Christmas Greetings to you all

 

White Kite

I spent many years traveling to the Elan valleys in Wales to practice my photography. I made some great friends there spent many a week over the years collecting my photo's. A white kite is not another species but a bird that hasn't developed a red pigment to colour its feathers so it remains white. 

I have only come across four birds of this nature in the past thirty years. It does occur in other species

These photographs were taken mainly on a farm that I visited several times a year. 

I no longer travel to Wales as my friends are no longer with us. Just occasionally a red kite flies over my house where I live just to remind me of the wonderful times I spent with my Welsh friends. I have in stock over 2500 photographs on the welsh red kite.
                                           DEDICATED to  EITHEL  and  LENA  POWELL  

                                                                     GIGRIN FARM

My secret fox haven

 

This is a selection of pictures taken at one of my locations of a few years ago. I am displaying these as it beyond my capabilities to venture out because of my age (86) and abilities.

They are all wild foxes and live in a corner of a private woodland where the owner does not allow the general public access. He loves animals as much as I do. So I vowed to keep the location a secret. 

The animals have learned this is a safe place and are looked after and have become very sociable and accept visitors as friends.

So for their sake I  shall keep the secret safe. 

Thankyou Friends

I intend to carry on my friendship with the animals in my garden as long as I can

 Thankyou for the support you have shown, there is not enough  room to show everybody's names.  The support shown by local society's is enough for me.

Problems

I have learned that some folk classify foxes as vermin and object to me feeding them. I have said this before that when I moved here 11 years ago we discovered the area was infested with rats. They could be seen running about the gardens in broad daylight. Neighbours contacted a local contractor who for  a fee said he could get rid of them. He failed after several attempts so I introduced natures way with some friendly foxes. Within a week or so the rats vanished and the foxes moved in. They made friends with the local pets and I have pictures of them sharing food. I have pictures of them which I have shown before playing and eating together. 

 

My Foxes

 

My foxes are now visiting me every night for their supper. Often they are sitting outside my window waiting for my room light to switch on.

This one is Sue named after a friend who recently passed away. She loved foxes.

I talk to them through my open window and they are quite happy to sit and listen.

Sue would rather sit, she appears to enjoy my company and will often stay after all the food has gone and just enjoy my company. 

Waiting for supper

This is my favourite fox, I call her Sue in memory of a good friend who looked after us when we visited our local Costa coffee shop. It is a lovely animal, waits outside my window and I talk to her. She will sit quietly while I photograph her.

Here she is saying thankyou with a biscuit in her mouth. She is only about 1 metre from me and often will just come and sit for company. She comes to visit me every evening so saving me a lot of energy walking on my 86year old legs.
 

Red Fox

In my younger days when I was more active I used to visit places that were not frequented by humans and animals did not fear you. I often found that sitting quietly in a secluded spot a wild animal would approach because it did not know what you were. This has happened several times during my long life.

This picture is of a young fox that had probably never seen a man before. It was less than a metre away before it turned and ran. This sort of thing has happened many times to me.
 

Badgers

I am trying to encourage the badgers back into my garden. They used to join the foxes for a evening meal. Since a neighbour got himself a bad tempered dog they have stayed away.

This was in a friends garden on his patio. It was  a friendly animal and came within a metre of me, and totally ignored me.

This was on our local nature reserve when I lived in Horsham. They were quite used to camera flash.

 This one was the surprise of my life. Sitting quietly in a wood one evening hoping to catch a barn owl when this badger appeared in front of my camera.

Wonderful break but disaster.

I had a wonderful break on Hayling Island with a couple of good friends. I had never been looked after so well. Walking is getting harder each day so they got a wheelchair for me so I could get involved in everything. My only failure was my photography. An electrical fault which I managed to rectify but too late to use meant no pictures. The annoying thing was I had left a lot of spares behind so not to burden my friends car. But on returning home the foxes gave me a lovely welcome and its all back to normal now.
 

Blogging break.

I am saying goodbye  to the foxes for a couple of days while I take a little holiday. A couple of good friends are taking Jacque and myself down to the coast for a break. I am taking a camera with me as I understand there will be plenty of wildlife for me, so the theme of my blog will change a bit.
 

When the foxes feed

 When the foxes feed there is always one who would rather sit and watch and sometimes even have a little nap. I think it just likes its photo taken. It is about 2metres from the camera when this was taken.

Foxes still calling

They wait patiently for my room light to go on in the evening then all hell breaks loose and they dash round the garden hoping to get the best mouthful of biscuits.

After the food has gone things get more quiet and I may get a thankyou from the cheekier ones.

They may even hang around for a chat which is often the case. They never dash off, they often find a little corner and sit for a while. 
 

Missing for a couple of days

I have been off line for a couple of days as some rogue had got into my system, but with the help of my friends I silenced and destroyed the path into my set-up. It was costly in time but the animals carried on as usual, in fact there is three outside my window enjoying their supper.
 

Hedgehogs return

Several months ago our neighbour tidied up his garden with a rota-scythe and killed off a couple of hedgehogs and the rest ran away. I have pleasure in announcing the return. 

Welcomed by the foxes who treat them as friends. One kept his distance but the other joined the foxes at the dinner table. A very welcome sight indeed.
 

My foxey friends

I am shortly to celebrate my 86 birthday and having friends like these visit me every night makes me feel younger. Often when I put the food out they are waiting outside my bedroom window. I talk to them and they just look at me and carry on.

This one looking at the camera when it arrived I said 'hello where have you been and it looked at me and gave me a little grunt 'hello'. I open the window now and it doesn't seem to bother them.

This is the one I said hello to and as you can see it tucked into its supper just 1metre away from me.
 I love my foxey friends.

I love my foxes

I look forward to every evening for when the foxes visit. Often I go to the window and they are sitting there waiting for me. There's five altogether and they arrive at different times and directions. 

Cubs often come by themselves.

 More often they turn-up in little gangs but there is rarely any squabbling just a push or get in another's way to show who' s boss.

Another party

It gets quite busy in the garden when a fox organizes a party, I only supply the goodies and they arrange the guests. 

They do have the manners to show thanks with a little visit to my window to say thanks.

Then it is back to the mayhem to grab a mouthful before it all goes.
 

Fox Party

Whenever the foxes get together for their little parties it is usually well mannered and quiet, but sometimes things get out of hand all hell is let loose.

I get many squabbles over the best biscuits but they usually happen when the lights go out.

They always leave quietly once the food has all gone.

But there is always one who will stay awhile to see if there is second helpings. This one likes to be spoken to and always stays a little longer.
 

BINGO!

Just a small selection from the other evening. They sit outside my window and spring into action the moment my bedroom light goes on. They look up at the window to check and see if I'm there. If I am they feel free to romp around the garden and enjoy themselves. 

 

Latest member of the family.

 This is the latest edition to the fox family. It has settled in nicely and is happy to come for food on its own. It has made several visits and does not mind the camera.