A Hint of Approaching Spring

Every morning when I awake, I look out my bedroom window. In the summer, I enjoy each tiny bit of color as my garden shares its blooms. In winter, I stand amazed by the fluttering of wings as birds delight at the feeders. Today held a reminder that winter will not last forever. Red Winged Blackbirds had stopped on their way to their summer homes and were waiting for their turn at our wildlife restaurant. They dotted the apple tree like black ornaments on a child's Easter egg tree.

Then the most amazing thing happened. While enjoying my cup of coffee, I saw a red fox making its way along a trail created in the snow by deer. It boldly came towards our house and walked on down our driveway to the road. This is the first fox I've seen in many years. Poor management of the deer herd to appease the tourism industry has changed the plant life in our woods. The prevailing species are now ferns and invasives like barberry; plants that deer find unpalatable. This in turn caused habitat destruction for many of the smaller animals upon which the fox preys. The result has been a greatly diminished number of foxes.