Foxes for me are elusive; I seem to have a hard time finding them. My luck changed when I got to see this fox, and I got to see it mouse (hunt). I had seen the fox wandering towards the road so the tour stopped to watch and snap a few photos. It crossed the road and then froze, head cocked to one side, listening. The fox was listening to a small animal (probably a mouse or vole) moving around under the snow. It cocked its head from side to the other. Then, in a fluid movement, crouched and lept into the air and came down paws first into the snow in an attempt to catch the animal it had heard. In this case, the fox was successful and in two bites it had consumed what it had caught, and wandered off.
The earth shadow (dark blue band in the lower left) and the Belt of Venus (the pink band) were amazingly strong on this particular morning. The pink color is due to the backscattering of reddened light as the sun rises or sets. I was the only one out at Castle Geyser listening to it steam.
These trees sit in the runoff from Black Sand Pool near Old Faithful. The trees grew for many years before the runoff from the hot spring changed course and drowned the trees, killing them. These trees have been here for a long time and will continue to stand. Now they stand in silent testament to the ever-changing landscape of Yellowstone.
