Serene Sunday

Moose are a new addition to our lives. A few weeks ago, we were heading out to watch the elk rut, and we were distracted from our quest by a wonderful sight. A mother moose was feeding in a pond. She'd put her snout under the water, holding her breath for a really long time.

And then she'd come up with water draining out of her mouth.

While she fed in the pond, her calf fed in the grass, keeping his rump toward us.

This was an occasion when I was almost relaxed as I photographed moose. I had a long lens, and I was up a steep embankment from them.

Back in our neck of the woods, I've known that we have a big bull moose in the area because my trail camera had captured his image as he walked toward our little slice of the world. Our moose population is pretty young, and this was one of the bigger bulls I'd seen near our home.

My neighbor called just before we headed out on a recent evening hike to say that a big bull moose was headed our way. I went out first, without the Labraduo, to see if I could spot him. I did spot him but he was deep in some willows and there wasn't much light. Do you see him in this photo? I think it's sort of like a Rorschach test. What does your mind make out of that messy image?

After I spotted the moose, we took the Labraduo for a hike away from where the moose was. We kept our eyes peeled for moose but we didn't see him in the forest. It was a normal peaceful walk.

I love the quiet of our little world and the wildlife that shares it with us. 

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Sunday.

Glorious Start of Summer

It's the most glorious time of the year here. Just last month, it was still snowing. Now, we play in fields of wildflowers.

All that late snow made the wildflowers stunningly brilliant. I've found dense patches of tiny orchids, called "Fairy Slippers" unlike any I've seen before.

Some are tall, and some are short. I noticed one short one flourishing in the shade of all its brethren.

It's the time of year for velvet antlers. I loved the wry "look" that this yearling moose gave my camera.

Our moose population is growing so fast. We now have a male 2-year old, a male yearling (this one), and a mother with a new calf. Yet another mother-calf pair lives a short distance away. It's incredible how fast their population has grown!

Even though the days are so long now, I find myself wanting even more hours in the day because there are so many things that I love to do!

I hope that all of you are enjoying your worlds, whether you are at the start of summer or the start of winter. I know that I am!

A Moose Trio Joins our Photoshoot

As we rolled out the door this morning, I reminded myself repeatedly to watch for moose because I'd somehow overlooked two moose yesterday, riding right past them. We rode up to the high area where we watch the sunrise, and there were no moose anywhere in sight!

So, I left my bike by the side of the trail, and we started our usual routine - a combination of playing, training, and photographs. The sunrise light was rich.

I played with the light some, facing to the east so that Shyla was like a golden ghost.

Then, when we were deep back in a pocket of the forest, Shyla's eyes got very wide, and she fixated on something behind me.

It's not easy for me to "look over my shoulder" due to my surgically fused spine. However, her wide eyes convinced me to turn my whole body around to see what was behind me. I expected to see a hiker or a runner but I saw no one.

So, I went back to training. I had Shyla in a "stay" (and note that she still didn't look at me but looked behind me).

And I called her to come to me.

She almost bowled me over, running straight into me with wide eyes.

That convinced me to look behind me again. And guess what I saw...

Not just one moose, but THREE. From left to right, it was "Lefty" (the yearling calf), this year's calf (the light colored one), and Mama Moose. They seemed utterly oblivious to us or else not interested in us. These photos were not taken with a long lens. The moose were very close to us.

What you can't see is that they were very close to my bike, which actually was a major consideration in this situation (yup, I'm completely crazy about my Meriwether).

I stopped taking photos, and I told Shyla to heel. We went to the south of the moose trio, behind a series of boulders, so that Shyla would be invisible and wouldn't anger Mama Moose. I kept talking in a conversational voice so that Mama Moose wouldn't think I was trying to ambush her calf.

We made it out to the trail and walked away from the moose trio. But my bike was still near them. I really didn't want it to be trampled. So, I had Shyla scale a tall boulder, and I had her do a "down-stay" on top of it. My logic was that she was safe from the moose up there, and I had tremendous faith that she wouldn't break a stay, especially not with moose around.

Then, I walked meekly back in the direction of the moose, trying to figure out what to do. I just stood still, pondering the problem of my bike being next to three moose. Well, my problem was solved for me.

Something spooked them. It wasn't me - because they paid no attention to me. They cantered, so powerful and huge, into the forest enclave where Shyla and I had been when we first saw them. I quickly walked over and took my bike. I rode to Shyla and released her from her "stay". Needless to say, we got the heck out of there.

Some of my friends have started calling me a "moose magnet". They might be right.

