Drive Slowly Down Rural Roads

I saw the red fox again today. This time running along by the road near our driveway. We are getting to know each other. Across the road there is a conservancy and that must be where the zorro rojo lives. The other day I was sitting having café by the vegetable garden. The crows that have built a nest in the red pines started yelling and yelling. Since they yell a lot I didn’t pay much new attention. But then I saw why there was such a commotion. The red fox eats birds and there it was walking up the driveway. We looked at each other. Just like today. This is the same red fox that was in the back yard one night late when Ellen and I came home. That night the red fox was licking the lips and I thought, “Oh, no, a feral cat got eaten.” I didn’t say that out loud. Instead, I counted. Everyone was accounted for in the feral family that night. The deer the other night that died on the road after being hit by a car, that’s because we have built things in the way of those who live here. Today, I stopped at the end of the driveway. We looked at each other. Then the fox made its way under the guardrail and crossed the road with cars speeding way over the limit. I said, “Corre, corre, get to the other side.” Maybe maybe that was what the fox said to me, too. Or maybe that is only what I thought I heard.

Please drive slowly down rural roads.