Moosies!

Thanks again for all the wonderful birthday wishes! We are all full of excitement here!

Yesterday morning Abby and I woke Mom up a little before 6am so she could take us outside, and Mom was still half-asleep and wasn't really paying attention when she opened the back door....

I started barking and Abby did a U-turn and came right back inside (I followed right behind her). Why? Um....


That's right! Momma Moose with a little baby moose. Mom and Dad saw this mom and baby in the neighborhood about a month ago, but we had never expected they'd come pay us a visit.

The baby is a real youngster - definitely born just this year.

Mom was very worried that Momma Moose would take issue with us being around her baby, so Mom kept us inside - where we barked at them, and they just sort of flicked their ears at us. I guess we're not super-scary sounding! Heehee.

Momma Moose, could have been a different story, though. Last year Dad was trying to get a single female moose off the property (moose and dogs really don't mix well) and REALLY pissed her off when he threw a snowball at her - she got so mad she came around the front and was charging the front porch. Like seriously charging the front porch - if she could have figured out a way up, she probably would have. Anyway, angry moose are SCARY!

So, instead of our usual frolicking in the yard, Mom and Dad hustled us off on our walk, hoping that when we got home, Momma Moose and Baby would have moved on to greener pastures.

Well, we got back from our walk to discover they had moved - to the front yard!

And they seemed to be quite comfy....


Heehee. We scratch just like that!

And Baby Moose was pretty cute!


Dad was a little worried that Momma and Baby had decided to make this their new summer home, and tried to gently urge them to leave by turning on the sprinkler (from the safety of the porch). Let's just say that Momma Moose was not impressed. Or even remotely disturbed.

Whaddya think, Mom? Should I be worried about this flying water?

Naw. Just take a seat; this place has nommy trees, fresh grass - it's perfect.

Okay. Sounds good to me!

Momma and Baby hung around until about 2pm, when the garbage truck came by - I guess it was a little noisy for them! But now when we go out, Mom's Very Careful about checking for Momma and Baby!

See, never a dull moment here!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Note from Mom: I like seeing moose - I think they are amazing animals, but they scare the hell out of me. They are surprisingly fast, and when you've got a mother with a very young one, I'm not certain how they are going to react, and certainly they can be deadly to humans and dogs if they feel their young are being threatened. Luckily, this one seemed to be pretty mellow; she has been around the neighborhood for most of the spring, and didn't perceive the dogs as a threat (not that I gave her a chance to get worried - I kept the girls far away from them). So it was very cool to see the moose, and the baby really was a cutie but I'd just as soon they move on to someone else's yard! If you're interested in how to co-exist with moose, check out this article (http://www.xyz.net/~khltkbr/projects/moose/coexist.html).