THE MYSTERIOUS GRAY FOX

August 20,2010
THIS morning the sun was peaking through the trees casting  a soft glow over these two foxes. They seem calm just taking in the air and things around them. Their Mysterious nature shines through. Their beauty ever so obvious.
I hope you enjoy todays video.
Sandra

SITTING FOX REVISED USE

August 19,2010
It is always a treat to see the foxes just sitting around out in the open. It means that they feel safe, as safe as a fox can feel, anyway. I hope you enjoy the movie and music. Please send my blog to at least one other person you know who likes nature and art and particularly foxes.
Thank you for watching.

Every Breath You Take - Sting & The Police

HI FOX WATCHERS.
HERE IS A SONG FOR YOU! . I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT . While you are listening maybe you would
like to take a look at all my different stores. My esty site is my fine art photography site and the zazzle sites are products that I have designed on tee-shirts, mugs, cards, prints and more. Check them out.
Also , please send my Fox Blog to at least one of your friends who you think would enjoy it.
Thank you

YOUR FOX SISTER, SANDRA

FOXES ARE COOL

WELCOME TO MY FOX BLOG WITH MUSIC. ALL YOU TUBE VIDEOS HAVE A MUSIC TRACK BUT OCCASIONALLY A GOOGLE AD WILL POP UP IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER. JUST HIT THE X IN THAT BOX AND THE AD WILL DISAPPEAR.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE VIDEOS. IT IS RARE TO BE ABLE TO PHOTOGRAPH SO MANY
FOXES AT ONE TIME. I AM A VERY PRIVILEGED PERSON I HAVE BEEN TOLD AND I AGREE. THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SHARE THESE VIDEOS  WITH YOU SO YOU TOO  WILL REALIZE THE TRUE NATURE OF THE GRAY FOX TO BE ONE OF JOY AND BEAUTY.

FOXES WHEN THEY WERE ONLY 3 MONTHS OLD PLAYING

These are two of the kits in my videos when they were really little. This is a cute and short video that I uploaded in July but it is good to be able to see the foxes when they were all brand new. I added music to this one. If a ad pops up just click the x in the bottom right corner to make it go away.
I hope you enjoy the video and come back and see us.

GRAY FOX NURSING BIG KITS SO SWEET

A very beautiful, intiment time for mom and her almost grown family. I feel
very fortunate that she let me in on the party!

FOX FOLLY

August 15, 2010


Today I was so lucky to get a video of dad and kit playing "The Game" Watch closely and you will see what I am referring to.

This video starts out with Little Lucy, the smallest of the foxes, stepping out from behind the bushes to check out what is going on. A few seconds later dad appears in the right side of the screen and then the bigger brother, whom Lucy is afraid of, dashes across the screen.

Then the game begins. Dad picks up a couple of pieces of food and holds the in his mouth and then Picasso, (bigger brother) follows him , jumping and reaching for the treat dad holds...

The father fox does not let his son have the food right away, instead he tries to keep it from him, knowing all along that the little fox will get the treat.

In the mean time Lucy looks on and is almost trampled by the activity of her dad and brother. She recovers however and continues to eat. Right after that, off the screen, the dad and little boy play the game some more.

Little Lucy never gets in the game. As you see she is so much smaller than the rest of the foxes. I really love little Lucy, because she is holding her own really well to be such a little thing.

I am not sure what the game is about but I think the adult  foxes are trying to teach the little ones how to hunt and keep what they have or get what they want.... any ideas from anyone?

Enjoy the video and have an nice day.

Sandra the Micanopy Fox Watcher

FOXES ON THE HUNT

THE GOOD MOM

Aug 12, 2010
Today I am going to share with you one of my favorite videos of the foxes.

This video was taken last year when Shyanne(grandmother fox) was a mother and had five kits of her own.
One of her foxes didn't make it but four of them thrived under her care.
It was Shyanne who came to me and asked if I could help her get a jar off one of her little  foxes head. Yes, it was the Whinny the Poo scenario but with a real little animal.
That story had a happy ending I am glad to say and Shyanne has remained close but aloof  to me ever since.
Even to this day she has taken on taking care of Young Mothers kits.  Shyanne was pregnant in January but then she left for a while. She came back in March but showed no signs of having given birth. I asked a fox guy who said she may have gone through a false pregnancy. I can believe that because this fox is a super mom!
 ABOUT THIS VIDEO
On this particular day, I was photographing the foxes  playing and hunting for treats when Shyanne just gave herself over to her kits even though they were almost as big as she was so I quickly switched my camera to video and I am so glad I did. I just love this footage.
I was no more than 20 feet from her when I saw the kits go up under her belly.  They were having so much fun running around in glee and taking turns at mothers milk.
Shyanne stood so solid and erect the whole time even with four almost grown  kits tugging away on her, enjoying this last meal with her precious children.  What a good mom I thought.. A loving mom.

