The last few weeks, heading out to work around 6:30 am, I’ve noticed a fox crossing the road, usually from our side to the opposing side. As foxes tend to be active at dawn and dusk, this wasn’t too surprising, though we didn’t see any foxes around last year. Having a fox around the property isn’t our first choice, as we have chickens now, but we kinda hoped that its home was across the street, rather than over here.
Well, I was getting ready to head out for church this morning when I looked out the window to see our friend, the fox, in our yard. This time, however, the fox was accompanied by two baby foxes. I quickly grabbed the DSLR, slapped on the zoom lens, and crept outside. The foxes were over by the outbuildings. The zoom lens did well, but didn’t get quite close enough for my taste, so I slowly crept further out. The mother fox saw me from the beginning, but as long as I didn’t make sudden movements, she wasn’t too bothered. I finally tried moving over to the concrete platform containing our well to sit down, but Momma Fox didn’t like me quite that close, so she moved further away. The young foxes stayed there, but moved out of my sight. I figured I’d gotten enough pictures by then, though, so I came inside.
We’ll have to decide what to do about this, I guess. The hen house is relatively well-protected, but it’s our understanding that, once a fox knows there are hens in the coop, then there’s little you can do to prevent it from getting in…aside from trapping and removing the fox(es) by force. As this is Brooke’s “project,” though, I’ll be letting her make the appropriate decisions.
Regardless, I posted some of the pictures I took up on Picasa. It’s probably the closest I’ve ever gotten to a fox – definitely a surprising and cool experience!
I’ve never been that close to a live fox! And now you’ve seen 4 pups?? Wish Leroy and Wilfred could see these pics! They’d probably tell you to pull out your rifle and keep the skin…….. 😉
Well, I wasn’t that close. A 10 MP camera, with a zoom lens, allows you to crop a close-up pretty effectively!
After Brooke and Meg got home tonight, I saw that Momma Fox had returned, so I pointed her out to Brooke. Then we saw four little ones running around after Momma. Brooke went out there and poked around a bit, but was unable to find the exact location of the “den.” Momma would run off for a bit, but would stay within visual contact. As Brooke would walk away, Momma would get closer.
We were already thinking of getting a shotgun, but at the time, we weren’t thinking that foxes would be the reason we’d need one. If anything, perhaps a shotgun would scare them off?
At this rate, I’m wondering which one’s worse: squirrels or foxes. 😉
I’m also a bit surprised that you didn’t comment on the new website background, Mom! 🙂
hadn’t noticed!!! my internet was down this AM so I didn’t spend much time……. BUT it looks great!!! The blue is VIVID and the weather vane looks really good! Thanks for pointing it out. 🙂
btw…I shared these pics at work today and everyone was so impressed. They really are great photos. One gal said you should send them to the Iowa Conservation Dept!! Do they have a magazine up there like MO does??
Great! Again, I edited them pretty heavily, as I couldn’t actually get that close with our zoom lens. Still, they turned out alright. It was pretty fun! Not sure if Iowa has a “Conservationist” magazine, though… I’ll look into it!
I messed with the contrast a bit. I thought it turned out alright. 🙂
Iowa does have a conservation magazine, but I haven’t subscribed yet. Iowa Outdoors magazine.
I do have an ol’ 20 ga. shotgun or a .22 rifle if you need to borrow one. 🙂