Fox Den!

The last few years we have had foxes in our valley. We often see a mother alone or with her cubs in the Spring and Summer. Last year one of our summer renters saw the mother fox take a goose on the lawn in front of Eve's Cabin. The fox also spent considerable time skulking around our chicken pens. Yesterday, I stumbled across a fox den on our property while out looking at a stand of timber with our forester. Later, Naomi and I went out and looked more closely at the den site and took some pictures. I figure that the fox has no compunction about hanging around my house and would even take my hens, if she/he could, so, I decided that a little poking around his/her 'house' is fair game. Here are some photos.

The first photo, above, is of the entrance to the den. Notice it is located under a metal fence post and fence wires. It is also along a little bluff over an intermittent stream and amongst some downed logs and branches in some pretty thick brush. This seems a pretty good setting for staying out of sight and defending against predators.

The photo to the left shows the general setting with the entrance being just at the base of those two trees in the center of the picture.

The photo below is just in front of the den and shows a hollowed out bowl like dip in the snow. Evidently the fox has curled up in this place often probably in a combination of sunning, resting, and keeping watch over the surroundings.















The photo below, also taken in front of the den, shows a tuft of fox fur.














This photo, below, shows a typical string of fox tracks. The fox was traveling toward the camera. Fox tracks are typically in a single line that looks a little like one of those 'follow the dot' drawing exercises you would see in a child's activity book. This particular set is leading away from the den site.



















This photo shows a spot of fox urine. Again, it was not more than ten yards from the den entrance.














This final photo is taken from the vicinity of the den and shows a little more what the countryside looks like around the den. Foxes like a mix of fields, brush lines, woods, wet lands offering a variety of foods to sustain them through the season.