Close Encounters of the Moose Kind

Tonight after an excursion to Denise's home for the second time to get information about her 2006 tax return, we returned to my house, and upon getting out saw a moose munching on the tree in the front yard.

We were scared.

Ok, it was just me that was scared.

But I've heard of the stories regarding innocent bystanders and mean ass, charging moose, and ain't gonna be one of THOSE suckers.



So we stayed in the car and watched it for a moment. Nigak was on the roof and was paying close attention to the moose as well. We watch it jump on it's hind legs and munch on the high branches. Slowly, it wandered off, but kind of looked like it was hanging out in front of my door. Just to be safe, we decided to back out, go around the block and enter the alley. That is where we saw them.

Yes, two of them! One was a baby and mother aside, they just chomped away at the bushes. Denise put her brights on to see if they would react, and also so we could watch them better.

They mosey'd their way across the street, mother leading, and baby right behind. We decided to follow and watch them since they seemed to not be upset that we were hanging around for a while.

We watched as they meandered through the neighborhood, spooking just a couple cars. Luckily for everyone, there were no close encounters! The moose stopped at the corner of Medfra and 14th to dine a little more. Denise tried to get a picture of them, but it was just a little too dark. Instead, she got a picture of a cop car driving behind the moose. It's funny how large these creatures are, and how often they are dismissed or not even seen.

It was a good thing the bus saw them, though. The brakes of the bus scared the baby and both retired to the other side of the street for dessert. We warned the two passengers that exited from the bus about the duo calavanting around the neighborhood.

At the same time I wanted to warn them of the potential danger ahead, Denise got the information out much faster. "There are moose ahead!" The passers-by were grateful of our civic courtesy and moved the other side of the street to give the moose more grazing room.

It was beautiful to watch these wild animals roam around our city, as if to say, "I remember when you could see around this land for miles." I have to say it put me into another time before humanization existed and wondered how long it would be until we were standing in the midst of something no longer recognizable.