Sand Tale of A Red Fox Trail

photos by Jonathan Schechter
Tawas Point State Park, Michigan
Feb 5, 2012

Winter weather has been skewed in southern Michigan, but the lack of shifting snows on the
shores of Lake Huron give new opportunity to explore the cryptic lives of many species: the
 red fox among them. Tracking and the art of seeing (perhaps I should say understanding
 instead of seeing)is pure pleasure along the  shoreline of Tawas Point State Park. These red
 fox tracks led from a nearly obscured den in tall grasses and shrubs on the leeward side of a 
dune down to the very edge of the shifting floes of ice.  Perhaps the fox went for a drink.
Perhaps he went to sit, watch and listen to the ice. Only the fox knows. I suspect it was both.
 But the tracks also went to a  fresh pile of feathers.
The fox slept with a full belly; the story in the sand told me so.