I saw a movie called The Fox and The Child and the last line in the movie was " Foxes know how to love"
(or something to that effect)
I would say from my observation, that is true.

Thank you for visiting Micanopy fox Watch.
Come back again.
Sandra

Welcome to my Micanopy Fox Watch

GRAY FOXES GATHERING

August 9th, Micanopy, Florida Fox Watch
Hello everyone,
Today I have a really nice video with 4 and 5 foxes eating and running around. Mom, Dad and a few kits.
Syanne was missing for a couple of days but she was back this morning.  If you watch my videos you will start to see the difference in the looks of each fox.  Handsome dad is very strong and disciplined.  Young mom doesn't ever want to miss a treat so she always comes out first.  She is  smaller and darker than her mate.    One fox had a mottle looking coat because he had missing patches of fur in several places when he was younger.   I don't know what from.  But now his fur is all grown back so I can't hardly recognize him ..One fox is so tiny that  she stands out from the rest.  Her name is Lucy.

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This is Lucy with one of her larger brothers. This kit is taller and thinner than Picasso, lucy's cross to bear.
I call this little guy Little Ricky. He and Lucy seem to get along well.

Anyway, the video starts out with most of the family together in a kind of typical fox day. They get scared easily. Watch how fast they scatter if just one of them makes a sudden move.  Foxes never stop moving, that is why they are so skinny!
Thank you for watching... after all  to quot a line from a song I once heard :"if there ain't no audience their ain't no show" !

DAD FOX WITH KITS

Handsome dad is always watching out for his kids as they run around him.

Handsome dad with two kits around 8:30 Am looking for their morning snack. Notice how the little fox is putting his mouth to his dads... hoping for a treat from him. This is how they would steer the kits away from the open yard  by
picking up a piece of food and then nudging the little fox to follow them to the woods... the reward was the food in the mom or dads mouth.  I have watch them play this game over and over again.

Today's Video features Handsome  Dad and Young  Mom bringing the kits out to play and hunt. In the field they learn to hunt snacks but this morning I turned the camera on before I went back in to get the treats and when I came back out I just watched them running around looking for them for a few minutes. This is what I saw. I hope you enjoy it. After the final credits, there will be 4 5sec. stills from the film to watch.

Hello Foxwatchers, nature lovers

Today I will be uploading some of the kits who are now at least 6 months old. There are two juveniles featured in these photographs.

The tiny little girl I now call Lucy and her bigger brother whom I have named Picasso.

Here they seem to be in harmony with one another so maybe the intimidation may have stopped.

Look how much biggerPicasso is than Lucy. Sweet little Lucy, has really held her own to be so small and had a great desire to push on...

Last year one of the foxes was injured pretty bad so I am not sure if he stayed on this earth that long or not. His name was Van Gogh because he had an ear that was completely messed up. Also, two of the kits plus Shyanne had a bad limp on the same leg. I think someone had been shooting at them with a bb gun aiming at the same leg. ... I hope that is NOT what happened but it just seemed odd they all had the same lip. Shyanne came back all healed this spring and I was happy to see that.

This year all four kits are healthy and strong. You can just look at their body wight and the beautiful clean fur they wear to know that these fox are healthy.

I hope you will become a follower of my blog.

some of my other web sites are below

Art and product design by

Sandra L Russell

http://www.sandrarussell.etsy.com/

www.zazzle.com/thegrayfox

www.zazzle.com/fabties

www.zazzle.com/creativebags

FOX TAILS

Welcome to the Friendly Fox Blog.

Today I didn't get a video but I got some great photos.

I love this image. This gives a whole new meaning to a fox shawl.

When I was young my mother would have friends over to play bridge. Some of the women would wear little red fox faces around their neck and that really spooked me out .

How awful that someone would turn a beautiful fox in to a tacky scary shawl.

I am not a member of Peta but they have some good points.

Why can't we just learn to live with animals and not want to kill them or eat them or train them or make them into a coat!

My guess is lack of understanding as well as appreciation for the wildlife whose land we steal.

If we steal the land for development then can't we have empathy for the animals whose home we destroyed?

Wouldn't it be better if we lived in harmony with nature?

I think so.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

YOUNG FOXES GETTING BOLDER

Hello Fox Watchers!

Today's blog VIDEO is really spectacular. It is long but it just gets better and better to the end. The little foxes are really running around and testing their surroundings without adult supervision, though the parents are close by.

