Friday 14 April 2017

Fred Lives On

(Note: In this post, I have linked to many posts on another blog, and to one on my own. When you click on a highlighted word (it should appear in blue on your screen), you follow that link. Of course it is not necessary to read everything in those linked posts, but I think it is a good idea to at least look at the pictures.)

For some years now, I have been a regular reader of Yorkshire Pudding's blog. Like many of his readers, I particularly enjoy his great photos of beautiful Yorkshire (and elsewhere) countryside. But there is lots more to his blog, and I find his posts nearly always entertaining or thought-provoking (or both).

As early as 2009 (when I didn't know his blog yet), YP mentioned seeing foxes in his neighbourhood. Some remarkable encounters with foxes took place in 2012, but it was not until 2015 before Fred started to appear on the blog.

In the spring of 2015, he became a regular visitor to the garden at Pudding Towers. He even wrote a guest post on YP's blog, for the benefit of any other foxes who might happen to read it.
Later the same year, it was Fred's picture that won YP a first place in a photo competition. He (Fred, not YP) was already in a bad state, limping and balding.
And then, one day, Fred was gone.

But when YP took up painting, one of the first works he showed us on his blog was Fred's portrait based on one of his photos.

It was upon my request that he produced several more paintings of Fred, and I had the honour to choose one which was then sent to me just in time for my birthday.
When all my friends and family were gathered at the party, I introduced Fred to them.

I had already bought a matching frame earlier that same week, and a few days later, I gave him his rightful place of honour:


Even as I am typing this, I only have to turn my head to the right to look at the painting. And whenever I walk from one room to the other or leave or enter my flat, it is one of the first things I see. The door to the left is the entrance door to my flat. To the right is the kitchen, and I was standing in the doorway to the bedroom when I took this photo.
Once again, thank you, YP!

Fred definitely lives on.

23 comments:

  1. I would put that in a spot where I could see it most often too. It's very, very good.

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  2. This portrait of Fred is a treasure, now part of your world linking you to other worlds.....YP has a generous heart.

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  3. That's so beautiful and I know you will treasure it forever!

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  4. Wonderful painting. We had a fox who visited us when we first moved in, but he/she has since moved on.

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    1. I get the occasional squirrel, and most frequent visitors are magpies, doves and tits, but no fox will be able to climb up to my kitchen window :-)

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  5. Lucky you to have that painting. We get foxes in the garden, and a few nights ago the dogs went out for their last wee, and the schnauzer was grunting and growling around the garden, and the yorkie was yapping all around......I thought that maybe a fox had been there. Next morning my husband got the chip from the motion activated camera in the garden, and sure enough, a fox had been there about 20 mins before the dogs went out. I think they are beautiful creatures, but would prefer if they gave my garden a miss !!

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    1. The painting looks so perfect in its place on the wall, almost as if it had always been there!
      I can imagine your dogs (and you) are not too pleased to have foxes visiting your garden. But what with humans encroaching more and more on the habitat of what used to be wild animals, I guess they don't have much choice but to adapt to semi-urban life.

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  6. Lord Pudding's contest-winning photograph of Fred Fox and the painting that captures Fred are both excellent, aren't they? And I know exactly how you feel about having received the painting, as we have a painting of grapes on our kitchen wall that was given to us by New Zealand blogger and painter Katherine de Chevalle.

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    1. Thank you for popping over and leaving a comment!
      Yes, it is an excellent painting, based on an excellent photo.
      I don't know Katherine or her blog, but I am sure you are reminded of her every time you look at the grapes.

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    2. Her name in the real world is Kate Steeds, hence the blogging moniker Katherine de Chevalle (a multilingual funny). Her blog is called The Last Visible Dog and may be found at this address:

      http://www.delphine-angus.blogspot.com

      Note of connectivity: Yorkshire Pudding visited her in person while on vacation in the Pacific.

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    3. Thank you for this additional info! I'll have a look at her blog.

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    4. PS: The link does not work for me, I get the "Blog not found" message (no typo, since I have copied & pasted the link, not typed it).

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  7. If you could see me now you would think you were looking at a beetroot. I am blushing with pride and so delighted to see Fred upon your wall. Fred has gone and one day I will be gone too but there are always echoes of what once was.

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    1. You are rightfully proud and delighted, and I like what you say about there being echoes of what once was.

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  8. The connections and friendships that emerge through blogging are really special. Fred looks right at home on your wall.

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  9. Pictures can be such powerful reminders and it's good to see where Fred has settled.

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