Seen in northern Ontario

This beautiful red fox seems to be looking at my friend Mike O'Dell with considerable suspicion. Mike has recently moved with Lonnie his wife and partner to Elliott Lake from near my hoome. He's been writing about going out into wilderness and protected areas.

" I have been out in the wetlands with a group of people ( Friends of Algoma East ) replacing/repairing/cleaning & refilling duck nesting boxes a few times. I'm really enjoying that; seeing these places up close is great. They are sooooo beautiful & there are so many of them here. They have over 100 boxes I believe & we're only doing the ones that have to be reached by water ( ice right now ). We'll do the others when the snow starts to go.

  

They have a pretty good rate of success so far. They also have owl boxes & we'll be doing those very shortly. Snowshoeing into some of these places & hauling a sleigh loaded with new boxes & tools etc. is hard work in this deep snow , but I'm having a great time...."

Sounds like a lot of fun to me too. And because I love all kinds of wildlife - these photos were a delight to receive. 

The look in this particular fox's eye says to me "Go away - this is my territory..."

What a great photo - I'll ask what camera, lens and all those details Mike used to get these shots given many of you are greater camera pros than I am.

This final shot looks like another fox to me given the legs are blacker than the first photo. But another beautiful photograph don't you think?

We are so lucky to still have these wild creatures around. So often these days we hear about land that is being cleared for development - resorts, housing developments, mining and exploration, oil drilling and exploration. It's sad to me that the world's population has grown "like topsy" as my mother used to say, so that we require so much more of the world's natural resources. Somehow we don't seem to be able to recycle things and reuse the materials we've already refined nearly as frequently as we perhaps should.

As well, all too often I hear guns in this neighbourhood as people remove raccoons, coyotes, skunks and deer from our area. They seen as pests by many developers and land owners not only here but everywhere it seems. Photographs such as these, and Mike's tales of his and Lonnie's adventures hiking in the north are exciting, heart-warming and reassuring that there are still some places in Canada where wildlife can be seen without people wanting to get rid of it. 

Perhaps today you'll see something wild and have the opportunity to enjoy it - even if it's a squirrel! They're wild creatures too, though in many places somewhat citified. Makes me chuckle.