Today I saw two foxes in the yard. It's pretty clear they're juvenile: 1, they're littler with shorter bodies and faces, and 2, they were rollicking around in broad daylight. Fortunately, I'm not a chicken farmer with hapless chicks to safeguard, so the sight of foxes is just delightful. They're so playful and unconcerned, and up close you can really see how cat-like foxes are, both in looks and in their mannerisms.

This isn't the first time I've seen fox kits around. Last year there was a trio of them, very unafraid of being watched by humans, and they hung around for a while. But then they got older and wised up and weren't seen again. These two will probably wise up pretty soon, though today I don't think they were even aware they were being watched.

The last I saw of them, the littler of the two had just scooted out of the yard into a field. And I'm standing there thinking, "No baby, come back, it's dangerous out there!" But you know, if you're a wild animal, nothing's really safe. There are hawks around here, and they're not above coming in the yard too. And I'll admit it, I admire the hawks too.

ETA: Everybody likes pictures, right? [link]

ETA 2: Actually, no, there are three baby foxes. All ridiculously cute and way too trusting of the outside world. One of them fell asleep out on the deck, and it just makes me think, "No, no, go back under cover, something could eat you! Don't let anything eat you!"