Boxes and wrapping paper—those were my two constant
companions for weeks! First packing everything down, then unpacking everything
again after the move. Well, that last part is a job in progress and will most
likely stay that way for months (or should I say years?). But the essentials
were unpacked quickly and organized… and reorganized a couple of times!
While it was exciting to set up household in our new home, I
was also getting tired of making decisions of where to put what and which box
to open next after a couple of weeks. I needed a day off. The opportunity to
take that day without feeling guilty came when I walked my grandson to school
one morning. Passing right by the green area in town where a fox family has a
den, I strapped my camera harness on and joined two other photographers on my
way home. They had been staked out for hours already with their camouflaged
gigantic lenses on camouflaged tripods wearing camouflaged hoodies. I felt a
little self-conscious in my green redwoods jacket as I attached my tiny zoom lens
in comparison to theirs to my camera, but one fellow said to me “as long as you
are having fun, that’s all that matters.”
And what fun it was to finally have my patience rewarded
when two little ears appeared behind the grassy mound where the den is located.
The flurry of camera clicks didn’t seem to faze the young kit as he emerged,
but he did take a good look at us. He went back in the den a couple of times
and eventually persuaded a sibling to join him outside in the morning sunshine.
What a privilege it was to observe wildlife that close. I
was enthralled and sometimes just stood there watching the fox kits instead of
trying to get that once-in-a-lifetime photograph. When I returned home after two
hours it was with renewed energy and a clearer head. I was ready to tackle another box!
