Why do they come and where do they go?

This winter, we were fortunate to have a few visitors. At one point, we counted 18 of them. They came in the night unannounced and did not leave until most of the snow melted. Now, let’s try to set the stage a bit. We are located in an area that just happens to have a small stand of trees just above us. The trees are primarily spruce with a mix of some firs. In the past, we have had a family of foxes take up refuge in the tree line and at one point, we were introduced to their kits. This year, we did have two foxes spend the winter with us in the trees, and I have a funny story about our visitors. As you may or may not know, we had a lot of snow this past winter. It felt like every day, it snowed. Our winter was the third worst in terms of snow totals and I can tell you that I spent a lot of time getting to know my snow blower by its first name, Troy. The snow from our roof falls directly behind and in front of the house and eventually, rose to just under the windows. One morning, TC and I got up and walked into the kitchen and found we had a visitor peaking in. Yes, a fox was standing on the bank, looking into our house. Now, I’ll take the blame here, when the fox saw me, he hightailed it out of there. 

As the snow fell, we were blessed to have a group take up refuge in the trees this year. No, they had not been here before. Throughout the winter, they would come out in the early morning and feed on the tree branches, and late in the day, they would do the same. Occasionally, they would decide to take a road trip and as we watched, one by one, they would work their way past the neighbor above us and go to wherever they went, always returning late that evening. It was fun to watch them prepare to travel. One by one, they would come to the edge of the tree line and look both ways and then they would run up the trail they had made. We got accustomed to waking up each morning and seeing some of them moving around feeding on the tree branches. As the snow started to melt, we saw them start to branch out and come closer to our home. It was really fun to watch them. 

Then the snow started to melt and we began to see fewer and fewer of them. I remember being away and TC sent me a text with a photo of them investigating the grounds close to the house. The snow continued to melt, and one morning we woke up and as I had done all winter, I immediately went to the window to see my friends and they were gone. 

Wildlife can read the seasons and instinct tells them to move on. Now, my question is why did they pick this stand of trees and where did they go?

We had grown so accustomed to seeing them each morning and evening and overnight they had moved out without a forwarding address. 

I have a lot of tales during this time, but I remember this one in particular.  The snow was melting and we had decided it was time to break out the Weber grill and cook some hamburgers. As I was walking up to the shed where I keep the grill, I looked up to the tree line and noticed that one of them was watching me intently. I put the burgers on the grill and watched as his nose was up in the air sniffing and snuffing away. I wanted to invite him to join us, but I knew that was not possible. As I started back to the house, I looked back to see him gone as quickly as he had shone up. 

You get attached to wildlife when they spend time around you, but you have to be careful to remember that they are wild and you need to keep your distance. However, it was extremely fun to watch them all winter. When they left, there was a void and I keep getting up each morning and looking up there hoping to see them again, but to no avail. I hold hope that maybe they will return this coming winter and once again, I’ll be able to watch the mystery of now you see them and now you don’t.