There seems to be something about May Day that sends foxes into a doze. Last year the Old Dogfox spent so long snuggled up under a neighbour's pine tree and I actually became concerned that he was seriously ill, or worse, but he was merely lapping up the May sunshine.
This afternoon I went up the lane in search of non-garden foxes. On Sunday I found the meadows deserted while one of the local landowners mowed the grass near his house. Today I found that he had thoughtfully mown a strip around the edge of the big meadow as well. What a convenient spot for a dozing fox 😉
When I looked through the photos of this encounter, I noticed that this fox (probably one of the vixens) was reclining in the shade, rather than directly in the sunshine. I doubt she had become too hot and retreated to the shade (for all the blue skies, there is a sharp breeze afoot this evening) but perhaps she had been resting there for so long, the shadows had moved around :zzz:
At the top of the lane I had a special treat: seeing a (wakeful!) fox in a field of buttercups :happy:
This was quite an interesting photo challenge. I think the camera wasn't sure at first whether to focus on the fox or the flowers! :eyes:
Quite understandable, really.
On the way home I noticed that the slumbering fox had briefly come to life. She was scratching quite badly – and I noticed that she does have some sign of mange on her rump.
But the rest of her coat seems in perfect health. I will try to keep an eye on this, if it is possible.
After her brief awakening, she settled down in the grass to sleep again.
EDIT: 10pm – new photos in Rural Foxes.
The Old Dogfox has just paid a visit to the garden with the Chipped Vixen! :eyes: :faint: So she is still coming occasionally. I didn't see her well enough to determine whether she is still lactating. But with two vixens visiting, surely a cub will eventually come? :wait:
Foxes Crossing 
haha,very funny,what a leisurely afternoon.
😀 Some people call foxes the "cat-like canine". Like cats, they can be very curious, and even sometimes climb trees. Also like cats, they're masters of sleeping in the sunshine :zzz: 🙂
Lovely photos again. And I know what you mean about the autofocus picking up on the wrong object. It can be a real pain at times (but I guess that's what the manual mode is for).But two vixens. Surely you will get cubs. No sign of any around here, but we did spot the young male bringing home what looked like a rabbit on Sunday night. So I'm still hoping he's feeding more than himself. In teresting… I've been looking on YouTube and there's recent cub footage on there from America (plenty) and some from ireland. Nothing at all from the UK though, which seems odd. Maybe the season was late this year for some reason.
Hi Words,Curious about the cubs, I agree. Usually I start to see them in April while out on wildlife drives. I wonder if the strange winter weather has some role in this – judging from Sprogger's pictures, the Irish winter was more typical for Ireland than the UK's winter was for us.Though right now I'm more in a panic because my camera has developed an Err 99 fault and I think it's going the way of all the earth :insane: :rip: Aaagh! At this rate my first task in Banff will be seeking out a camera shop to replace my equipment 😥