Sad morning

What is usually an enjoyable ride in to work this morning was marred by the sight of the fox mentioned in my last entry lying dead in the road across from the little stand of trees where I used to see him from time to time. He'd been hit by a car in the night and the crows were already at work. Driving up the road, I'd hoped it was a raccoon or a possum, neither of which I would have had an emotional attachment to. Unfortunately, it was the fox, his magnificent tail spread straight out behind him. I know it's odd to form an attachment to a wild animal that I'd only gotten fleeting glimpses of from time to time, but he was a treat I looked forward to seeing, something that I watched for daily, a wild mystery to be wondered at when I did see him. His untimely death under the tires of someone's car has left an empty place that will take time to heal, and the joy of my morning drive will be dimmed for a bit. Hopefully, another fox will take his territory. It must have been a productive area for small rodents, because he was a large, healthy fox with a gorgeous red coat and that aforementioned magnificent tail. I wonder if the people in the nearby houses will notice his loss with the probable increase in the mouse population. They may notice the mice, but they probably won't link it to the absence of the fox. The only good thing to come from his death will be meals for the crows and ravens for a bit, and the mice, his former prey, will nibble on his bones for the much-needed calcium they will provide. Nature wastes nothing.