Sunday, July 22, 2018

FOXES OF THE CASA

I bet your dirty minds thought this would be about houseboys???

Lately I have been getting some great shots of the Usual Suspects around here. This weekend , I was actually relieved to have a weekend to myself, and didn't live in my square cuts for a change as we had rain off and on, so no Raven for me except for Saturday night. I noticed in the rain, it's a bird flash mob at the sill. But lately I have been all intrigued by the fox here. If they could be domesticated I would have one in a heart beat. They sort of remind me of myself, social, slick, can be mischievous and very curious. I think they are beautiful. I have always had one to my knowledge here at the Casa du Borghese, but this spring, Foxy had three pups. And have they been very active at night, which is why I have been up extremely late on the porch watching them. They can be seen during the day, but they are mostly nocturnal here. During the day they stick to mostly the edge of the woods.  But lately at night, they can get very close to me, and will even sit and watch me, or they will all be playing and chasing each other. It's great fun to watch, and I'm gratefully they let me witness them so close. While I don't think I'll ever be able to pet them, it's cool to see them,  and what their up to. Since they are always in the flower bed next to the porch, I have since named them Hosta, Ivy and Sage, since that is what is mostly planted there. But I wasn't sure why they are always in the flower bed?  I follow a lovely lady on Instagram who I featured before who has two foxes as pets. Juniper Foxx is the account.
Aren't you just melting????

 I reached out to her , who got back to me quite quickly. She said there are many reasons why foxes can find your garden so exciting and, while some are quite obvious, there may be things you were unaware of that encourage foxes to keep returning. Having an awareness of how and why foxes behave is incredibly important to successful fox deterrence,  or welcoming them, so even if you are not a fan of foxes, you will benefit by showing an interest in how they operate. There are many reasons and many things to attract fox, but we concluded they like the grounds here because there is a good water source with the stream and the cover of woods. At night it is also very quite here.  The said flower bed also has tall hosta and sage for cover, and fox like to be under cover when they can. But the big thing was did I feed birds?  She said fox are not picky eaters, and if you have a good quality bird feed mixture with nuts, fruit, fats, and larger seeds they will clean the ground of the fallen mixture. Who knew? She said it is not a good idea to give human food to foxes though, as they have very specific meat diet that include bone. Some human food can even make fox sick and even kill them. They must also learn to hunt. The said flower bed also most likely has moles and mice and earthworms they will eat.  She also asked if rail tracks were near me. Which through the woods there are tracks of the regional rail I take to Philadelphia. She said railway lines are an easy, low-risk way for a fox to navigate suburban areas.  Again who knew?  So the last three weeks, I did get some shots , but probably not the best. One has to move steady and slow but quick.

This is Foxy in the woods, not far from the tracks.

This shot was a zoom on two of the now juveniles from the gazebo here. Look at those faces!!!!!! They are definitely curious.
Another shot of one of the pups sleeping on a secluded cement slab.

This shot was taken from the boudoir window of mother Foxy almost in the main courtyard. Very rare to see her out of the wooded area so early in the day.

I'm not to good with night photos. I tried with my phone and digital camera to no avail to get better night pictures and this was the best I could capture.

Looking right at me!
The best shot was Sage. Sage has more white on him,  on the face and chest then the other two. He was sitting about four feet from me off the porch. I nice zoom in and he stayed seated.
I may be up to late and dragging the next day, but it has been worth it.

38 comments:

  1. Oh Mistress.... what a heart warming post! I do believe I would be to afraid to get that near them. But I think your pictures are rather good for being last minute. They are very gorgeous creatures though. I always look forward to these posts. Love the hosta opening shot, and the names!!!

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    1. Not to much to fear. They are as curious about me as I am them. I don't think they would attack, as they can run at the most sudden movement or noise, and I'm sure they associate my smell to them that I represent no fear. So I try to be still and see how close they will get.

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  2. Fascinating shots.

    Before I moved to an apartment, I saw what I thought was a fox walk across my back yard in broad daylight. My newfoundland--tied up at the time--barked wildly at it, but this creature just ignored him. It looked at me, smiled (not really, but you know what I mean) then walked off. I have to conclude it was really just an odd-looking dog, but it sure would have been cool if it was a fox.

