The Food Chain

We began last Sunday by looking at 3 baby groundhogs out Zalie's window. It was the first time we'd seen them and they were so cute walking through the grass and occasionally popping their heads up. After Church, we come home to see a fox lurking in the grass.

This is off our deck. He's at the very back of our yard.

That fox stayed there until Monday afternoon when he finally got all 3 groundhogs. Lincoln and I watched the fox, named Joshua by Lincoln, hunt the groundhogs. Lincoln felt a little sad for the mommy groundhog (who had left her den about a half hour before), but I explained that that's what foxes eat and Lincoln was ok with that. It was like watching the Discovery Channel, but in my backyard all day! The biologist in me was so happy, and it made laundry day so much more exciting.

From the base of the deck, just outside our laundry room.

Then we saw the fox lounging in the grass on Wednesday and Thursday. He just nestled in a ball and rested in out backyard. We hope he keeps coming back, because it sure is exciting to have a fox out the window when we eat lunch.

a close-up

We also see the mommy groundhog in the backyard. She's too big for the foxes to kill we think. There are also lots of deer, rabbits, squirrels, and birds in the backyard. We weren't expecting such wildlife in our urban Northern Virginia home, but we love it!