I saw a blur of motion out of the corner of my eye, a first intimation that something was there. That something had dashed behind my neighbor’s car parked in our shared drive.
I raced to the camera, perched at-the-ready near the pond-side windows. Turning, I saw the visitor — instantly recognizable — a Red Fox. Quickly, I raised the camera and shot across twelve feet of living room, and through the double-paned thermal window. I’ve learned the hard way: “He who hesitates is lost,” has special resonance for wildlife photographers. I was able to get off only two shots, one of which is at right.
A few minutes later, I saw the fox again, this time out on the ice, but a bit too far for decent photos. I resigned myself to a missed opportunity.
Then, almost two hours later, I spotted it once more on the ice, a little closer this time, but still pretty far. The photo at right gives an idea of just how far. My modest telephoto lens couldn’t bring it any closer. I enlarged the tiny image of the fox digitally, to produce the somewhat blurry featured photo, above.
The fox was clearly enjoying itself, cavorting on the ice. It was doing something that its birthright ordinarily denies it: walking on water.
Both photos were taken on January 19, 2013. The times were 8:49 am and 11:36 am, respectively.
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