Friday, October 23, 2009

Moosely True


click on pictures to enlarge

It is now dark by 7:00 pm. That is normal for this time of year... but I, for one, miss the long and light nights of summer. With early darkness come a few problems for those of us who live in the country and have dogs. One of those problems is porcupine that begin to move at dusk. Then there is the neigbourhood skunk who wanders about at night - usually not on our acreage I am thankful to say. And now there are the moose that seem to have taken a liking to our land.

A couple of nights ago the dogs were going "insane" barking up a storm. My husband went out to see what was the problem, only to encounter a huge moose. He got the dogs inside the garage, then came to get me. By that time, the moose had gone around the side of the house into the front yard.

We have a verandah across the front of the house, so we went outside and there she was - with her BABY... so sweet. We stood and talked to the mommy for about 5 minutes before they moved on and walked down the driveway. It was so dark we couldn't see them any longer (and I couldn't get pictures. They were just at the edge of where the light fell.).



This morning the dogs were barking furiously again - at 8:30 am. When I looked out the studio window, they were chasing this moose, which is a different moose, because she does not have a baby with her. So... I got the dogs in and ran for my camera. By this time she was on the road, so I am shooting the pictures from about 12 feet below her position. The sun is just coming up and hitting the grass and bushes behind her, while she is still in shadow.



Here you can see she has moved into a place where her ears are lit by the sun.




This is just before she jumped the fence on the other side of the road to move into the bushes. Moose are generally very shy and will leave an area where there are people and animals. However, these moose chase my dogs, and stay long enough for me to talk to them. Our neighbour's boy was complaining a few weeks ago that he couldn't go out on their driveway to shoot basketballs because the moose was there. Imagine! You can't play because of the moose!!! :-)

These tales are moosely true. Have a great weekend everyone.

7 comments:

Kim said...

I'm glad I clicked on the pictures to enlarge them. I love moose. Don't you think they resemble a cross between a camel and a deer?

Next time can you tell her to please come to the other side of the fence? Let her know she has plenty of admirers who want to see her better.

Lee Ann said...

It's so much fun to see the wildlife in the yard, isn't it? Wild turkeys and porcupines are our most frequent visitors, but every once in awhile we see moose. In fact a couple of years ago, my youngest son was eating breakfast before school, and I heard him yell "Moooooooooom!" When I went in the dining room he pointed out the window. There were four moose in a line trudging along the edge of the woods about 30 yards from the house.

Unknown said...

Hi Kim,

I remembered the time we were in the living room and looked out to see a moose walking along this same road just before you left the country. This one might have been a relative - or eve the same one! They are very majestic creatures for sure!

Unknown said...

Hi LeeAnn,

Wow! Four in a row! That must have been quite an experience to see 4 moose traveling together!!! It IS fun to have these times when we get to see the unusual and enjoy the wildlife that many others never get to see! I have never seen wild turkeys - that would be sooo cooooolll! Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

LOL! Love these moose stories and photos. How exciting! This does NOT happen in NYC.

Paz

Unknown said...

Hey Paz! It is really very exciting around here at times! The coyotes sound like ambulance sirens in the night, the moose snorts in the dark are quite spooky, and you don't want to come around a corner and surprise a skunk! But truly, I lOVE living in the country! It fills my soul!

Anonymous said...

These kinds of sightings are delightful reminders of our insignificance in the worlds' schematic.
It's what reminds us that we may consider ourselves the top of the food chain, but really, we're sharing that position.

I thoroughly enjoyed the photos and the story.

We've had lots of welcomed rain the past few weeks and with that comes an expanding deer population. The deer on St.Croix are smaller than stateside ones but every time I see one pop out from the bush, I feel as though I've been visited by a spirit.
Last week, I encountered the two parents with a fawn!

I just stopped my car, held my breath and waited for them to scamper up the hill.

Began breathing again, and still am.........