I watch the Fox Network

A red fox (Vulpes, vulpes) surveys

his territory on the first day of Spring

It's Season Two on the Fox Network ― I am privileged to be able to watch a pair of red foxes again this year. I first glimpsed them in early January. They are so intelligent and magnificent to look upon. The vixen has given birth by now and the male is busy hunting to feed himself and his mate while she cares for their kits.

Red foxes mate from January through March. The female will make one or more dens right after mating. The extra dens are used if the original den is disturbed. A little less than two months after mating, the female gives birth to a litter of between one and ten kits. Last year there were six kits and happily, they all thrived.

This photo was taken at some distance but you can see the characteristic long, bushy tail tipped in white, pointed black ears and black legs and feet.

Some mornings, around 5am, the cats will leap from the bed and rush to a large picture window downstairs. They know the fox is up and about. I think they enjoy watching the Fox Network as much as I do.