The fox family - pretty much grown up, a successful year to this point

What a relief that all 5 kits have grown up, and so far at least, nobody has run out and gotten hit by a car. The kits seem very cautious with cars and people in general, though they know me and have accepted me. Mom (last year's baby) has raised them well, and made it through the hardest part of raising them and providing them with the food they needed to grow. Dad fox has hung around but has been much more elusive. I have known Mom since she herself was a baby just last year. The kits are roaming pretty far now and I suspect are being encouraged to go off on their own. Mom is regaining some weight and her fur is filling in better, including her tail, which was looking pretty ragged over the summer. I took these shots last evening, just before dark, hence the higher than optimal ISO settings.
1. This is Mom.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Xydt​1y

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IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Xnsy​LA

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Great series!

John from PA wrote in post #18425682
Great series!

Many thanks for commenting John.

I always love your foxes, Ian.

These are some really pretty animals.

saea501 wrote in post #18426043
I always love your foxes, Ian.

These are some really pretty animals.

Thanks Bob, much appreciated.

That's super Ian, I'm happy to see they are all doing so well. I wonder about you and your foxes often. they are a treasure few get to really experience the way we have.

Pondrader wrote in post #18426434
That's super Ian, I'm happy to see they are all doing so well. I wonder about you and your foxes often. they are a treasure few get to really experience the way we have.

Thanks Jeff, yes that's for sure, I love having this opportunity and have so many following my Facebook account to see how they are making out.

Love hearing the stories behind the images, thank you.

Thanks for that! I love telling the story and lean toward a series of pics that do that whenever I can.

Beautiful pictures!

ImagesByBill wrote in post #18426715
Beautiful pictures!

Thanks very much Bill.

Lovely set of images. Foxes are my favourite animal to watch and photograph as they are such great characters, something you can't really appreciate unless watching them up close, especially when making eye contact.

Lovely set of images.

Weja

And no I had not read the comment above first.

fma wrote in post #18427458
Lovely set of images. Foxes are my favourite animal to watch and photograph as they are such great characters, something you can't really appreciate unless watching them up close, especially when making eye contact.

Weja wrote in post #18427500
Lovely set of images.
Weja
And no I had not read the comment above first.

Thanks Frank and Weja, much appreciated. I agree, foxes do offer great eye contact, and so wary of everything going on around them. I love how the Mom fox will almost seem to be napping, but she has one eye cracked open just a sliver to see.