He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. —Psalm 113:9

August 13, 2007

Foxy.

I was up and out well before dawn this morning. The sky was clear and the stars were bright. I had a perfect opportunity to witness the Perseid meteor shower. But I had forgotten all about it, so I didn't look up. Bummer.

But that's okay, because I got to commune with nature of a different sort last night by having a fox nibble on my big toe.

Yes.

I've mentioned before here (or possibly elsewhere) that we have a family of foxes living in our neighborhood, and that one particular young foxling is both very curious and very brave, which concerns me, because that can be a pretty dangerous combination. Apparently, this little guy has become bold and friendly to the point of seeking out human company. I think the neighbors have been feeding him, which I disagree with on principle, but when you're confronted with that much adorableness, it's hard not to pay it all sorts of attention, even when you know that you're not doing a wild animal any favors by helping it become more tame. Kinda like I did last night, when he came scampering up to me while I was out walking my dog.

He's not tame enough to submit to being petted (yet--I think it's just a matter of time), but he did come close enough to sniff my hand, and then he lay down a few feet away and watched me with an expression that was so cute it almost killed me as I baby-talked him and patted the ground, trying to coax him over. Finally, I sat down on the ground, with my legs out in front of me, and just held still. That's when he got up and came over to sniff my feet before giving my toe a gentle nibble (I guess my feet smelled okay). That's about the point when some kids on roller scooters came by and spooked him, and he took off into the woods. I waited a few minutes, hoping he'd come back, but when he didn't I picked up my dog and went inside to tell my husband, who was so jealous he almost cried. Well, maybe not so much with the crying part, but he was pretty jealous.

Of course, I never have a camera with me when things like this happen, but he looked quite a bit like this little guy.

That's the last time I go out at dusk without a camera, though, so hopefully the next time I encounter him, I'll get a picture.

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