Fox Woman

This is my favorite Bertha Lum colored woodblock, her 1907 piece, Fox Woman. Lum traveled to Asia in the early part of the century and won a grand prize in Japanese printmaking. Lum loved to borrow from Japanese folktales. This print illustrates the popular story of the evil fox spirits who would appear as women from time to time. The shadows give away the true nature of the being.

I have not seen a fox for almost three decades in Fallbrook. The last one I saw was a beautiful red fox one twilight.

We are currently without dog, Maddie having been sent away for remedial training and a possible new life. Creatures are now starting to explore our previously forbidden realm.

The other night Leslie heard something on the upper deck and saw prints the next morning, strange prints indeed. The creature left a partially eaten avocado.

This morning she saw a gorgeous fox in the corral. Lithe and brown and diminutive in size, it moved with an unmistakable grace. Or maybe it was a spirit woman after all?