Brer Fox!!

Today was such a neat time here at Little Pond.

Being rather secluded on our 6 acres (we have one neighbor beside us, and one waaaay in the back, and more moving in on the other side, but it's really wooded here), we've seen rabbits, opposums, deer, birds, and at least one fox.

We knew there was some kind of den on the high bank at the pond, in a dry scooped out side piece, and Dh's cousin affirmed that he believed it was a fox den. As foxes are great mouser/ratters, we were glad to have them.

I tossed out some red apples the other day, and within an hour most of them were either gone, or eaten to the core. This was in the front yard, closer to the woods. Today, I tossed out some yellow squash and old cucumbers in the back yard, which is larger and more open. After an hour, I glanced out the window and saw our resident rabbit, Pete (as Drake calls him, I suppose it was the same one) nibbling grass and eyeing the veggies from a distance.

Then, a bit later, Dh calls me over quickly. A larger, furry animal, that I first thought was a coyote, came from the woods *on the same side as the rabbit* and passed *within 50 feet of it* and went to the veggies. It did not notice, or else ignored, the rabbit. The rabbit froze in place, of course. The fox sniffed around each squash a time or two, then chose the biggest one, grasped it firmly in its jaws, and trotted to the other side of the yard, down the back driveway, and down to the pond.

Foxes DO eat veggies, and it may have a little down at the den. It might have been going to feed the squash to its babies. The rabbit remained frozen a few moments more, then again began to nibble grass. I didn't see it go the veggies, as it was getting too dark to see by then. But what a neat experience!


Life at Little Pond is full of these small, beautiful, moments, and we are grateful.