https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRB4c4rUtdGZxbQA7yWA7DuKmsuxcEZQABrCv38mK3caa/fox-head-040804-381x345.jpg

Photographs are wonderful things. They can be such a powerful tool for recording one's life and acting as an 'aide memoire' for reliving moments that would otherwise drift into the obscurity of a failing mind. Alas, all too often they are consigned to a dusty album on the bookshelf, or an unopened folder on your Google Drive, or worse still a battered box of fading prints left untouched in the attic. What better vehicle than the permanency of the blockchain to save these memories and relive the moments in time each picture represents. And what better blockchain to use for this than Steem. So here I begin my Memory Box... --- ---

The Memory Box #1 : Jasmine the Fox

People sometimes ask me how I got to use a fox's head as my avatar. It all dates back to 2004, not long after I moved to my homestead in wild west Wales. I did some work for a local fishmonger. Instead of money changing hands he gave me five chickens instead. He had offered fish as an alternative, but the chickens were alive and the fish were dead. The hens seemed like a better long term investment than the cod or salmon. So began my poultry keeping adventure that has continued on and off to this current day. --- I was a novice to the chicken keeping game, but I soon learnt lesson #1. Chickens attract foxes. Foxes like chickens. Chicken don't like foxes. So I kept my chickens in a nice, secure ark with an extended run that gave them plenty of space to peck around, be happy and lay eggs. I even secured the perimeter with extra buried netting so the foxes couldn't dig their way into the run and terrorise my feathered friends. --- Every evening I would go out at dusk to check on the chickens and lock them up safe for the night in their solidly built ark. One evening peering out from some nearby bushes I caught sight of a fox. The fox stood intently watching its next potential meal. I gave the fox a cold, hard stare with as much menace as I could muster. The fox stood its ground. The next evening the fox was there again. This time it emerged from the bushes and stood in full view. The following night the fox came even closer. I let it be. --- ![fox-040804-400x300.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUvERdDzcj7oFjBQwE8WCySmraq8gCFLSNEaSqzv4GM3Y/fox-040804-400x300.jpg) --- This dusky game went on for about a week. Each evening the fox came a little closer, then a little closer still, until it was almost in touching distance. But I didn't reach out to touch it, nor did I throw stones, shout loudly or chase it away. To get so close to such a beautiful creature with its shiny coat and glinting eyes was a privilege. --- Soon we became friends, with an uneasy peace between us. I knew the chickens were secure in their house. The fox knew there was no chicken dinner. But every evening when I went out to put the chickens to bed, the fox was there waiting. The fox was female so I named her Jasmine. Jasmine became so familiar and so at ease with me that she began to follow me round the yard like a pet dog. But she wasn't a pet, she was a wild animal. ---- Then one day she didn't appear. And she never came back. I hope she wasn't killed by a hunter. I hope she met a Mr Fox and together they raised a happy family of fox cubs. Happy endings are always best. --- --- So it is in honour and memory of Jasmine that I use her head as my avatar on Steem. Foxes forever ! Pennsif --- --- [ images and graphics by @pennsif ]