My friend the fox showed up yesterday around noon. This is the same fox who was here last summer. I worried all winter that he'd get run over by a car and I'd never see him again.



His winter coat is looking good. It's really fun to get a good long look at such a beautiful animal:



He was here a few nights ago, about 10:30 p.m. and I gave him some bread, but then he didn't come during the day until yesterday.

I don't know how well he can see in daylight because he acts spooked by the patio furniture, and he seems to recognize my voice but not trust my shape. I've read that foxes see as well as cats, but their main senses are hearing and smelling. Maybe this means his night vision is a lot better, but he's not as much fun to talk to at night because he's tuned in to all the little critters stirring in the brush so is very nervous acting.

Although he will walk toward us, he isn't by any means tame; he and I have a tacit agreement that we'll each maintain a distance of at least 6 feet.

Here he's burying a piece of bread and will come back for it during the night:



When he's done snacking and burying food around the yard, he carries the last bit off to his den. Here he has two pieces of bread in his mouth:



I like having the fox around because he catches rodents. Last summer I worried that he might attack our cat Buddy through the screen door, but then I found out foxes don't have anything to do with cats because they are too much trouble to fight with. Besides, Buddy is about the same size as the fox. When Buddy finally saw the fox through the window, they made eye contact, but neither one was bothered.