The season of love.

Its been since last week that we physically saw Ash.

He came by when David was outside (naturally) and the dogs where on the porch. He watch the dogs cautiously, but was unalarmed by them and enjoyed his meal.  He came each night till last Thursday where he enjoyed a nice roast beef sandwich.

After that night I had a dream where the phone rang and when I answered its was a voice I didn't recognize saying "Ash is up to no good."
I sat straight up in bed, and thought to myself- "that was so weird."

(hang tight I promise this blog post is going somewhere.)

Well- Ash did not come Friday......no show...Saturday....and the worst night was Sunday..when he didn't grace us with his wonderful tail.

He has done this before and normally I wouldn't worry too much about it. The nights have been mild and the mice are out running around in the woods (yes if you sit outside at night and actually listen- you will here them) So when food is plentiful, its normal for this otherwise, punctual fox, to not show for evening dinner.

So why was I worried?

On my way to order bee's this past Sunday (which is right down the street from us) I saw it- something I morbidly look for and pray not to see- a fox that has been hit.

My heart sank. And when I walked into the place to order bee's I wasn't my usual excited self. All I could think of was the fox I just drove past and how I would have to stop to get a good look at the poor thing to see if it was our best buddy, wild friend.......

I left the bee farm and drove all of 100 feet to where the fox was laying. I held up traffic as I slowed down to get a good look at the tail ( something I can clearly identify on Ash) I saw that this fox's tail was not so bushy and there was no white tip.....I passed by the fox two more times, to make sure what I was seeing was correct.

Ash has a white tipped tail. So white tipped that  you can't miss it. When his tail fully grew back in, the white tip of his tail got bigger and bigger. I sighed a bit of relief but really was still pained to see a fallen fox. I have come to not only admire the species, but love them dearly........

With all that in mind my dream came back to me- and I prayed each night that Ash would give us a visit so I know that it really wasn't him that was down the street from us fallen.

Well last night I had another dream.

I dreamt I was back home in Massachusetts looking for our friend Ash.  Some people that I haven't seen in a while drove up and saw me walking my old street. When I said that I would catch up with them later, because I was busy looking for "my," fox- they jumped out of there car and joined me.  I walked towards a farm where I saw him- He had his sly "I'm just waking up and its still sunny," look on his face and he came running over. I fed him chicken nuggets (?) And as soon as he ate from my hand I woke up.

I looked to see it was five am and ran down stairs to check his dish.

Normally his dish is at the bottom of our steps, and whatever he doesn't eat the crows in the morning come and finish. Last night I did something different. I opened our gate to our porch and put the dish on the steps,  knowing that he was the only animal that knew his dish would be there- and knowing that the crows where not brave enough to come up onto our porch...

Well I ran downstairs at five am, (before it was sunny enough for the crows, and right after my dream) and saw that there was no dish!  I ran outside and saw that Ash had knocked his dish off the steps getting one of his hotdogs.


I felt so good waking up this morning and seeing that.

Its fox mating season right now. And its time in which foxes that usually stick around in a familiar area, venture a little further to find their mate.  Its typical for a fox to find a mate and stay with him or her for a year or two. I'm praying that Ash will fair out safely in this season that can be a bit more dangerous for him....or her...


It wasn't until this past week that I really realized how much I love this little fox. I knwo I have said how much I love having him part of our life, but this past week had me reflecting. He came to join us last July Fourth, and almost every night since. He almost didn't make it when he got ill, and the medicine we were advised to give him worked out very well. Its been a gift to see his journey in becoming a fantastic fox, and we have loved every bit of it.  I know that Ash was not an animal promised to stay with us (something always in that back of my mind) but I now realize just what a gift from God he really is.

To sum it up perfectly, Ash has been my little Muse.  In the time that he wasn't here I didn't have a passion to write. My mind was to focused on the thought of not having his precious self here in our life anymore..a thought no mater what- will never sit well with me. Ash has brought so much joy to all of us in the past year.  He has quite a following. There is not many places that I can go and see friends that don't ask about him. Not a week goes by that at least a couple people ask me, "What is Ash up too?" I pray that if Ash is a female that she will have her kits over for visit as well. Selfish I know- but I am enamored. If I could better explain what a little red fox has done for our farm, I would....but words right now don't seem to suit the situation. If you could see my smile when I think about Ash, then you would know what I'm trying to say.