Fox Snooze

[altivo]

Fox Snooze
Originally uploaded by Altivo

(No, not the notoriously biased news team.) Snapped just a couple of hours ago. We returned from taking my car for 15000 mile service and shortly after getting into the house the dogs erupted into barking on both sides and ours joined in. Our two have access to a dog door and both rushed outside, but out there they are restrained by a fence unless we deliberately open the gate to let them out. The neighbors' dogs on both sides, by contrast, run completely loose all the time, invading our buildings and chasing wildlife on our land as well as on theirs. Gary spotted the fox running between our barns, pursued by several terriers. She wasn't working very hard, though they certainly were: barking their lungs out and racing as fast as their stubby legs could go. The entire hunt receded to the north, after crossing the creek to the Brits' side.

A few minutes later, the fox was back, without the dogs, and curled up to rest in the shade of a treetrunk in full view. She watched me with some curiosity as I fiddled with the camera, trying different zoom settings, but didn't move. A squirrel came down the tree to about eight feet above her before realizing his mistake and turning back with a warning chatter. Still no dogs. Finally she got up in a leisurely manner and ambled off toward the henhouse... Practicing her nonchalant look, no doubt. "Who me? Why I'm just out for a walk. Chickens? Why no, I haven't seen any today."

Comments

[vimsig.livejournal.com]

she's lovely and you are a canny photographer

sunshine

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You mean she's canny and I'm just a patient and lucky photographer. The nice thing about digital cameras is that you aren't wasting film if you take 30 shots and throw away 29 of them because they're blurry, or overexposed, or the camera went off while pointing at your foot. Better yet, you don't have to pay for processing the film you didn't need.

On the other hand, the quality really isn't the same, at least without spending a lot more on the camera than I can afford. This one is nearly ten years old, and by today's standards is considered crude and limited.

[duskwuff.livejournal.com]

Yep. A photographer friend of mine who I saw this last weekend noted that the greatest secret to getting good photos is to take a lot of mediocre photos and throw them away. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

And now that disk space is so cheap, you don't even have to throw them away. You can leave them to clutter up your hard disk for years. ;p

[keeganfox.livejournal.com]

Squeee! Love the foxies and the pics! Thanks for sharing.

: D

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Glad you're enjoying them. I'm looking for a chance to photograph the kits more, but so far they've remained hidden.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

Awr, nice and comfy!

No cheekens? *eardroop*

^_^

[altivo.livejournal.com]

This is the first chance I've had to observe fox behavior at length and up reasonably close. So far I'm impressed. She is every bit as clever as the reputation would have it, and bold as brass. Very self-confident too. I'm sure it must be the mom vixen from last year's brief encounter, as the offspring we disentangled from the fence couldn't be this wise already. She knows humans and dogs very well indeed, and at least thinks she has it all figured out. I hope she's right. I'll be heartbroken if I find a big dog has gotten at her, or discover her dead by the road.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

The dog prolly won't get her.

But the road. >.<

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Nice pics. People who say they're going to take pics of something and do show they aren't making excuses :P

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, in this case getting the pictures involves a fair amount of luck. I might just as easily have failed.

[jbadger.livejournal.com]

a few minutes latter...*nomnonomnom*
A few hours after that.... "Hmm I thought I had 12 chickens?"

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Not me. I have four ducks and they are all locked up in their wooden house at the moment because it's dark outside. We've done that for years, not because of foxes, but because of raccoons. At least a fox will eat what it kills. The raccoons just like the slaughter, and will kill a dozen poulty and leave them lying.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

She's a cutie.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Watching closely for an opportunity to photograph the babies.