We just had a visitor! When I was getting the double-wide ready for occupancy in the fall of 2007 in advance of our stuff, a local woman named Sue was helping me with windows. She announced one clear hot fall day, a lot like this one in late June, "Catherine, I think you have a visitor." I was expecting someone to be coming up the driveway but it was a woodland creature (I've now forgotten exactly what) in our side yard. Here in Kentucky, visitors are welcomed, whether from the woods or down the road a piece.
Today I was just catching up with correspondence when I saw something out of my office window. Thinking it one of the puppies, I looked up. Instead I saw a small red fox, not much bigger than a young cat. I suspect it is a young fox but am not certain. He was sunning himself for a bit and I was able to quietly get a camera next to me and shoot some photos through the windows (I cropped them so they did not get very big in the enlargements, hence how small on this blog posting).
I recalled my favorite children's stories as a child from Old Mother West Wind and other classics by Thornton W. Burgess. Here is a story of Reddy Fox, Johnny Chuck and the Merry Little Breezes. Here on the ridge those are dancing today, too, alongside the Green Meadow. This was one of my grandmother's favorite childhood books and she passed along her copy to me when I was a young girl. I still have it, torn-away binding and all. There are many others in the series and recently I learned that my friend Linda likes to get them for her grandson, Hunter.
And off went Reddy Fox, back into the woods. I'd rather be doing anything on this gorgeous hot summer day (no humidity!), but laundry, puttering and computer work after three weeks of being away and visiting family. We're also having friends for our anniversary dinner tonight (lucky 13!) so house focus is essential today, as well as some writing business. At least my office window provides a panorama of the knob field to the northwest and the edge of the woods. I should probably go check my chickens now, just in case.
And tomorrow, the garden!
1 comment:
Lovely blog! Jeff grew up with a fox named Tinkerbell who came to them injured (mother volunteered to take animals from State Police, etc.); she grew up and went off to have kits of her own and then brought them back to show off at a distance, year after year. We have some great pictures of the fox on his shoulder. Oh, and they had a Wolfhound at the same time -- Bridget and Tinkerbell were great pals.
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