This video begins with the little foxes coming out first with out an adult fox. They seem afraid of EVERYTHING! ( I have observed from my many hours of fox watching that foxes are really scared of their own shadow! ) Though they are together, they even seem afraid of each other.

When you watch the video, look for the little girl fox who keeps coming out from the left of the screen. I think she must live behind the tree with mom fox. She is so much small than the rest of the foxes. ( Females tend to be smaller than the males)

I think that she was intimidated by her bigger male sibling when they were babies. Look at my blog in July for the pictures of the little baby foxes. You will see a photo of one of the foxes "yelling" at the littlest girl and she is cowering. I don't really see him bothering her anymore, but the trauma was server, I think, and that is why she is so timid.

When foxes start to grow up they will do this. The dominate fox gets more food and more attention. I can see from my videos that she is still timid, even around the adults. Sometimes I just want to go pet her and tell her everything is ok... of course that is just a fantasy. I would never pet the foxes for it is their Wild Nature that is so wonderful.

In the middle of the video, the parents come out and the little foxes stand back, like they are doing something they shouldn't be doing. Shyanne also shows up and it is clear that the kits are close to their grandma.

Nothing seems to bother Shyanne for she is the sage of foxes.

In the end of the video, 4 -5 foxes are all there and the little ones are still scurrying about, scaring themselves along the way. Look how fast they flee when "something" scares them.

. The adult foxes have taught them well... a smart fox is a cautious fox!

I hope you get to watch this whole video. It was a great day for Fox Watching In Micanopy, Florida that day.

All the best,

Sandra

Hanging out with Grandma

Hi Fox Watchers!

Today's Video is of Shyanne and two of her grandkits. Shyanne is on the right and you can see the v cut in her ear. This is really an easy way to tell foxes apart. Each fox has some kind of mark or distinct feature that sets them apart from the rest. This one is easy as the cut is deep and on the Left ear. Shyanne is also a light color gray. She appears as though she has been around. Not a kid anymore. She is the matriarch of the group. She is my favorite fox. I have seen her come and go for weeks or months at a time and then one day I will see her out with the others foxes, like she never left. If you read my July blogs, you will be able to catch up on the foxes story. It would help to read my zazzle site as it tells the story of how I got involved with the foxes in the first place. Go to : www.zazzle.com/thegrayfox If you would like to purchase any of my fox items that would be greatly appreciated also as art is my livelihood and not a very lucrative one at that right now. I am fox obsessed however, and taking their pictures and writing about them brings me so much joy. Being able to share it with other people is icing on the cake.
It is my hope that once people see my pictures and videos of the Foxes , they will have a new appreciation for this adorable, quiet but elusive little animal .

Please enjoy the fox video below. It features Shyanne and two of the kits and that silly raccoon that loves to torment the foxes! Watch how the little foxes run back and forth in the woods behind them, wondering where that raccoon will be next!

FOX PHILOSOPHY POSTER from Zazzle.com

FOX PHILOSOPHY POSTER from Zazzle.com
My fox photographs on Posters, T-shirts, Cards,etc.
These are high quality items that I am proud to
endorse and Zazzle has a money back guarantee
for all products.http://rlv.zcache.com/fox_philosophy_poster-p228746330450607813vsu7_500.jpg

HOME COMING

August 1st, 2010


This is a photograph of Young Mom and her partner Handsome Fox.

If you notice the mom is still showing from nursing her young. It was early June when I took this image. Mother is not showing at all any more and the young juveniles are running around, and emulating their parents at this point. They are getting braver everyday as it is not long now that they will move away from "home" and start their quest to make their own family.

This is the second litter I have watched grow up. I get pangs of "empty nest" myself , knowing that they will all be leaving soon. It will be interesting to see who stays behind the tree this fall.



August 1st, 2010 ...I just returned from my art show in Ann Arbor Michigan where the fox photos were a big hit! I heard many stories from other people about the fox or foxes they have seen but most people have never seen a fox in the wild before and rarely a gray fox.

Whenever I leave for an art fair, I am always afraid that when I get home that all the foxes will have moved on.

However, that has not been the case as they live and play and raise their young here. I am just part of all that to them.... when I am here, they know I bring them treats but they do not rely on my small hand out for food.

They are great hunters and love to eat bugs and moles and other small rodents. There is plenty of fox food around here!

When they come to the fox brunch, it is a way for them to gather and enjoy each others company and the day without fear that something will happen to them. If I had a dog, I would not have foxes. Most people who live in the county have dogs so their property is not safe for a fox. That is why I think I have so many here.

Sandra