Many of you reading this blog will have heard us mention how many stunning reader photos we receive in the Nature's Home magazine inbox every day. The only slightly disappointing aspect to receiving so many beautiful photos is that there is never enough room to fit them all in a single issue, even if we dedicated the entire magazine to it. Celebrating the wildlife and other nature you’ve seen and captured on camera is the theme of this brand new weekly blog post: photo of the week. So without further ado…
I’m one of those people that enjoy winter. Feeling a bit chilly connects me to the natural world, and experiencing wildlife on a windswept estuary or snow-capped hilltop gives me a different kind of appreciation for wild things and where they live. The downside to winter for me is that my house is old and cold. I often blog about my home and the wildlife I share with it, which is why this photo of the week piqued my interest.
My toilet is situated down a long, dark, sometimes icy corridor. I think (and hope) it’s the closest I ever come to experiencing my mother’s childhood recollections of an outdoor toilet in the garden of a Sheffield council house. Without the chance wildlife encounters I’ve had while seated on the frozen throne, I’d feel much less fond of that part of the house. On Monday, perched in the dark, the shrill call of a vixen shattered through the toilet window from just outside. Oddly, it didn’t startle me, and she continued for a few minutes calling regularly. Foxes are busy at this time of year, and the female’s call announces her receptiveness to mating.
Image courtesy of Nature's Home reader Karen Diton
I’ve chosen this image because of that Monday evening experience, and for the lovely bit of behaviour on show, in the snow, between the two foxes.
Great shot Karen!
Come back next week to the Nature’s Home blog for another wonderful reader photo.
Jack