In July our friends from NY joined us for "moose looking". I thought at first we might be skunked, but then nearly drove into one while gawking at something dark in a field. My friend shouted "Look! Look!" I immediately focused on the road, braking unceremoniously while a tall, handsome moose trotted quickly across the road and into the woods. Soon after that as our friends returned to camp, we headed home, passing through territory covered earlier. That's when we saw a bull I named "Big Bill". He was gorgeous! I couldn't wait to call Billie and tell her about the awesome moose she just missed. >sigh<
By Labor Day the sightings had slowed down but picked up again in September and October. I normally stop making trips by mid October in order to tackle projects neglected during the summer. We don't bother to go much after hunting season ends, because we rarely see more than two or three additional moose. (I figure I'd hide too if people shot at me!) This year we saw six in less than a week though. Probably gas prices and family obligations are all that's kept me from charging off into the wilderness two or three times a week!
If we were located farther north I'm sure all our numbers would be much higher and believe me, I keep thinking about moving! There's no place I'd rather be than where I could look out my window while drinking my morning coffee and watch moose!
This year the day after the hunt was over we headed north to a favorite spot where we watched a cow, calf, and bull materialize in the morning fog. I shot about 50 frames that might have been fantastic if the fog ever lifted. Unfortunately the moose left before it cleared so I will have to "lift" some of the fog by digital means! As it is, some of the photos are semi-decent as far as I'm concerned. My husband did get some excellent video footage however!
The next day I saw a cow and calf crossing the road. (different cow, calf, location) The cow started across, but with cars approaching from both directions she did what moose do best... she stopped in the middle of the road and waited patiently for her calf to follow, while a half dozen "innocent by-standers" waited patiently in cars. The calf was nervous and only managed to get near the edge of the road for a few seconds before bolting back into the brush. The cow gave in and ambled after her baby. These photos, like many others I took this summer, were little more than snapshots as I was three cars back and shooting through my windshield.
Two days later we returned to the same area and found a another, larger cow by herself, emerging from the woods. She hung around for about twenty minutes, posing for pictures before finally coming up over the banking directly across from where I was parked. At first I thought she was coming to see us, but at the road's edge she veered to her left, walked down the road a few steps and crossed directly in front of our van!
All in all, it was a good "make-up year" with plenty of great moose sightings, giving us a new batch of photos to share and stories to tell. We even saw a mother bear with twin cubs!
Winter is just starting to close in on us here in southwestern Maine. We escaped the first snowfall of the season that fell on several towns around us yesterday, but I'm already looking forward to spring. It promises to be memorable for several reasons: We planted over 400 spring bulbs this fall, so the yard work should pay off. Then, I've planned a couple of fantastic early spring trips -- one for myself and another for hubby and me. AND I'm looking forward to finally starting the tours again in the spring!
In the meantime, I'm going to order oil, do a bunch of holiday cooking on our new range, and put my feet up for a while... Mom always told us. "If it's worth having, it's worth waiting for!"
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