Taexalia

wild.life

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Some of my photographs of foxes collected into one ... read more

Snow Secrets: Signs and Symbols

This morning the Greyhound and I decided to take ourselves out of the village and walk out to the Crow Tree. Having navigated the High Field, we crossed the road and squeezed through the gate. Here the path had not been trampled by many people and dogs, here there were only one set of human tracks and the tracks of a very large dog walking in the opposite direction to the one we were travelling in. This bode well for a peaceful, private adventure. The track travels adjacent to an old horse ... read more

Reflections 2009 ~ March

Having bought a house and spent a week flying by the seat of our collective knickers before finally selling the flat, we entered March in a curious state of limbo. We weren't actually moving until April, yet we had kind of left months earlier in our own hearts. We didn't even have the twice weekly cleaning rituals for the no longer happening open viewing sessions to keep us occupied. We took a trip to Fife to give various parental units a drive-by of our soon-to-be new home - this included ... read more

Reflections 2009 ~ February

My recollection of January is that we were visualising movement, but not getting many signals that it was really going to happen. In February things began to gather pace and we began to get glimpses of hope, and then very real actions saw us buying a house before we had actually sold a flat. Instinct and guts in equal measure! The other highlights of February were the wonderful Red Fox Days that played out in the garden, especially the ones played out on a crisp background of ... read more

Oh Shit Sherlock

Having a plan is always a good idea, setting goals is often a great motivator and laying a good foundation is generally clever. Embracing life as it comes, accepting failure and letting go of expectations is wisdom. I had a long list of Things To Do On Holiday and they did not come to pass in the ways I had hoped and planned for, but the surprises and the unplanned moments more than made up for the not-quite-there-yets. Like my nephew learning to stand then gradually having the confidence ... read more

Foxes Full Of Beans

This morning brought another snowstorm and with it the best ever garden fox watching extravaganza. Our vixen was full of high jinx tiddling about in the snow, burying scavenged bread under the snow and flinging something into the air and playing with it. She was disturbed a few times by an inconsiderate human who kept opening the window to see better... pfffft! Our vixen also involved herself in a game of tag with a crow and two magpies which she lost gracefully. A little while later her ... read more

The Daily Fox

This morning sees blue sky and sunshine working to erase the last of the snow from the grass. Our fox pair were not caught on camera flirting in the garden and although they never seem to notice me at the window, I wonder if it is a sixth sense that moves them frustratingly behind fences and into the long undergrowth almost as soon as I get my camera organised... But wait! There are three of them! One is settled in the overgrown plot just behind ... read more

There’s snow business like fox business…

Almost a year ago I found myself a voyuer at midday for around half an hour as our resident fox pair enjoyed the Quickening. Further research suggests they had actually gotten themselves stuck. Bless. Today I'm trying to knuckle down and do some book-keeping when I hear Crow carking and sounding a bit enraged. I look outside and see both foxes flirting and chasing each other across the snow. The pair of crows are flitting about keeping a close eye on proceedings and the foxies are looking up ... read more

Arctic Vixen

Last night the snow was still falling and the blanket of white was almost intact, blurring the boundaries and creating an erie light. This morning the world of humans has taken over and where the road and pavement were one there is clear tarmac and orange stripes of salty sand. The cars, you see, must go on. The gardens tell more interesting tales as the criss-cross of animal tracks bely the journeys of the night. In the dim morning light under clouds laden with more snowfall to come ... read more

Welcome Distraction

Packing orders this afternoon and I was distracted by a flash of red outside... our resident pair of foxes were slinking around marking territory and chasing each other. Such is their hearing that they reacted to the click of my camera one floor up behind double glazing... but they did not see me ;-)

More foxes in my garden

Dig Our Fox

[kaltura-widget wid="vohid1a5gg" width="410" height="364" addpermission="3" editpermission="3" /] Mister Fox was very intent on digging around under Skeleton Tree and I'm not sure what he was doing - finding food? making a den? or just exploring...? They seemed to be having fun ... read more