I had had lunch at Pashytten, one of the old fox trapping huts, as I was out to check on a fox den. The weather was extremely mild on this very first day of October and I enjoyed the noon on the side of the hut while listening to the waves hitting the beach. A few days before Young Sound had been covered with a nice layer of ice but some rough wind had stirred it up. I was tempted to take a nap in the tiny but cosy hut but decided to look at the fox den. In spring I had seen an adult fox there but when I last visited in beginning of July there were no signs of activity. Some hundred metres before the den I saw two Rock Ptarmigans in their white winter plumage and as I dug down in the bag for the long lens, I discovered more and more. Snow drifts were spread among the red rocks and the birds were resting in small pits in the snow. I counted a total of 12 birds and got an opportunity to photograph most of them both with the long lens and with a wide angle as I moved slowly between them. It was excellent stuff and the snow acted as a big fill-in reflector for the back-lit birds. It was hard to leave them but I had to get home and cook dinner. At the fox den, I sampled a few droppings, and on the way back I found a Musk Ox carcass. It was well eaten and there were many wolf droppings around it. Hmm - I wouldn't mind another photo session with, if not 12, just a wolf or two...
