A mother red fox warily watches me while her kit feeds on the carcass of a cottontail.
We have often caught fleeting glimpses of foxes in the residential area. Usually it was just a flash of orange out of the corner of our eye. Last night Steve was delighted to come across an entire family feeding near some pipes at a construction site. He was, as it often happens, without a camera so he called me and told me to be waiting when he got home.
The light was already fading but it was easy to spot the mother fox against the snow. 3 kits, their fur still dark, played near by. The mother instinctively moved off to a safe distance but kept an anxious eye on us as the youngsters continued to frolic, unconcerned by our presence or the clicking of my camera.
Sadly, but not surprisingly, the pictures were grainy due to the low light and and subsequent slow shutter speed. I was also forced to shoot through the holes of a chain link fence. Determined not to waste such a precious encounter despite the limitations, I lightened the picture up a bit and softened the edges to give it a painted effect. Hopefully I'll be able to catch the foxes out playing in the morning or afternoon when the sun is out and the lighting offers a better opportunity for decent shots.
