More moose

Moose appear in my writing a lot. They are such a large part of life up here, and we see them everywhere: In our yards and while driving down the street, in grocery story parking lots, on the trails, at the park and even in school playgrounds.

This mama moose visited our yard a few days ago. She was with last year’s calf and she was pregnant, too. Notice how full her belly is? She’ll be giving birth within the next few weeks.

Moose1

(Don’t you love the look on her face? As if she’s ready to speak. And oh, how I wonder what she’d say to me.)

Now that spring has arrived and the trees are beginning to bud, green is shooting up all over the place and the moose are in a bit of a flurry, snacking out all over town. Because, imagine it: The luxury of green in their mouths after having eaten bark and twigs all winter. Probably, those buddings taste as extravagant as chocolate, and the rich and expensive kind, too.

IMG_0095

Hundreds of moose roam Anchorage in the summer. There’s a cow that lives around our neighborhood and often visits our yard, especially in the fall when the crab apples ripen. For the past two years, she’s had two calves with her. This could be her, or it could be another moose (it’s very hard to tell them apart, you see). We feel very protective of our moose, as if they are part of our neighborhood, part of our lives.

This moose had only one calf with her, from last year and almost fully grown. I call these teen moose because they move with such awkward jerkiness, as if they are not quite sure what their bodies are going to do next.

IMG_0107 (2)

(The yearling moose walking across our yard with an insolent expression upon its face. Doesn’t it look just like a teenager? All it needs is a hoody.)

I love seeing moose around our house. It’s an odd juxtaposition. We live within the city limits, on a dead-end road next to a bike path. We are within driving minutes from Starbucks, REI, grocery stores, etc. Yet we are frequently visited by these very large animals that live, for the most part, hidden among us.

IMG_0091 (2)It reminds me that the wild lives inside us all, that in a sense, we all share the same heartbeat, the same pulse. And while I often see moose while running trails, I feel a special kinship toward city moose. They sleep in our yard, peer inside our windows, leave their droppings near the doorstep. Like the rest of us, they are simply trying to get by.

IMG_0088 (2)

(Look closely at this picture: She has her tongue out. I think she’s telling me to put the camera down and get the hell out of “her” yard.)

After I went back inside the house, I stood at the kitchen window and ate my lunch while the moose and her moody teen ate their lunch, and it was strange and yet comforting to know that we were so close and yet, still worlds apart.

26 thoughts on “More moose”

    1. You and Queen Midget should come on up! But make sure it’s summer, okay? Winters, while beautiful, are also very, very dark and very, very cold (which is why we try and head the hell out for part of the winter, lol).

      Like

  2. How wonderful! They seem gentle and benign … maybe they’re not, but they look it. All we have around here are deer, wild turkeys, and the occasional fox. I’m told a bear or two now and then, or a coyote.

    Can you ship a few moose down south? 😜

    Liked by 1 person

    1. They do look so easy-going, don’t they? But they can be moody. I’ve been charged quite a few times, and once in my own yard. The mothers are very protective of their calves. I’ll send a moose down your way (imagine a moose ambling down the AlCan Highway, hee, hee). P.S. I love coyotes. We have them up here but I’ve only seen them a few times. I saw many in Tucson. They move so gracefully, like shadows.

      Like

    1. HI, Carla! Moose are the best. I love the way they walk, their knobby-knees lumbering and jerking. I feel so happy when I see them (except when it’s an angry mama moose, hee, hee). I’ll send some moose energy your way, okay? OMG, they sell moose nugget jewelry here in the tourist shops and yes, they’re actually made out of real moose nuggets.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I think it might be the same moose that was hanging around the house when you were here (or wait, was that a male?). No matter, a moose is a moose is a moose (and they probably think that we all look alike too, hee, hee). Cheers and have some great weekend runs. (P.S. I just finished a cooking binge. I made spring rolls for the first time. So exciting. I think I’m now ready to be on “Chopped.”)

      Like

    1. You should move to Alaska, Julie, and you’d get to see moose and caribou and bears and heck, I even saw a very fat porcupine when I was running today. But no dinosaurs, lol. Cheers and have a great, great weekend (it’s almost, almost here).

      Like

  8. Aaaah so cool! And what personalities coming through! Thanks for sharing pics of your local wildlife. Around here, all we’ve got are a few greedy squirrels setting up camp under the birdfeeder…and a renegade chipmunk living in the crack in our foundation…

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Showing my ignorance here, but I’ve never seen a moose without antler! So I guess I’ve only ever seen pictures of males.
    How cool to have them in your yard.
    We get possums, and while you might think they are cute, they are as annoying as all get up. Soccer on the roof at 3am anyone? Grrr.

    Like

  10. Showing my ignorance here, but I’ve never seen a moose without antler! So I guess I’ve only ever seen pictures of males.

    How cool to have them in your yard. We get possums here. And while you might think they’re cute, they’re as annoying as all get up. Soccer on the roof at 3am anyone? Grr.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. OMG, Sandie, that is too funny. Only males with antlers.

      We don’t have possums. Don’t they play dead? I guess in your case they just play soccer, eh?

      Cheers, thanks for visiting and take care.

      Like

    1. Yeah, they have moose in Maine and I think many of the New England states. They are indeed cool and majestic animals. Last year I got between a male moose and a cow during rutting season and oh my! I had to climb a tree to escape. That male moose was frothing at the mouth. It was scary.
      Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Awww, what a beautiful post! I’m used to seeing moose with antlers too. (Only in pictures. Not in my yard like you.) If I’d seen one without them before now, I’m not sure I would have known what kind of animal I was looking at. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah, the moose with antlers get all the attention, lol. Last year we had a dude moose that hung around the yard but he left when he began to get his rack (how funny that for moose, rack means antlers but for a woman it means boobs). Cheers, thanks for stopping by, and take care.

      Like

Leave a comment