Spring Has Sprung!

Hello and welcome to my seasonal newsletter! It’s officially Spring, and my gardens are a mess, though not due to any neglect on my part. You see, for the second year in a row, a vixen and her significant other have decided to cohabitate in my garden. Iris rhizomes: destroyed. Poppies: trampled. Tulip and daffodil bulbs: I don’t even want to think about it!
Last spring, April 10^th to be exact, five beautiful kits emerged from this same den. We watched with delight as they cavorted—complete with tulip stems in their teeth—in what could only be described as a game of fox keep-away. For almost two weeks we took videos and pictures, then one night, they disappeared. A bit of research later, and we discovered that red foxes have several dens. When their abode becomes too smelly, they move on. Why luck smiled on our family and they chose to have their babies in our garden, we will never know. We have Tully the Dog keeping watch after all.

When the fox family departed last spring, my husband filled the hole, packing as much dirt as possible into the empty space tunneled through the garden and under our garage. Last fall, the foxes re-excavated their domicile. When they didn’t take up residence, we again filled the opening. This happened on at least four occasions. Finally, in January, it was time to let nature take its course. This is when a vixen begins her 49 day or so gestation period, followed by two to three weeks where the kits and vixen stay safe and warm underground. Meanwhile, the male hunts and leaves food at the entrance of the den. Less than two weeks from now, we hope to see four to five new kits. The pictures in this newsletter are from last year’s brood, but I will be sure to update my Facebook page (@NicoleElizabethKelleher) and Twitter feed (@NKelleherAuthor) with new photos and videos of their antics.

• Speaking of the 3^rd book in the Aurelian Guard Series, tentatively titled The Orchard Guardian, I’m on my first round of rough draft edits. I’m always amazed by how much of the story changes in these early stages. The protagonist is feisty Princess Anwyl of Sophiana. You’ll get a sneak peek at her in The Queen’s Dance. Anwyl is a bit of a know-it-all and completely infatuated with another one of the Royal Aurelian Guards, Warin. And poor Warin, the biggest Casanova in Aurelia, wants nothing to do with her. Unfortunately, his queen insists on throwing them together whenever possible.
• I’m also making progress on a completely unrelated novel—a political thriller with elements of romance (of course!) taking place in the year 2037. Who would have thought that jumping back and forth between medieval times and the future would be so interesting? This book is completely unrelated to the Aurelian Guard Series, but it is a story that was screaming to be written.