I thank my lucky stars that we got out of that sticky spot without even being charged. I have to wonder what made the moose come so close to us. When they arrived, I was talking loudly to Shyla, calling out cues like "SHYLA COME". I think the moose must have known that we were there, yet they chose to forage within 25 yards of us.

Let's hope next week involves no moose encounters! Happy Friday!

Sunshine, moose, and mountain lions!

Sunshine, finally!

It makes everything look more beautiful.

Shyla and I enjoyed playing in the forest in the light of the rising sun.

On our way to see the sunrise this morning, we managed to ride right past at least two moose without me seeing them. The Runner wasn't far behind, and he spotted them. Shyla and I were lucky that they let us pass. I'm sure that Shyla was aware of them but she has proven that she is *never* going to chase a moose. She wants to stay as far away from them as she can after our scary experiences.

The Mama Moose, this year's calf, and last year's calf ("Lefty") have been living in a small radius around our house. I see the cavities in the snow where they sleep each night. Can you imagine being able to sleep in the snow in sub-freezing temperatures night after night? Amazing.

The sheer number of moose that I've seen so far this autumn and winter (at least different six individuals) close to our house is incredible. I find myself wondering if our state will end up regretting their decision to introduce moose here almost 40 years ago. The population has gone wild, primarily because they have no natural predators. A mountain lion can't take down a healthy adult moose.

A comparison of how small a mountain lion is compared to a moose explains why. Here's a photo of a mountain lion passing my trail camera.

Now, here's a moose passing the same camera, mounted in exactly the same place. The moose absolutely dwarfs the mountain lion. I cannot imagine a mountain lion killing a healthy moose.

Our wildlife authorities have repeatedly refused to help wolves establish themselves in our state. Wolves, working as a pack, do prey on moose. The moose population explosion in our neck of the woods has me pondering what will happen to our ecosystem in the future. Will the moose eat every last aspen and willow? I'm sure that there will be cries for more human hunting of moose but, personally, I'd prefer having wolves here.

Back to less serious stuff - Shyla and I truly enjoyed sunshine today - after a couple of gray days. It was super cold but the sun rays were warm. The moose didn't reappear so we had a very relaxed outing.

It was my favorite kind of winter day - below freezing, sunny, and a bluebird sky! The sun made the snow crystals glitter.

I hope that all the people in the path of the east coast snowstorm can find a moment to see the beauty in the snow and to enjoy the way that life slows down when Mother Nature takes over. It's a more regular occurrence here - one that we've learned to enjoy, tucked warmly next to our crackling fire.

Happy Thursday!

Moose, moose, and more moose!

Shyla and I headed out this morning into a gray day with light snow falling. We were playing with her new toy, making all sorts of noise when she suddenly looked really hard behind me. This is becoming a theme!

You can guess what she saw - a moose who was browsing in a nearby aspen grove while Shyla and I played raucously (I'm amazed he didn't flee). I happened to have a long lens with me so I told Shyla to stay while I took a few photos. This young male was eating aspen branches.

A closer view shows that he is not our resident yearling male who has only a left antler ("Lefty"). This guy has two antlers. I'd guess that he's a yearling based on their size.

He didn't seem concerned with me although I was a good distance away. I was using the equivalent of a 600mm lens and cropped these photos.

He took a bite of an aspen twig...

... and then he departed, as the snowfall grew heavier.

Shyla and I went back to our playing and training. We played some games with a new toy. She really likes it, and it fits in my pocket. It's perfect for having handy to use as a reward for good behavior.

Then, I planned out a route to avoid the bull moose we'd just seen. However, it turned out that another moose was in the same area and my route didn't avoid her. She was a female moose with no calf.

We stopped well short of her, and Shyla sat next to me while I took a few photos. The moose barely glanced in our direction. She was busy eating shrubs.

Then, she started moving away from us on a diagonal, and the yearling bull appeared out of the forest to move with her.

In the interest of safety, I decided it was time to turn around, away from the moose pair, and retrace our route. Interestingly, this winter is the first time we've had any moose around who aren't mothers with calves. It seems as if the other moose (non-mothers) are far less concerned with us than the mothers. It makes sense but I won't bet my life on it.

When we were nearly finished our crazy moose-dodging route, I spotted a controlled burn that was a mile or so away from us. It was so big that it had made its own cumulus cloud!

The Forest Service was burning today because a snowstorm was supposed to hit today, helping control the burn. So far, we've had only the snow squall that arrived while I photographed the moose. The forecast says that the main part of the storm will arrive tonight, later than expected. Hopefully, it will douse anything that's still burning!

