The foxes in Thixendale have begun courting. I've been out listening for their calls and so far I've tracked five in the vicinity.
Then last night I spotted a lone vixen and followed her because this year I have an ambitious plan: I want to build an artificial fox earth and try to encourage the vixen to bring up her cubs there.
The idea is to then build a sunken hide into the mound from where I can watch the cubs as they emerge in the spring. It will mean tracking her comings and goings very closely.
In the meantime I've begun working on the composition of a new painting of a fox pair. I like to cut up my photographic studies and play about with them on a plain background until I'm happy.
