The pattern seems to be settled, at least for a brief while: the cold winter daylight hours bring the Old Dogfox while One-Eye is presumably resting in some hidden retreat.

I was interested to see the cat-like pupil in the Old Dogfox's eye in this crop - a detail that you can often only see when it reflects back as eyeshine.



Last night, I noticed the Chipped Vixen sniffing about on the back lawn, consuming some raisins or birdseed. Suddenly she flinched and looked towards the hedgerow. One-Eye emerged; he pays her little attention, at least as far as I can see, but she seems distinctly submissive towards him. They both searched the garden for a while. Surprisingly, my mother saw the Old Dogfox with the Survivor Vixen this afternoon! One is inclined to wonder how this rather tangled situation is going to sort itself out.

As far as I know, the two big males have not actually met each other since the Old Dogfox returned. I sometimes hear foxtrot screams after dark, but it is impossible to know who is fighting who, or even which pack is involved. They are loud enough to carry a considerable distance, and in any case might well merely be the result of family quibbles over contested food.
__

Water has become a prized commodity as the temperature continues to stay relatively low. Heavy frost day after day has left much of the countryside looking as if it has been dusted with snow

Good walking for the dogs...



...but dozing on a warm carpet afterwards is essential



One last comment for today - I was walking home from the local shops with Christmas shopping and noticed a little bird bobbling its tail on a roof top. T'was a grey wagtail - actually the first time I've ever seen one here in winter, and another one was perched in a nearby tree. It may be a surprise to no one that I don't often take my 500mm lens around the shops so...opportunity missed

However Words was luckier recently