One for Fox Friday going back to June and a visit with my local fox family.

It had been a fantastic evening watching the four kits play and mom keeping watch over all the action. As the sun set, the kits retreated to the den and mom enjoyed some downtime. She came up to the sidewalk and sat not 30 feet away from me – her seemingly as interested in me as I was in her.

It was one of those way cool moments we sometimes get with wildlife. With the sun below the horizon, she headed off to join the family, casting a last look at me.

I kind of like this shot. The framing of the hanging leaves help to convey the wariness she had toward me.

A red fox kit checks out its mama’s mouth when she yawns.

An image of a couple of the members of a local fox family that I took back at the end of May. The four kits were particularly rambunctious this evening, bounding around, wrestling and exploring.

The vixen was keeping her distance, undoubtedly weary of trying to keep track of them. One of the kits though was not about to let her rest and came running over to ensure she was paying attention. A

Taken in Adams County, Colorado.

Cool creatures like this are deserving of their own slideshow as I look back on my ‘top shots’ of 2019.

The year saw me be extremely fortunate when it came to photographing these somewhat elusive animals. In fact, I took more pictures of foxes this year than I have in all my years of photography prior combined!

Friends tipped me off to a couple of dens, one of which I spent many, many evenings observing with a vixen and her four kits. The other den was very photographic being in an old, wooden shed. Throw in a few random sightings across the plains of Colorado and it was indeed a very foxy year for me.

I certainly hope for as good of luck in 2020!

A red fox vixen and one of her kits soak in the evening sun on a calm spring evening.

One for #FoxFriday going back to May.

After moving the den to a different spot for a couple of weeks, the vixen brought the family back to a local open space. I of course was absolutely delighted and then spent many evenings over the next month photographing and watching them.

A pic for that other Friday hashtag, #FoxFriday.

Taken back on the last day of May, my local fox family didn’t make an appearance till after the sun was going down on the horizon. It made for tough lighting but this cute one gave me one of my favorites.

While its siblings were all rough-housing, it stayed away from the fray, more interested in the guy with the camera. I of course didn’t mind.

Just a pretty picture of this pretty gal for #FoxFriday.

It was mid-May and her little ones were big enough to run around outside the den. That was undoubtedly very tiring as she tried to keep track of all five of them while going out and hunting for food.

On this evening, she caught a rare break from the little ones and laid down not far from me giving me some nice poses.

This is a lesson to not ignore that feeling. 😉

I was driving along one of my favorite backroads in eastern Colorado recently, scanning the skies and fields, mainly looking for raptors. I noticed an odd shape sticking up within a field and, initially, I totally ignored it and kept on driving.

Then I started thinking. Surely that was just a stick or piece of trash, right? Or was it? I had to check.

I stopped, backed up, and trained my camera on the spot way out in the field. Then that “stick” moved. And it moved again! Aha! I found myself a sly fox!

It did not linger and soon moved away over the hill. The distance was too far to get a decent pic but it was a fun encounter and a lesson to not ignore those feelings. You never know what you might see!

Taking care of four little ones is a lot of work for a mom so this pretty lady was catching naps whenever she could. She did this with limited success.

If the kits were in the den, she got some peace and quiet. When they came outside though, they never let her rest for long. Either they wanted to play or they were hungry and she had to head off to find their next meal.

On this evening back in June, she enjoyed some down time but with the sun setting, she knew it was time to go catch dinner. The vixen stretched out to limber up and yawned as she worked on waking up. A mother’s work is never done!

Oh how I miss the many evenings I spent this past spring with these gorgeous creatures. There were actually five kits but this is the closest I came to getting all in one capture – four of them plus mom.

As was the norm, the little ones were rambunctious, exploring and wrestling as the sun started to set. Mom sat and kept close watch on the little ones while enjoying a bit of a break.

It is #FoxFriday and I have to say #TGIF too!

Somehow I haven’t shared this image of my local foxes, one which I like a lot.

Taken back in the middle of May, some kids playing ball near the den meant keeping a watchful eye. The little one was keen on imitating mom’s role as protector and struck a nearly identical pose.

The soft, golden light of the setting sun really made their coats shine.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!