As some of you may know, I hit the trail very early in the morning with my walking companion, The Critter, for our daily walk. Part of our walk takes us along a hiking trail and over an abandoned railway bridge, by the Annapolis River. There was a pair of raccoons living in a den along the trail in the very early spring, but one day when I looked for the raccoons, I was surprised to see a little red fox looking back.
Every day, she'd be sitting at the entrance to her burrow, blinking at me, and every day I'd quietly say "Good Morning, little fox", as we went by. This went on for a couple of months, but last week as we were approaching, her head popped out of the underbrush along the trail, as if she was waiting for us, and she hopped out onto the trail, and walked a few feet in the other direction, then sat down with her back to us.
A few seconds later, another little face appeared in the brush. Then another. And two young foxes popped out to join their mother. Mama turned to keep an eye on them, and me, and - did I mention - the dog. She had brought her babies out to show me. The pups played around on the trail for about 5 minutes under mama's watchful eye, before she herded them back to the burrow. I told her (many times) how beautiful her babies were. The Critter sat silently at my side, absolutely entranced. The next day, they were gone (as I suspected they would be) to better hunting grounds for the summer and for her to teach the pups how to hunt to survive.
It was such an incredible gift to have a little wild animal trust me (and my dog) enough to want to show me her most precious possessions - her babies. It was a moment I never want to forget.
(The fox paper piecing block is from www.craftsy.com/profile/stars-sunshine) I think she needs some trees around her, and maybe an embroidered flower or two!
Make Stuff. Be Happy.
- Maggie
What a precious story , so glad you shared it . I love nature , the birds , raccoons ando deer that frequent our property make life interesting. Glad to have discovered your blog , I will be following along on your adventures . Also loved the story of your blog name , just wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheila! (I'll keep you posted on the QAYG)
DeleteHow lucky you are! You're right, it was an incredible gift.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back blogging again!
Thank you, Sara. I've been blogging on my website, but my focus is changing (again!) and I'm back. It's nice to see that some of the people I used to "know" are still here!
ReplyDelete