Sunday, May 7th 2006

There is a moose who traipses through my backyard on a regular basis. He/she leaves a calling card of "moose nuggets", but never shows him/herself when I'm awake and watching.

I had another bout of insomnia, and was up until midnight. I opened the back door to let Sedona out one last time before heading to bed. At that time of the evening, I don't leash her - despite our unfenced yard - because she never goes more than a few feet from the back door . I happened to glance to the right and toward the trees along the back of my yard, and saw a huge black shadow under the streetlights. I quickly coaxed Sedona back into the house before she spotted the midnight marauder. It's not the best photo, due to extreme low light conditions and distance. But you can see how he/she kneels to get closer to the grass for grazing.

A couple of days ago, while walking Sedona on a gravel road that winds through the woods near my house, she stopped and alerted to something in the wood line. I immediately adjusted my focus to see what she was looking at. Imagine my surprise when the dark shapes of two moose came into sight! At that point, I had two choices: go back the way I came - about a mile and a half - or continue on and hope the moose were more interested in nibbling on tree branches than stomping me and my pooch to death. I chose to continue on my way, but I picked up my pace a bit (speed walking, and dragging a snarling dog behind me)

The moose came out of the tree line and stood on the gravel road behind me. I kept looking over my shoulder at them. One was a bit smaller, and less stocky - obviously a yearling. And then they started walking after me. As much as I wanted to break into a run (and as fast as my pulse was racing), I continued to walk quickly. The main road was only about 150 yards away and it was my goal to reach it safely.

The duo continued to shadow me, sometimes within 30 feet of us. They seemed curious; certainly not angry. If they were angry, the could have been upon us in a split second. Just before I got to the road, they climbed over a berm and headed off into the trees again. That's when I had the adrenaline rush and raced all the way home. It was the fastest 3 mile walk I've ever done in my life.

The next day (Thursday), Rachael and I were heading off to run some errands, and saw a pair of moose in the approach strip here on base. I drove that same gravel road I had been 'chased' on until we got within view of them. From the safety of my truck, we both took some photos. I have no doubt that this was the same pair who were curious about me and Sedona. When I downloaded my photos, I realized that the smaller moose was a male - evident by the small nubs growing on his head where his antlers will be. Mama may also be pregnant. It would be wonderful to see a couple of calves show up over the next month or so!

We drove to North Pole to have lunch at the Pagoda, before continuing on to Eielson AFB and a visit to their BX (Base Exchange). Sometimes there are better sales at the air force base, so we try to go a couple of times a month. We picked up a few things, and then decided to drive down to Birch Lake. Birch Lake is about halfway between Fairbanks and Delta Junction. There are gorgeous homes on the shoreline of Birch Lake. The lake is still covered in a thin layer of ice, but it's certainly not strong enough to walk on. The Alaska Range was visible and beautiful, so we stopped at an overlook to take a few photos. (The photo above right is a panoramic and is 800 pixels wide)

On Friday, Rachael and I walked our usual 6 miles in the morning (we've been very good about keeping up this walking routine), and then decided to take a drive over to Creamers Field so she could get some bird photos. We were surprised to discover that most of the birds have already left for their summer nesting grounds. A few pairs of cranes are still hanging around, and a handful of geese, but other than that, the fields are quiet. Since we had our cameras, we opted to take a scenic walk along the Boreal Forest Trail.

The trail isn't totally complete, and there are still portions which need boardwalk installed to bypass the boggy areas, but with a minimum of mud on our shoes, we managed to do the entire loop (another 2 miles). Despite the lack of foliage, it was a very peaceful and pretty walk. It's going to be less of an enjoyment once the mosquitos transform from the huge 'bomber type' insects to the smaller, and more voracious stingers. The big mosquitos fly more slowly and at least give you get a chance to swat them away before they latch onto you.

Seasonal Pond - Creamers Field

After our walk along the boreal forest trail, we crossed the footbridge and decided to walk the seasonal wetland trail. This trail leads to the bird banding station (which was closed when we walked), and past the seasonal pond.

The seasonal pond is formed when the temperatures warm up enough for the snow and ice to melt. The resulting water runs into this lowland area, thereby flooding it. The ground beneath is frozen for a good part of the early spring/summer season, which prevents the absorption of the deepening water. The pond is a watering hole for migrating birds, as well as a breeding ground for frogs, insects and unfortunately mosquitos. By late June, the ground beneath will have thawed enough for the water to be absorbed. It is really something to visit this area at different times of the year and see the changes.

On Saturday, we decided to take a drive to Chena Hot Springs. On the way, we passed the yak farm, and as we drove by, we thought there black dogs running in the pasture with them. A closer look revealed that it wasn't dogs at all - but babies! I pulled off the road so we could take a few photos of these new additions to the herd. They are so cute!

We always see moose along this road, but not on Saturday. In fact, we made it all the way up and back, and didn't see any moose until we were only a few miles from home. On one side of Chena Hot Springs Rd. stood two moose - I'm going to guess it was a mama and her baby. On the other side of the road was a bull moose. He was nibbling on birch branches and didn't bolt off when we stopped the truck and started photographing him.

The mosquitos were really bothering him - landing on his 'nubs' and biting him, I'm sure. He kept shaking his head from side to side in an attempt to get them off of him. I can't even imagine how frustrating it is for an animal to deal with these pests. As always, it was a joy to see such an awesome animal while out and about.