The past couple of days were rainy, so I took full advantage of today's sunshine and went out after work to watch the fox family I've been checking in on this past week. When I arrived on location, I strategically parked my car so I could sit in it and use it as a blind. There were two kits sleeping in the yard and nothing happened for the longest time. Eventually, they both dropped down into the hole they were using as a den and I sat there texting a friend and playing games on my phone while I waited.

Roughly 40 minutes later mom came in with a meal and all 7 kits popped out of the hole and fought over it. The first one to get out was the one who got it, but he/she had to run around in circles and fight off all the siblings. Mom hung out for a bit and gave me some nice opportunities for photos before she ran off to go hunt for another meal. All kids were active for a while before heading back down the hole for another nap.

An hour after the first delivery a state trooper came into the neighborhood and stopped to ask me if I heard an alarm going off. I mentioned that I heard something in the distance, but wasn't really sure which direction or how far off it was. He proceeded past me then turned around and sat behind me for a while (I'm assuming to watch me and see what I was doing). Just as he was pulling off from chatting with me mama fox came in with another meal and stirred up the crew once again. She stuck around for a couple of minutes and a couple of the kits nursed off of her. Eventually she crossed the street and left. I missed some of the photo opportunities because the cop had stopped, then another car went through, but that is ok, it was still fun to watch.

After mama ran off, the state trooper who was obviously watching me to see what I was doing pulled up next to me and stopped to chat. He made a comment along the lines of, "ah, I see what you're up to". And so I chatted with him for a minute about the foxes before he left, completely unconcerned with what I was doing in the neighborhood.

A few minutes later somebody pulled into the driveway of the home the foxes are living under and glared at me before going into the house. Shortly after, she came back out with a pen and notepad to write down my license plate number. I got out and tried to make friendly conversation with her and to let her know I was enjoying the beauty of the foxes, but she was so nasty to me. I'm assuming she went in to call the police and complain, but no police came. Instead she came back out a few minutes later and very rudely asked me to leave. Again, I tried to be polite and let her know that I was just photographing the foxes. By this time, the light stunk and I was gonna leave soon anyway, so I figured I'll just go for today. Little does she know, I will be back. I'm not at all in front of the home as I parked back away from it. In fact, I'm parked at the edge of the lawn of the person who invited me into the neighborhood. It's really horrid that someone would be so nasty to me. I'm not there to cause any trouble, I'm just there to enjoy the beauty mother nature has given us. I've done everything possible to respect both the neighbors and the foxes. I've even chatted with many of the people in the neighborhood and they've all been so nice and welcoming. In fact, one of the neighbors comes over to my car each time I'm there to say hello and chat about the foxes. I wish this woman would understand that I'm only there for the foxes.

Anyhow, it was a blessing to watch mama bring in two meals, the kids playing and the brief moment I got to witness a couple of the kits nursing off of mom. I got a bunch of nice shots today, but I couldn't resist using a nursing shot for the blog since it is such a sweet moment! I hope you all enjoy this shot as much as I do!