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While I was walking the dog the other day I saw a red fox laying under a tree. Arnold, my dog alerted me to the fox’s presence and I guess the scent of the dog caused the fox to watch our every move. Even from twenty yards I could tell the fox was was prepared, if necessary to flee. He didn’t. Arnold and I walked on and the fox went back to enjoying the warmth of the early morning sun in peace.

Seeing a red fox like that in the suburban setting in which I live is rather unusual. In seven years of living here I can count the number of times I’ve seen one on one hand and still have fingers left over. I found myself thinking how difficult it has been for the fox to adopt to living among humans and all the high power machines we rely on. And yet he has. He has taken what life has thrown his way and dealt with it. While the world around him isn’t one he would prefer to live in, he has managed to find a way to do so. I guess that is true for all of us. We find a way to adapt to what life has handed us and, from time to time snatch a moment of peace in a world we had no hand in creating, even in the presence of a pair of predators.

Nancy Cole