning and the grooming attack after attack. Every few attempts the cub would reluctantly sit and allow the grooming until it could no longer stand it and then take off again for another round. 

On another occasion, in our side yard, we watched as a pair of young foxes chased, played, and tumbled around with one another while a mama fox (Mama B) looked on. They ran and rolled all over the small basketball area, they chased one another under our trampoline. One of them even perched on top of the lid to our sandbox rather triumphantly as if to say, I'm the king of the yard!"

The other night after a long day the husband and I were on the front porch as the sun sank below the hills. It was dusk and getting more and more difficult to see, but out of the corner of my eye I saw movement - and there it was a fox darting across our side yard into the safety of the treeline. As I glanced around to see if there were more I noticed a raccoon standing at attention and taking it all in. He was only there for a moment, but that raccoon stared us down. Then he also disappeared into the trees.  

These foxes (and other wildlife) have been a source of joy this summer. Watching them has been palliative. I can forget the job loss, the pandemic, the stress of keeping the girls happy and healthy while simultaneously having to say no to a lot of things. I can stop thinking about school this coming fall and the hard choices we have to make. It all melts into the background while we watch the foxes play and interact. 

Mama B

Thank you Jesus for the distraction of these foxes this summer. And the reminder that our family playing together, watching together, just being together, can be enough. The wildlife that we get to view through our windows is one of the greatest blessings of this home - the bunnies, the birds, the deer, the foxes, and now even a raccoon! Not the squirrels though, I'm mad at the squirrels, but that is a story for another day. 

Determined Roadrunner

All of the photos in this post were taken by me - from inside my house - through dirty windows, sorry. 

I used my Canon EOS Rebel xsi camera equipped with a 55-250mm lens.