A Skulk of Foxes
As summer wanes, the season of fiber arts at the farm ramps up. In the last week, three of the gift shops I supply (North House Folk School, Duluth Folk School, and Ely Folk School in Minnesota) all sent in large restocking orders. The studio has been a-buzz with making kits for needle felting and tapestry weaving, as well as making adorable felted critters. One of the all-star favorites for felted animals are foxes.
Why foxes, you might ask? In the animal world, sometimes familiarity breeds contempt: like the omnipresent squirrel raiding the bird feeder, the voles eating the veggies in the garden, or the racoon causing havoc in the rubbish bin. Animals that are more elusive are also more alluring, especially when they also exhibit traits of playfulness. While as a farmer who raises chickens, foxes aren’t my personal favorite animal, but when far away from my chickens, I do enjoy their beauty and antics.
Foxes are also deeply symbolic as trickster characters. They remind us not to take the world too seriously, that the unexpected might be just the right answer in a sticky situation, and that cunning can often win against brawn and force. One of my favorite stories to share when holding Zoom classes where I teach how to make these adorable little felted foxes is the Norwegian folk tale of how bear got a short tail. In this rendition, fox is the character who puts bear in his place when his vanity at having such a big, bushy, beautiful, black tail gets out of hand.
In case you’re new to needle felting, it’s a fun, easy, and remarkably therapeutic process, where wrapped wool roving (a material that has been carded into a soft strip) is repeatedly poked with a sharp needle laden with barbs along its tip. The barbs entangle the scaly fibers of the wool, causing them to snarl together. This process of purposeful snarling can take a pile of carded sheepy fluff and turn it into an adorable, palm-sized critter like a fox in just a few hours. It truly is a process of magic all on its own!
During class or when recording tutorials for a kit, not only do I enjoy sharing how to make our project but also interesting tidbits about foxes. For instance, some students have heard that a female fox is a vixen, or that a baby fox is a kit, but few remember that a male fox is called a todd. Remember the fox character in Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound?” What was his name? Todd!
Another funny trivia bit is the group name for animals. While these aren’t particularly scientific, they are very entertaining. We can have a parliament of owls, a college of cardinals, a murder of crows, a glimmering of hummingbirds, a scurry of squirrels, or a round of robbins, but what is a group of foxes? Interestingly, it’s a skulk because they can go skulking about in the night, planning their mischief.
In classes, it’s also fun to hear the fox stories that students have. Here are a few of my favorites.
“One day, a bunch of friends and I were out hiking for the day. We had to cross a little stream, so our shoes were wet. We stopped for lunch on some rocks by the river, and my friend took off his socks and shoes while we were eating, hoping they might dry. All of a sudden, a fox come running out of the forest, grabs one of his socks, and heads for the hills. He dashed after it in his bare feet, but the fox was long gone. He had to hike the rest of the trail with only one sock.”
Here’s a similar-but-different tale.
“We had just docked our boat and were unloading it, when there comes this fox trotting onto the dock. It went right to the boat, took one of our boots, and ran off with it. We never found the boot again! What do you suppose he wanted with a boot?”
I’m really not certain what the fox was planning to do with either a wet sock or a boot, but I do know what the fox wanted in my favorite fox story to tell!
We were fishing on Teal Lake, which is not too far from our farm. It was a sunny summer afternoon—a rare treat away from farmwork. A momma duck and her trail of little fluffy ducklings were paddling along, following the edge of the shore. Suddenly, she starts quacking very indignantly, and paddles further away from the shore, little ones following her lead. When you looked very carefully at the shore, there was a fox all crouched for the pounce, watching them intently. I could almost see it licking its furry lips. Momma duck kept her distance, then returned back to hugging the shoreline after they had safely passed the waiting fox. No duckling dinner that night, so better luck next time.
If all this talk of felting foxes sounds too fun to pass up, I have an upcoming class you can consider. To learn more, visit https://northstarhomestead.com/product/needle-felt-a-fox-sept-16/
What are some of your favorite fox stories? Do you have a fox visitor where you live? So long as they keep away from my chickens, I’m happy to admire these magical, if skulking creatures of the beautiful wild. See you down on the farm sometime.
