05/09/2025
A few weeks ago I walked out the garage door with Rufus to find a rather large pile if fox p**p on the concrete apron. Someone new in the neighborhood, I thought, come to introduce themselves. Aside from keeping Rufus from rolling in the stuff I didnt thing much more about it. Then today, Bailey was going crazy barking out the front window so I looked out but couldn’t see anything. As I kept watching I saw what I took at first glance to be an orange cat at the edge of the woods, head peaking up through the long grass and lyre-leaf sage that we always let grow every Spring for the bees. Then I saw more movement - another bouncing bit of fuzzy orange, the another, and it came into focus what I was looking at — a Mama Fox with her 3 kits, playing in the safety of the tall grass while Mama sunned herself on the warm rock. It’s been rainy and cool and wet and dreary for the past week and I’m sure Mama was THRILLED to be able to get her growing babies (they looked to be about 7-8 weeks old) out of the confines of the den and let them burn off some of their energy while she enjoyed some sunshine and warmth and respite for herself. We all watched (and the dogs barked) for a little while, Mama enjoying the sun and babies enjoying their freedom, until they stealthily disappeared back into the edge of the woods. Bailey finally settled back down until a few minutes later she started barking up another storm. I looked out and there was Mama again, on her own this time, in the short grass much closer up toward the house. Seemed like she was coming to check us out a little bit - introduce herself, say hello. Then she dipped back into the treeline and disappeared. I caught sight of her again, about 40 or 50 feet back in the woods as she wandered her way back to where I assume the kits were waiting near the mouth of the den, then she was well and truly gone.
We always had a fox den in the forest nearby the house back in New Jersey. Our farm was even called “Fox Holler” because of the screaming we would hear every Spring when the kits were hungry and waiting for mama to return. We would follow their tracks and monitor the mouth of the den for traffic and keep our eyes open for any predators that may be lurking about and help mama out by leaving some raw chicken legs nearby so she didn’t have to work so hard at feeding everyone all the time and watch the babies grow up and eventually head off to find a den of their own…
Until today I hadn’t realized just how much I’ve missed that. Missed the foxes. Missed that relationship. It’s good to have the foxes back again. It’s good to feel that connection again. Welcome home mama. Welcome. We’re very happy to have you here.
