Notes To My Mother

The family life of a red fox is a joy to observe.  The kits are very much like puppies, jumping on and chasing each other almost the entire day.  Of particular interest is how the Vixens teach the kits to eventually become self sufficient around their food supply.  There are two vixen in this family unit, the mother and grandmother, and I can not tell them apart.  The kits you see here are still suckling from their mother.  But by this time in their young lives she is well on the way introducing them to game.  In the beginning she will stash the game, encouraging the kits to forage for it.  The next step in the process you can see here, where she brings game directly to the kits.   Here she is dropping a rabbit for them.  At this stage in the teaching she has killed the rabbit.  The next stage will be for her to bring them live game.  The little black one grabs the rabbit and makes a run for it getting away from his siblings. At a safe distance he releases the rabbit and examines it. 

I had never experienced anything quite like photographing red foxes.  I was with them nearly all day, for three days in a row.  I was so taken by them, especially the way they related to each other.  Above is the dog fox, the adult male of the group, with one of his offsrping, a female kit fox.    In this family group there were two vixen, one was the grandmother, the other the mother of three kits.  The adult females attended the den all day with one or the other going off to hunt, returning with food for the kits.  Missing most of the day was the dog fox and when he would return the kits all gravitated to him. All of the kits seemed to adore the dog fox but the moments between him and his daughter were especially touching.   What a gorgeous, photogenic animal he is.  When I returned a year later he was still there and there was a whole new brood of kits.  I am hoping to return again this year having missed last year due to a bout with covid.  I hope this particular fox is still there

Driving on a back road I saw this coyote running full speed parallel to the road and in the same direction I was driving.  I had my camera in my lap and got a couple of quick shots of him.  I noticed him looking back a couple of times and there some distance behind him was the reason for his apparent panic This coyote was coming like gangbusters.  It was a marvelous animal, bigger than the other, and looked to be a much more powerful animal, running, leaping and digging in,  giving it all he had in what appeared to be a chase after the first coyote.  As they went up over the hill and out of sight, we had to drive farther up the road to the other side of the hill to a place we could park and get out of the car.   As we got out of the car, here came the first coyote, the one who was being pursued, around the bend, still glancing back, panting, but no longer running for his life.  I am guessing that this coyote was in the other coyote's territory and was being run out.  Once he was ov

Visiting Point Reyes National Seashore on Thanksgiving reminded me of what a gem this location is and motivated me to return.  On the following week a friend and I headed there.  In particular I wanted an image of Drakes Beach with its sandstone cliffs holding back the surf.  I think it would make a nice painting subject. On the way to Drakes Beach we spotted this female Northern Harrier.  Harriers fly very close to the ground in search of prey, which makes it possible to get some pretty close images if you are lucky enough to be in their path. The one bird which is a favorite of mine is the kestrel.  I couldn't remember ever seeing one a Point Reyes and mentioned this to my friend remarking that we needed one.  About a half hour later, there it was on a bush next to the dirt road we were on.  Kestrels are usually fairly shy birds so it was quite a treat to have it stay on its perch while we took its picture. And then off it went, which is what we were hoping for as their beauty in

Point Reyes National Seashore is a gem.  About an hour drive from Santa Rosa at the end of a drive through some very beautiful landscapes lies a treasure chest of wild life photography opportunities.  On Thanksgiving, Jan and I packed cranberry and turkey sandwiches and headed there for a walk and a picnic.  I, of course, took my camera gear. A good friend and I once hired a photography guide to help us find bobcats at Point Reyes.  While we did find some badgers, we did not see one bobcat.  On subsequent excursions I had seen them but always at a distance and they being very wary of humans would disappear quickly.  On this lovely Thanksgiving Day, here was a young bobcat hunting along the road.  He showed no concern about our presence and kept right on hunting. On our walk I couldn't pass up this white crowned sparrow feasting. And a bit later this northern harrier leaving its perch.  As a side note, there is a phenomenon that happens frequently at Point Reyes, about mid morning,

There are many places to find fall color and one very special such place is the Smoky Mountains National Park.  It is the most visited national park and I would guess the bulk of the visitors come during fall color.  When you are driving the Blue Ridge Parkway and the traffic comes to a stop you can be sure there is an excellent viewing location just ahead of you.  The waterfall in this picture is Looking Glass Falls and it is viewable from the road, but absolutely worth getting out of the car to really experience it. It is not often that you find a good waterfall with fall colors surrounding it like this. In another part of the park is an area called Tremont.  It is a gold mine of scenes like the one above with cascading creeks deep in the forest.  A wonderful place to spend contemplative time, alone with nature. Sunrises are special in the Blue Ridge Mountains with the lingering ground mist, gorgeous skies and the awakening of the forest beauty.  One of the things I love about sunris