Marian Pierce: Guest Post
Through a series of guest posts, I am exploring Nature Connection and how different people experience and connect with the natural world.
In this post, wildlife enthusiast and author of Small Tom's Big Adventure, Marian Pierce, shares how she befriended a family of wonderful foxes.
Miss Fox
I have loved wildlife and animals for as long as I can remember, but in March last year, something was about to change my life in a totally unexpected way.
I was furloughed from work and spending more time at home in the garden, like most people, enjoying the sights and sound of nesting blue tits and other wild birds, then one evening in late March, I had a visitor arrive at my front door.
A fox, looking very bedraggled and wet, who sat and looked through the glass door at me, so I went out with a bowl of cat food for it. It was quickly eaten, and off the fox trotted. I didn't expect to see the fox again. The next night the fox re-appeared, nose pressed against the glass, with a somewhat pleading expression on its face. So I went out again and placed down a bowl of cat food.
Nicky
This went on for several nights. I was, by now, busy looking up and researching foxes. What did they eat? Should I be feeding them at all? Was it a male or female fox? So many questions! I became fascinated with them in a way I have never done before, and I needed to know more about them.
I found out she was a vixen when she bought her cub with her one summers' evening. The utter joy of having this wonderful experience seemed to make something click in my mind, and I started to write little short stories about the foxes, as by now, there were quite a few coming for supper!
I posted photos of them onto The Self Isolating Bird Club Facebook page, founded by Chris Packham and his team, and suddenly Tails from the Foxy Café was born. People's feedback on the stories over the next few weeks was so lovely and encouraging I wrote more and more.
Whilst writing, the foxes were still coming each night, and by now, I also had a fox in the back garden who was regularly visiting as well. To see them in an urban environment is something I had not seen before. Yes, I had seen the odd fox slinking past on the other side of the road, late at night, but never seen them quite so close or seen their interactions with each other. I watched their behaviour over the summer months; their characters developed, which gave me even more inspiration for my writing stories. It became therapeutic for me, and I decided to get the stories published one day.
In late September, a small brown fox cub arrived with the rest of the fox family. They bullied him, and they stole his food; he was starving and very thin. I suspected he was a runt of a litter or an orphan who had latched on to their family group.
I decided to intervene, something I know you probably should not do, but when it's happening in front of you, on your own doorstep, it's tough to turn your back and ignore it. It broke my heart to see him so submissive and thin. So I gave him his very own bowl of food, and he has never looked back. He's now full-grown and is a confident fox who still pops by for his supper most nights.
I wonder if I would have survived if I had not intervened. Who knows? But I am so glad I did.
Shortly after this happened, I wrote Small Tom's Big Adventure. This hungry fox cub was my inspiration for this particular story, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has encouraged me and spurred me on.
Feeding these beautiful and intelligent animals has given me a sense of purpose in a time of uncertainty. It has filled me with more joy than I could ever imagine, and I feel so very privileged to have a glimpse into their lives. Foxes have it tough; let's make their world a happier and safer place to be. We share this world with such beautiful animals, we need to remember that, and we must treasure every one of them.
Marian, 2021
Duke, a new visitor to the garden
Small Tom's Big Adventure is available to purchase from Shookbop and published by Stour Valley Publishing. It is the first in my series of Tails from The Foxy Café, there are several more already written, and my next book will be out later this year, so keep your eyes peeled!
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