I was picking up the living room, not my favorite job, but necessary, when I glanced out those bullet pocked windows. There on the lawn was what I saw as the tom cat we successfully sloughed off on the neighbors. He isn't a favorite either and I started to go out to yell at him to take it on down the road.
I couldn't make him look right though. Then in an instant he resolved himself into this unexpected creature (actually it looked like a she). They have passed through before, but they are normally shy and not something you see every day.
We have been blaming the birds for the dearth of ripe black caps but this critter was hoovering them up at an amazing rate (sorry birds). While I took stills through the window, Liz crept out on the sitting porch to take some video. This bold little fox went right on sucking down berries while Mike blundered blindly by not forty feet away from her. I suspect like the deer, she lives out in the hedgerow and is used to our noise and dogs and commotion. Anyway it was pretty neat to be able to get pictures of her.
Video by Liz
Wonderful!!!!
ReplyDeleteNice photos and very nice colours.
Happy day
Wow! Thanks Liz for the video.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures!!! I never seen a gray one but we have a red den nearby.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful creature....I haven't see a fox around here for some time. Too much development I'm sure :(
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or do the blackcaps seem about a week and a half early this year?
ReplyDeleteNeat! She's beautiful. I only see reds down here, but mostly I see coyotes.
ReplyDeleteBlack caps??
What an amazing find! Love the video!
ReplyDeleteNifty stuff! She sure was doing a lot of sniffing or munching or something. Pretty amazing that she didn't scamper off at the slightest sound. Great video, too!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing. Think she could swim across the river to see me? :)
ReplyDeleteDavid, thank you so much and a great day to you too!
ReplyDeleteNita, thanks, she has a way with video and the PBR bull rider, Cody Lostroh has one of hers on his MySpace page....I am delighted every time I see it there.
Linda, just the past few years we have been seeing greys here...usually only reds before that
Deb, thanks, I couldn't believe it when I looked out the window. I had my arms full of newspapers and junk I had gathered up around the boss's chair (he will not be winning the Mr. Tidy Boy USA award again this year) when I saw it. I dumped it all in a pile and Liz ran for the cameras
NYCO, I think they are a little early, which is weird because a lot of other stuff is late or right on time
Jenn, thanks, these were a thrill to us.
FC, same here, coyotes everywhere. I simply couldn't believe my eyes. She wasn't thirty yards from the window, right on the lawn and didn't even pay any attention to Mike walking.
Some folks call them black raspberries, but here in upstate NY they are black caps. It is a bumper year for them, but we measly humans aren't getting many for some reason.
Mon@rch, thanks, I will tell Liz
STeve, she sucked down more berries than you could believe before we managed to get the photos. They were mostly gone by then. She didn't run until I went outdoors and opened and closed the wood stove door. I'll bet she is out there all the time and we just don't see her.
akagaga, maybe she could sneak across the bridge....Do you have lots of berries for her? and thanks for the clues...you have us wondering you know. lol
Amazing, she's beautiful, and it's very nice that you share your berries :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, when you said you took the photos through your window, I bowed my head in shame. Those are some clean windows!
Teri
Teri, thanks it is worth the berries to see her...such a pretty creature!
ReplyDeleteAnd believe me, the windows are embarrassingly filthy! I was em once a year whether they need it or not and it hasn't happened yet this year. When the sun shines through...well, it only sorta, kinda shines through. Hope you have a terrific weekend!
I've only seen the red ones here abouts and usually just a glimpse as they run across the road in front of me. Great pictures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful little guest. And,yes, what clean windows.
ReplyDeleteApple, thanks we do have reds around too, but I have never seen one down by the house. The boss used to have a small one that followed the baler around the field catching mice that were chased up by the tires. Sometimes it bounced off the tires too, just playing. He loves to tell that story
ReplyDeleteJan, it was indeed a great guest, but truly the windows aren't clean...credit for making them look that way goes to the camera. lol
Great shots!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a wonderful 4th!
Jinglebob, thanks we really did have a pleasant day. Hope you and yours did as well.
ReplyDeleteWow cool! I guess I knew theoretically that foxes ate berries, but I sure never have seen them do it! We must not have balckcaps here - never heard that word before.
ReplyDeleterurality, black raspberries is another name for them. What with the birds, the fox and the boy on the lawnmower I haven't gotten to eat very many this summer. lol
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Lucky you to have seen that fox so close.
ReplyDeleteWR. we were very lucky, thanks
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Someone spotted one here last fall too. see http://getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com/2008/11/gray-fox-seen-in-mason-manistee.html
ReplyDeleteSharkbytes, I really enjoy seeing them, despite them eating all the berries. lol Thanks for the link
ReplyDelete