aerianya | When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter

I sprang from my computer to see what was the matter

Then run back in as fast as I can

Holy Cow! (or bull or whatever it was)

Started eating the trash leaving us without word

My son said "hey man I gotta clean up that mess!"

See sometimes a moose is a very bad guest

But he posed for us nicely before taking his leave

and walked down the street when offered romaine leaves.

Okay I'm no poet but couldn't resist.

We missed a whole lot of great shots and have some pretty hysterical stories about cramming three people through the back door when it started coming toward us as we were having our wildlife photography experience.
A story for another day along with the one the grumpy guy was telling the kids about me concerning a moose in my garden, high heels and a broom....

Current Mood: hyper

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OMG that was cool. LOL. *BG*

A little hairy when he came to see what we were doing out there.
Mostly he just made a moose sized mess in the yard. I'm also quite sure there will be other evidence of his visit...lol

Oh Alaska, I remember it well, waking up to find a moose was eating our trash and the dogs (2 toy poodles) thought they had to defend their territory. As I recall moose are freaking huge and scared the heck out of me when seen this up close. You got great pictures and I can easily visualize all of you trying to get through that door at the same time! The high heels and broom however...

He (or she we didn't look too closely) was quite young and very curious. Still hooves are hooves.
Good thing we don't have pets. Moose have been known to trample dogs in the yards. He must have been out there for ages before we saw him. The only reason we did was my daughter went out into the garage to check her e-mail and he was standing at the glass door looking in at her.
After all these years we still get all excited about a moose in the yard...*G*

He (or she we didn't look too closely)

Do lady mooses have antlers? I thought only males grew those.

Sad to say I never really paid attention. I always just looked for calves to see where the mom is. According to this only males have antlers, I sometimes get facts about moose and caribou (reindeer) mixed up.
Caribou evidently are the only deer that male and female have antlers.
I heard somewhere that the male reindeer lose their antlers earlier in the winter, making all Santa's reindeer female...lol

I didn't actually realize that female caribou have antlers. Huh. That's interesting!

I heard somewhere that the male reindeer lose their antlers earlier in the winter

All male deer (including elk and moose) do, they shed them right after the rut then start growing a new set. That's why the bull who was in your backyard's were so small and nubbly, he's just started growing next year's set.

But I like the idea that Santa's Reindeer are female. :D

All male deer (including elk and moose)
Moose can keep them till Dec or so, it was a pretty young moose and the antlers had no velvet so I'm thinking he hasn't lost this years yet.

Oh, interesting. I couldn't tell from the pictures if his were velveted or not.

Cool!!

I wonder why he hasn't lost them....though I expect the shedding is triggered by some sort of testosterone surge or something, and if he's a youngster he probably didn't get to mate.

Yeah, hard to tell from that, and one was broken off some too.
He was quite a character.
I think the loss of antlers may have more to do with the change in diet, but not really sure. There are still plenty walking around with racks at Christmas time. One of the favorite pictures here is a moose with Christmas lights in late Nov
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/moose/story/9484450p-9394676c.html

Hee!! That's an *awesome* article!! Thanks so much for the link!

I was going to tell you I think it has to be a male to have antlers but see that you already found that out. You're right about them not liking dogs - I remember my step Mom trying to grab the dogs and stick them in the closet - we lived in a quonset hut and she was scared the darned moose would try to come in to squash the dogs. My only really funny moose story is when we were in Denali Park walking to the rest stop with my step Grandmother, we saw some "droppings" and then (cruelly) told her they were fresh moose droppings and then threw a stick in the bushes ahead of her; she got so scared she peed her pants. What horrible children we were.

It's amazing what you can't remember when you don't really care to. I'm pretty sure they can't tell the difference between dogs and wolves. That's why the jump out of the bushes to trample sled dogs on the trail
and I see you were living up to your name.lol

::flaily hands::

It's a *moose*, in your *yard*, eating your *trash*!!!

::collapses and dies::

Thanks so much for posting those pictures!! That's like the coolest thing in the history of *ever*!!

