Photographer learns the 'foxtrot' in Superior

Jed Carlson, Superior Telegram, Wis.
·2 min read

Jan. 17—SUPERIOR — Can someone ever truly "play" with a fox? I don't know, but I came close on Saturday morning.

It was Jan. 13, and when I opened the curtains I was glad to see that the inches of snow that we were promised never actually materialized. The wind whipped the snow that we did have on the ground up into the air. You could tell it was going to be one of those cold days.

I sat down on my couch and flipped on the TV. I was a couple of minutes into the NFL pregame coverage on ESPN when something caught my eye outside. It looked like a dog was running down the middle of the road.

It was alone and not on a leash — which I thought was weird. Then another creature joined in running down the road. Upon further inspection, I realized they were a pair of red foxes.

My immediate thought was to grab my camera, but when I returned to the window, they were gone. I sat down and went back to the pregame show. Less than five minutes went by and I noticed a car driving by very slowly.

So I looked a little closer and realized the foxes were sitting in the backyard of the house across the street. I hit my car starter and grabbed my camera bag, while I tried to keep an eye on the pair as I put on my boots. I've photographed foxes before and know that I might only get one shot.

Apparently, things were different on Saturday. They must have been in a good mood. I got in the car and turned out of the alley as they slowly walked down the block to another alley. I moved the car very slowly down the alley as I rolled down my window. The first fox quickly jetted away from me across the street into a yard and I lost sight of it.

The second fox, well, clearly liked the camera. As I followed the pair while they ran through snowy yards, the second fox seemed to be playing with me. It would wait until I got a couple of nice shots, and then run out of sight, only to pop out again when I looked lost.

While one fox was totally out of sight, this one would walk along the sidewalk while I drove alongside it. It seemed as though it was even posing for me. It would wander into the nice light and wait for me to snap a few frames.

After about 10 minutes of playing paparazzi to the foxes, it was time for me to go. I didn't want to wear out my welcome, and truth be told, it was getting really cold in my car. Hopefully, I'll have another run-in with the fox duo when it warms up a little.