Jet Sees His First Moose!

The day started normally.  Woke up.  Started the coffee.  Put the leash on Jet for his morning walk.  Step out the door.  We stopped dead in our tracks.  SCREAM!  Well, not a real scream -- more of an internal scream.  Jet started barking -- real barking.  What caused all this hysteria?  A moose in the driveway.  This is pretty damn close -- too close for comfort, so I dragged Jet back in the house.  He would have to 'hold it' until Rick could help.  I've been a bit scared of moose ever since my friend Nancy was trampled by one about 6 years ago.

While Rick took Jet for his morning outing, I bravely went on the deck and snapped some more photos, never getting too far from my front door.

That house is across the street, where Murphy the 125 pound labradoodle lives.  He and Jet love to play together in the snow.  It's really fun to watch them.

I thought she was leaving at this point, but she was just reacting to Jet's barking.

Here, she's heading back to those yummy willow branches she was working on.

No zooming on this photo, just to give you perspective on how close this moose is to our house.

Spring Moose Sighting ...

... in our backyard!

After dinner last night, Rick looked out the window and spotted a big mama moose and what looked like a 2 year old calf with her.  I took these photos out the window, so they aren't very clear.

Here's the baby.  Pretty big, isn't it?

I couldn't get a great shot of the mama, but you can see her head on the right side of the tree.

These are the first moose we've seen around the house in months.  It never ceases to amaze me that these enormous creatures are just wandering around the Anchorage bowl!

A Moose Visits

Yesterday, while pouring my second cup of coffee in the kitchen, I glanced up and what did I see out the window?  A moose butt.  I think he/she heard me getting the camera ready and looked up.  Cute, huh?

He/she munched on some tree stuff for quite some time.  Enough time for me to get several pictures.  These were all taken through my kitchen window.

I did not see a mama moose, so I think this was either a yearling or a 2 year old.

Moose on the Loose!

I was recently whining about how I haven't seen many moose this season. Then, suddenly a moose appeared in my yard yesterday morning.  We think he/she spent the night somewhere on our property and we caught it getting a bit of breakfast.

 

  

  

The last photo shows the moose exiting our driveway and heading across the street where our neighbors have a nice pile of willow branches ready to be munched on.

Of course, I forgot to set my white balance before I started taking pictures, so I had to do a bunch of editing afterward.  Not so pleased with those results.   Oh well.

Later that same day ... the moose was still hanging around the neighborhood.  I took this photo through the kitchen window.

Sunday Moose

We woke up this morning to discover that a moose had bedded down for the night on our property. Rick said he had seen the tracks last night when he walked Xena at around 10:00. This moose must have found a comfortable spot for a good night's sleep. We are happy to accommodate her. At least we think it's a her. There's no sign of antlers and males would most likely have some small antler growth by this time of year.

I took the first photo as we left the house on our morning walk. I snapped the second photo as we were returning from our walk, about 45 minutes later. I guess it was time for her to find some willow for Sunday brunch!

Moose on the Loose ... Again!

Once again we were visited by a moose very close to the house. Here are a few of the pictures I took through the windows.

MOOSE!

We woke up today to a moose bedded down right behind the house. When I say RIGHT behind the house, I really mean it. These pictures were all taken through the kitchen windows. I cropped some of them, but I left the window frame on one photo, just so you can see how close the moose was to the house.

She started out laying down, but soon arose to forage for breakfast - ok, I'm just guessing here, but she did start eating a willow branch right away!

Once she started moving, she just kept going and I feel fortunate to have gotten any pictures at all. It's amazing how stealthy these huge animals can be. Within minutes, she was continuing her breakfast in the neighbor's yard!