I peered into the hollow in this ancient ash tree near the stream crossing. At first it was too gloomy to see anything, but then as the eyes got accustomed to the darkness, the red-brown fur on the remains of a fox could be seen.
With mammals in the wild, it is rare that you actually see them. You see rabbit droppings, signs of squirrels feeding, bark damage by deer. The thrill of actually seeing a wild animal is all the more exciting for being rare.
It's a mystery though. Was the fox tossed in there by some secret hunter with a shotgun? Did it become ill and sensing the end was near, crawl into a quiet place to die? Did the tree swallow it up as Old Man Willow nearly did to the hobbits in Lord of the Rings?
We may never know!
A flash photo shows up the red fur of a fox
Location of this ancient ash pollarded tree shown below
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