::looks at pictures again:: ::flails more::

(And I love your doggerel to go with, including your son's response. :D)

It happens more than you'd think. It is actually pretty early for that. well not early, but we don't have much snow yet and that's what usually drives them down from the hillside.
It's the first time we've had one stand still long enough to grab th camera and then pose for us. He stuck his head over the railing of the front porch but I was using auto shot natural light because we were so excited and the railing stole the light and focus when I switched to a flash he lost interest and wandered off *phooey.

Oh, I want to live somewhere where I get wildlife in my yard!! ::squeals at the prospect::

Montana...only a few years to Montana. I can hold out...

I bet the flash was a little startling, but I love the thought that he was looking at y'all looking at him. And that he *posed* for you!

The flash didn't seem to faze him, just make him curious. He came to us when I turned on the flash. The pix using natural light were way too grainy.
We though he may be charging, but he just wanted to see what we were up to.

::dies of jealousy::

You'll have your turn soon...

OMG - amazing! A moose being moosey with the rubbish, and so close too. I am so so jealous - and the brilliant photos you got - wow!

Now if there were only pics of the moose, high heels and broom incident, life would be perfect *hg*

No pictures of that I am happy to say. We were getting ready for church when I looked into my garden (very small garden) and a moose was out here laying in the middle of it pulling up my beets and onions and spitting them out into a pile. I was so mad I grabbed my broom, I was just gonna run it off. The grumpy guy grabbed me around the waist picked me up off the floor trying to wrestle the broom from me with the other hand and I'm kicking my high heeled feet( at this point they were sorta just hanging on my toes because he is some bigger than I am and they weren't on the floor anymore) trying keep the broom from him (like that baby thing you know?) to get away to rescue what was left of my garden. He kept asking what I thought I was gonna do with that broom.
I told him I was gonna beat a moose rug if it didn't vacate the premises immediately.
The kids really seem to like that story, especially the younger ones that don't really remember it.I don't know why.

LOL - that's priceless - I've got the best mental picture of you now... and boy did that moose have a lucky escape! Remind me never to make you wild at me *g*

You may want to add some to that picture. Staying home with my Mom the last few months has enlarged my *um presence somewhat..lol

Nah - there can never be too much of you!

::squishes you::

Aw, thank you but my jeans zippers beg to differ (poor suffering things).*G*
I needed that squish this morning. I accidentally deleted a Christmas graphics post and have to repost sometime today. * le sigh

IT'S A MOOSE!::squeels with delight:: Sorry, couldn't help myself*g*
Reminds me of the time Hubby and I were walking down the street in a small town near Lake Placid and heard clattering behind us. We turned to see 3 very large deer running toward us. Not quite the same as a moose in your yard but it's the closest I can get.
It's still one of my burning desires to see a moose up close and personal and your pictures have added fuel to the fire. Thanks for sharing!

They make a lot more noise on pavement than you'd think. We hear them clattering down the streets sometimes. Usually they just leisurely wander through the yards eating left over summer flowers. But sometimes they kinda get caught unaware when the school traffic starts.
I missed a great shot of him eating the dead flowers in my hanging pots (which are still waiting to be taken down btw) while we were trying to get out the front door.

How very cool!

The only moose I see here are in a Provincial Park, on our way to and from the cottage between May and October. They're always knee deep in ponds, eating vegetation off the bottom.

Your moose have entirely different tastes. Heh heh.

Although I have no idea what our moose eat in the Winter time. *g*

"Your moose have entirely different tastes. Heh heh."
I'd say they had no taste at all, but the trash? That's a first for me, I have never seen that behavior before. They are usually in my garden, but no garden this year. No frozen peas or left over foliage except for the hanging baskets, lilacs and dead rose on the porch. He would have had better luck next door but they would have been mean and shooed him away.

Did you have a lot of vegetable matter in your garbage?

Very strange indeed!

BTW, a cow moose has no antlers. This is no bull! LOL! =>}

LOL! I'm not surprised it gave you a shock! Funny for us though. :oD

We were running from door to window to door trying to get good pictures and the grumpy guy was laughing and blocking the door when we were trying to back up into the house when he first started to approach us.But they are really BIG you know?
I think he just wanted to find out what the fuss was all about.
It's also possible someone had been hand feeding him because he really seemed to be looking for a hand out.