“The good man is the friend of all living things” – Mahatma Gandhi

We had just finished our breakfast and were headed for a seat on the front porch to enjoy one more cup of coffee before we set about our tasks for the day. In the days previous, on several occasions, we had been seeing a red fox hunting in the hayfield. We try to keep the dogs from chasing things other than squirrels, chipmunks or rabbits, so the door was quickly shut to keep the dogs from seeing the fox and going on a mad chase. I’m particularly glad we spotted this fox before the dogs did as you’ll see.

I grabbed my camera and stepped out onto the deck to see if I could get a few shots. This fox was not hunting. This fox was in survival mode, dashing across the hayfield in a low profile. Stopping every so often to nervously glance behind. Why?

Because it had one tiny, little kit trying to keep up. Something had apparently made the fox feel it necessary to abandon its den. Something must have happened to the other kits as it’s rare for a fox to have only one. As I quickly snapped a few pictures, never able to get the kit and the adult in the same frame, I could hear the adult barking, when the little one couldn’t find its way. I felt relief as they went out of sight into the backwoods.