Widdle was extremely photogenic, and didn’t he know it! Mind you, he does have such beautiful soft eyes……..
In the days when he had a wife and cubs to support, Widdle did his very best to be the perfect husband and the perfect Dad, but that didn’t mean that he never felt tired. Indeed he had a number of different places that he would use for a rest, and if it was sunny and warm, then so much the better.
If we weren’t at home when he came to call, he would graciously sit quietly and wait for us. Sometimes, he would get nice and comfortable in a large empty planter. Our garden is on two levels, and directly behind the planter there was a fifteen foot drop. It didn’t bother him, though. Widdle never seemed to have any fear of heights…….
When we went to say hello and to ask him what kind of a day he was having, Widdle wasn’t ever frightened. He liked that lofty perch, even though he was sitting with his back to any potential attackers. What he saw as the biggest plus point of that planter was the fact that he could immediately spot us as we emerged from the house with his sausages……
On other occasions he would sit like a dog, making sure that there were no rival male foxes on the lawn some twenty feet below:
At other times he seemed very cautious and preferred to sit in the foliage:
Occasionally, he would have his attention drawn by a noise he didn’t recognise:
His proudest moment, however, came when he showed off his new winter coat:
His fur was always at its most luxuriant in the winter, whehn he needed the extra warmth, of course. In summer, he would moult his coat and go around looking a lot more grey than red, and overall, extremely tatty. Picture 4 above illustrates the Punk Fox look perfectly, as does the one below…..
In this photograph Widdle is a little more advanced in his moult, and the grey tones to his fur are really obvious. This picture dates from a different day to Photograph 4, when he spent a sunny warm afternoon in the planter, and woke up so stiff that he needed a good stretch before he could even think of eating.
Having said that, just a few minutes warming up, and he was soon ready for his favourite food…….
John Knifton 