Things to Smile About

Some clouds have gathered on the horizons recently. At dawn, we get about 5 minutes of sunshine before the sun rises into the clouds for the morning.

The clouds color the sunlight a deeper red than usual for those five minutes.

The clouds could be a metaphor for the winter-blues that have suddenly descended onto me. My training with the Duo has plateaued, and my spine is hurting. But, the good news is that the regimented sleep schedule has prevented migraines for a pretty long time. I guess I have cause to smile because those migraines were an awful and frequent plague over the past couple of years!

To tell the truth, writing my posts often helps me to see the glimmer of good in life even when my mood is blue. It helps me to be grateful for the gifts I've been given.

Another thing that made me smile is that I managed to access a couple of trail cameras that are in areas that now have very deep snow. They showed our yearling bull moose on a long walk in late November. Someone suggested that I should name him because he looks so distinctive. I thought that "Lefty" might be a good name, since his left antler is his good one.

When he passed the first camera, it caught his attention. He stopped to stare at the dim red glow coming from it. I'm glad he didn't decide to ram it with his antler!

Lefty didn't notice the next camera. He sniffed an area that bobcats and mountain lions mark. It's fascinating that the scent mark left by one species tends to interest all the other species as well. After sniffing for about 20 seconds, he went on his way.

Lefty is still in the neighborhood. Our burgeoning moose population blows my mind. I spend my time in the forest always scanning for moose. On one hand, I don't want to surprise one. However, on the other hand, I enjoy seeing them from a distance so I can stop and watch them. I guess I'm curious about them but scared of them at the same time!

Happy Tuesday to all of you! May the blues stay away from you!

Shyla - The Moose Alerter

You are used to seeing photos of Shyla galloping through the forest, looking like a perpetual motion machine.

On the day that we left for the desert, she and I were on the trails. She was a little ahead of me. I looked up, and she had planted herself in the middle of the trail in a "sit". Her ears were perked up, and she looked intently at something ahead of her. This behavior was completely novel for her.

So, I followed her gaze, and I saw a trio of moose at least 40 yards ahead of us. I quickly turned around, and Shyla and I backtracked.

I think that she'd been badly scared by two recent incidents, one of which I wrote about here. I didn't write about what happened on the very next day. I'd decided that Shyla needed to stay very close to me until the moose situation had calmed down so I had her in a "heel", which means that she was directly behind my bike on a singletrack path.

As we descended the very same route as we'd just climbed, our local mother moose barreled out of an aspen forest directly at Shyla. Shyla easily evaded her but looked terrified. I was very lucky that the mother moose didn't take out her anger on me because I couldn't have evaded her so easily. That happened the day after Shyla and I were seriously charged by the same mother moose.

I'm guessing that those two events combined to make Shyla extremely wary of moose. I would love if her "default behavior" when she senses moose in the future is to sit stationary. Only time will tell if she repeats that stellar warning system for me.

I was reminded of that event because I checked a trail camera the other day that showed the trio of moose actually fleeing! Mother moose was first.

This year's calf was not far behind.

And last year's calf, a single-antlered bull, was last in the trio.

Here's a better look at last year's calf.

I was left wondering what on Earth would cause moose to flee! They certainly don't flee when faced with me and the Duo. I wonder if they flee if they sense people before the people see them. Given the time of day in the photos above, it might have been a hiker who startled them. I am sorry to report that my trail camera gave me no insight into the cause of their flight - no one else passed it all day long.

Here's to Shyla learning to "tell" me when moose are around!

I had my test today, and I don't know the results yet. The results should help guide the next decisions. Thanks for all the great thoughts and comments. My sincerest hope is that this will somehow resolve by itself. However, after 2 months, that's starting to seem like a pipe dream. And, I must admit that it's a level of pain that I can't tolerate while remaining happy.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy our winter wonderland. I'm hoping my winter adaptation kicks in soon. I've been so cold since we arrived home that I've barely been able to enjoy the sights but they've been beautiful.

Life in the Forest - Including a Moose

It has been an odd week. Suddenly, before the snow fell, this structure appeared on one of my riding routes that is rarely traveled.

When I looked inside, I found this. I guess it was a Hare Krishna temple.

For some reason, the builders of the "temple" put it just inside a private property boundary. Someone had dismantled it or it had collapsed on its own within a few days.

Or perhaps this guy took it down...

We have at least 5 different moose in our neck of the woods now. It's crazy how fast they've colonized our area. One year ago, glimpsing a single moose was amazing! Now they seem to be everywhere!


Happy Friday.

I hope that you all get some rest this weekend. I know that I need it!
And maybe Shyla needs it too!