*jaw drops* Oh, that's awesome! I can't decide if it's pretty, or cute. There's something very elegant about its stance.

Foxes are elegant little creatures. Every move is dance-like.

What she said. One in a million.

How beautiful!

I think so...I think foxes, like gazelles, are exquisite little creatures.

That is so incredibly cool!

It was indeed. We're so used to people, who move noisily on the whole, and domestic animals (other than cats, of course. Mustn't insult the cats!) that it's been a revelation to me, in the past years of having the land, to discover how *quiet* wildlife can be. That first fox I saw, the first day...she just appeared, silent (though I could just hear her lapping the water.) Even when she got used to me, later, she would appear in silence, stare at me, drink the water and eat corn, or walk over and curl up in a favorite resting place...but without a sound.

The raccoon I photographed in the last creek puddle was the same way...came down a slope covered with dead leaves without a sound. (The turtle, on the other hand, I thought at first was a person, it moved through dead weeds so loudly.)

Beautiful fox. Awesome photos. Thanks for posting this!

Gray foxes can climb trees. _Much_ cooler than reds.

I like both species. If we had a lot more land, I'd enjoy having both on the land. Reds for color, grays for general coolness.

That head-on shot is incredible. I've never seen one look so gracile. It's almost cat-like.

Is it a grey, or maybe a red in a grey phase? I've heard that they can change color throughout their lives.

It's definitely a gray. The head shape is a little different (doesn't show as much from in front, but the grays don't have the deep indentation right before the muzzle) and the tail has a black tip, not a white one. Reds in another color phase always retain the white tail-tip. I've seen an almost-black red fox around here, years ago (not on this land but on the county road just west of here, before any of that land was developed.

They do look like a cross of dog and cat--some behaviors, and some parts, look very doggy, and other parts look catlike. I think the faces of the red foxes look more catlike than this, even.

Thanks. I was lucky this time.

This fella looks almost feline. What a great shot!

They do look like a combination of feline and canine, don't they?

Those times of no camera...I know them well. (Did I have a camera the one time a flight of whooping cranes came over? No. And that wasn't the only time I didn't have a camera and wanted one badly!)

But what a wonderful sight!

Mind if I point folks at this?

Not a bit...point ahead...(g)

Wow, that's gorgeous. I don't think I've seen a Gray Fox before, the only ones we get around here are the Red Foxes. (And definitely introduced.)

Great photos, too.

In sunlight, their eyes are pumpkin-orange, and their tails--with a black stripe on top and a black tip--have more "drape" than a red fox's brush.

This is amazing. I really love your wildlife posts and pictures. :)

Wildlife is one of the things I love about hiking in the rocky mountains in/near the Rocky Mountain National Park. My family has a cabin along highway 7 and there is just something about looking out of the kitchen window while cooking dinner and seeing a pair of mule deer or elk. Once I saw a red fox with a rabbit in its mouth running along the side of a road.

It's kind of funny how much wildlife I've seen in Plano in my neighborhood, which isn't that far from hw 75! A coyote (three different times!), tons of rabbits, anoles, a raccoon family, a possum (once live and once dead in the road), an armadillo, the obligatory squirrels, and lots of birds (including mocking birds, cardinals (a family with three juveniles eat from are open compost pile once), blue jays, and hawks). No snakes though.

I used to think I'd like to live in the Colorado mountains even though I don't like cold, but it's extremely expensive. I've driven through the hill country once, for a wedding, and thought it was really pretty. The prices are much more reasonable... so maybe one day I'll move there. Get some land. Encourage wildlife, take pictures, write books. :D

Delilah

PS I'm a friend of Melanie's. Another friend, Krista, and I are thinking of driving down for your Austin book signing. Yes... just for the day. We love your books that much!

Okay... so I wasn't logged in for some reason...

Delilah

What a stunning picture. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks for enjoying it!

WOW! good catch! fast reflexes!

Not really fast reflexes. I was sitting there with the big lens on the monopod, and saw a movement approaching (couldn't tell what) in the cedars to one side...so swung the lens before it actually appeared, just in case.

But a lucky catch, definitely.