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  3. Excellent post! I firmly believe animals are drawn to certain people. And your one of them.

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  4. Looking at these post always makes me so extremly happy. ❤

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  5. I worked night shift at an inner city hospital and one early morning I watched a fox playing in the dawn with a small jack Russell terrier
    It was magic

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  6. Cap Chasen7/22/2018

    This just made my whole day.. I love this! You have a way with animals kid.

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  7. I think the captures are fairly good, we get to see them. They are sublime,each and everyone of them has a special character,I want them all!! I can see why you love them.

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  8. I used to have a fox who would come up on my patio to eat the food I put out for stray cats. The strangest sight was when I discovered an opossum and the fox eating together. It was truly a Kodak moment, but it was long before cell phones and my camera was packed away. Oh well! Maybe I'll see it again in my next life.

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    1. I have heard stories of them sharing yards in harmony with other animals and pets even. We humans could learn a thing or two from these creatures.

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  9. Beautiful creatures! So intriguing. Thank You for sharing! Your lucky to live in the best of both worlds..a nice nature setting yet close to the big city. Around here I have shunks, racoons and opossums.

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  10. You'd be a total fox. You already are cutie. Wonderful post though. Your love of animals often make me melt.

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    1. Shucks, you will make me blush.

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    2. Blush... you Maddie, I bet that's a first!
      They are much more timid here so only come around at night, I only see the tracks, they are great at catching mice.

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  11. Lovely post. It warms one's heart to know that people like you are out there. Have you ever thought of doing a profession with animals when you were younger starting out? I love these pictures.

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    1. I have long thought I missed my calling to work with animals. I love all animals Ms, Fingers, but would love to work on a reserve with elephants or giraffes.

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    2. That's is very cool! I never knew this about you. I even learn more from your comments back. You are very interesting Mistress.

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  12. Fabulous fox photos, sweetie! What sharp teeth they seem to have. I so love anything with fur!

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  13. So a fun and cool post. Things I just don't get to see living downtown, that for sure. I love the little foxes and what great names for them.

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  14. Great pix!

    One of the things I like about La Tour de France is the random weirdness captured on-camera along the way. Last week it was a fox in a field as the race swept past.

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    1. Oh, mais non! Le Tour! Le Tour!

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  15. Very interesting info and great pictures! A fox is something I've never seen in the wild and I've lived in
    some remote areas.

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  16. Nature never ceases to amaze me. Great post to close the weekend on.

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  17. Just as I was answering comments, one of the pups is out in the garden already. I have never seen them this early in the night.

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  18. I recently heard in my linguistic class the Old English words for male and female foxes were Vox and Vix, so the plural were Voxen/Vixen - the Vixen survived but not Vox became fox.

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    1. Yes...I do believe I have heard those terms. My friend up the road always refers to the mother as the vixen. Vox just never caught on I guess.

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  19. Cool pics! That's neat how they live next door and are not afraid to hang around you yet still keep their distance to be safe, in case they come across strangers. The cutest fox I'd ever seen were the tiny big eared Fennec foxes in the Sahara. And some people kept them as pets! Very good at killing vermin and small enough to be carried in a purse!

    I love the names you have for them! I hope they grow up safe, healthy, and live close by!

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  20. Some of those are terrific pictures. They'll eat the bird seed stuff? Who know? :-)

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  21. Foxy! You've got some amazing photo captures there. I particularly like the one of the two youngsters emerging from the undergrowth. How fortunate you are!

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  22. That is simply amazing!!!! They are quite beautiful and rascaly creatures. I love this post Mistress.

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  23. Foxes are so damn cute, both the Vulpini and the Mammalian. Vulpini, don't you like that? Say it soft and it almost like praying.

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  24. I've never seen a fox up close other than in the zoo, and I wish we had them running around where I'm at.

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  25. i like so much...Thanks for sharing the good information!
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  26. You live in such an idyllic spot... and you appreciate it! I've never seen a fox in the wild.

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  27. Those pictures are spectacular I think. They sure are pretty cute creatures.

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!