The fox has not been here in about a week, the longest he's ever been gone. I had given up on him, and was determined to picture happy and healthy in a new home somewhere.

But this morning I was headed out the backdoor, and there he was on the steps. He's not saying where he's been, but he finally lost all of his winter coat, so he looks a lot different, as if someone had brushed him.

I had some cooked chicken and still have a lot of the dog biscuits I made for him.



I'm glad to see him, of course, but also sad because at some point I have to abandon him when I go away for the winter.

Here is a ground squirrel eating one of the dog biscuits, shaped like a little gingerbread man. The fox is supposed to be eating these rodents. We did see him catch and eat something in the yard recently - he practically swallowed it whole.