I'm very pleased to have Siegfried Matull doing a guest blog today. He and his wife Gretel live on The Sea Ranch and delight in seeing and photographing nature.

"For many years my wife Gretel and I have been admiring and photographing Gray Foxes, which now show up year-round on our property. Our biggest surprise occurred when, for the first time, we saw a Gray Fox climb up into a tree.

"Gray Foxes are the only members of the fox species that can climb up, down and through trees. They have relatively short legs but they are very powerful. One time we watched a Gray Fox in a tree, slowly descending BACKWARDS down to the ground. We have watched several times how Cats also climb backwards down from trees in the same way the Gray Fox performed.

"On another occasion we were also tremendously surprised when a Gray fox was descending down a steep branch, supporting itself by holding on with its tail around the branch.

"Surprises never end in our beautiful Mendonoma Coastal area!"

A big thank you to Siegfried for his guest blog and beautiful photos.