The Red Fox Visit
Text and images © Carmen Mandel-Cesáreo
“One wintry morning four years ago, I was seating by the kitchen window. It was snowing and there was a beautiful white view to our forest. We live by conservation land and many wild species live in the hill: deer, coyote, wild turkey, red fox, cottontail, snake, marmot, racoon and raptors.
“This story is about the beautiful Red Fox.
“Seated by the window, all of a sudden I saw a huge red bushy tail passing swiftly by the window. There was an outstanding beautiful creature in my deck: a Red Fox.
“The Red Fox circled my deck to my amazement and, attracted by the birds at the feeder, she trotted down and inspected the trees; she was very close to me. I could appreciate the pretty black muzzle, the intelligent eyes, I admired the long black gloves and the incredible fiery red coat. The bushy tail was strikingly beautiful. Against the white background, the Red Fox stood in regal beauty.
“I was blessed by her appearance several more times. I was ready with my camera to capture her beauty for ever. Once, she brought her kit (baby fox) along. It was a family. The blueberry fields in our property certainly made a great part of their diet.
“The pretty foxes trotted downhill and passed by my living-room windows to my delight. Another time, she crossed our quiet street and to my dismay stood bare on the neighbour’s driveway.
“Still in wintertime when food is scarce, she came to my home attracted by a flock of wild turkeys. The Turkey family of ten individuals like to spend their time in our forest pecking, preening and strutting their beauty year long. Without introduction, there it was the Red Fox standing still in persue of the turkeys. There was a collective panic attack and the huge birds flew in a noisy blast atop the highest pines, where they remained perched for the rest of the long day … Miraculously, all eight poults survived her rounds.
“There were more appearances, yet brief, always blessed by her beautiful glance upon me. I would just whisper: “Hello Beautiful, be careful, stay far away from the road and the humans”.
“The fate of the beautiful vixen and her family is unknown to me. Let us hope that they moved to some other natural place where food is more abundant.”
The pretty vixen paused and then turned to me
Casting a lovely glance she bade me farewell
© Carmen Mandel-Cesáreo
Comments
Wonderful – I too love foxes, but they have many enemies and have many battles to survive.
wonderful writing Carmen !
Thank you, Sasha, for reading my stories. Yes, the Fox, the Coyote and the Wolf carry a sorrowful history of stigma and misrepresentation upon them.
Human encroachment creates many a kind of conflict with wildlife. One of my advocacy efforts and campaign is the fostering of humane solutions to conflicts with urban wildlife.
How nice of you, Rob, to stop by and take the time to read my story. I am glad you liked it.
What a blessing to capture not only one red fox but an entire family . . . and so beautifully written Carmen . . . the fox is very special to me . . . shy and rare in my part of the country although it has been said we have one in our neighbourhood . . . .
Lovely words of yours, Ruth, thank you.
Well done – it’s my ambition to capture a fox (on camera, of course!) Thanks for sharing these images. They make the story all the more poignant.
Thank you for reading, Sasha.
– Carmen Mandel-Cesáreo
What a lovely story Carmen!! I also love Red Foxes : )) What wonderful experiences you have had with them!!
Thank you for reading, Marleia. These encounters truly changed my life for good.
– Carmen Mandel-Cesáreo
When ever i see a wild animal I never want it to go near humans or roads. This is a wonderful story, My first encounter with a fox was in an urban setting and not quite as romantic as yours. They are all beautiful where ever they are. Lovely writing Carmen, you have lots of compassion. : )
Nic, thank you for reading and for your nice comment. Indeed, urban wildlife lead a very difficult life. Yet through education and the building of partnerships with town management, the situation can be humanely improved for both wild and human parties.
– Carmen Mandel-Cesáreo
This is a marvelous and moving nature story Carmen, beautifully crafted.
Keith, thank you for reading my story. Nice to see you here, too.
Regards.
– Carmen Mandel-Cesáreo