Saturday, February 27, 2010

Our Pet Moose, Lucy

This is pretty indescribable... Good thing I have pictures! :)

A moose has quite literally taken residence in our backyard. Over the past few weeks, we've spotted her from time to time in the driveway, or in the woods. But now she lives in our backyard. She moved in earlier this week. I'm not exaggerating.

Last night she slept directly next to the house outside my bedroom window, a little under eight feet from my bed. She drinks from the water that collects in the tarp covering our firewood (which is stacked up against the house beneath our family room window). She lumbers by, literally inches away from the windows. She even walks up to the windows and peers inside, her head taking up the whole window frame, her nose almost touching the glass (she actually did touch the glass with her nose this morning).

As she peered in at me yesterday, I stood so close that if the windowpane hadn't separated us, I could have reached out and touched her. Easily. (Not that I wasn't prepared to scream and run at her slightest movement)

Here are the pictures, and although they don't do her size or the experience of being so close to such an awesome creature justice, they are definitely worth clicking on to view full size.





And now for some other notes on the matter... We DO NOT feed, pet or approach her in any way. She doesn't seem to fear people, but we haven't tested that theory by actually going outside to her. She's a wild animal, so if she doesn't fear people that's dangerous both to her and any humans she might encounter... Our dog lives mostly outside, but we've had to keep him cooped up inside lately. Last year, when she was younger, Lucy stopped by from time to time (we believe it's the same moose) and during one encounter she seemed to get along with the dog just fine, but we don't want to risk it.

Oh, and so far she doesn't seem to be amused by any of my Rocky & Bullwinkle jokes.

In other news, I'm editing.

And finishing up the tribe-building contest.

32 comments:

Kat Heckenbach said...

Thanks for sharing these--how very cool! I've never had a moose in my yard (then again, I live in Florida...) but we used to have an opossum that ate from the cat bowl outside, and a squirrel that lived INSIDE our wall once.

Great pics, btw!

Aye said...

If you give a moose a muffin........

I only have deer hanging around my house, with a 'coon here or there.

Odiscei Ov Heros said...

And I thought it was bad when there was a horse roaming free around here . . . lol. That's pretty cool. Tell Lucy I said hi. :)

Odiscei Ov Heros said...

Hehe, oops. Wrong account again. Above post by Barieah :)

Unknown said...

Wow, that's awesome, kinda lol. By the way, good luck with the last week of Tribe Building.

Author Scott Appleton said...

I love wildlife... but there aren't any moose in my part of CT

Unknown said...

That is the coolest thing I've seen all day. Freaking awesome!

Storyteller SilverLoom said...

Oh, my! What a neat experience! She is an amazing creature. Thank you for sharing the pictures!

Jonathan Maiocco said...

Wow... like... wow. Thank you for posting that! (That's all I can think of to say... it's just too amazingly cool...)

Anonymous said...

Cool. I've seen a few Moose pretty close hiking here in Montana...

Rachel Kimberly said...

Fun! It definitely looks like she's planning to stick around!
It's a good thing she's not a bull moose... my uncle is an avid Northwoods camper, and his stories of vicious moose are kinda scary. (One time a bull moose attacked the tent while people were in it! Thankfully, no one got hurt...)

Anonymous said...

Hey! thats really cool! No moose where we live

ElizabethMarieKauffman said...

Wow. That is amazing! And funny!! :)

Gracey said...

AWESOME! Although I'd be scared to go outside. We have rabbits that live under our back porch and have babies in the spring but that's all the wildlife that actually lives by our house. So far, in our neighborhood (which is pretty rural), we've seen some foxes, coyote, rabbits (by the dozen), a vole, a rattle snake, and a bear. We've only seen the rabbits up close though...there was no petting the bear lol.

Emileigh Latham said...

Wow! That is very different and unusual.
I have never seen a moose before. I can't image how big and awesome she is.

Robert Treskillard said...

Fantastic pics, Jacob! There are Moose in northern Minnesota, but I've never seen one while I lived in the state.

Ah well ... we do have Elk and Buffalo, but they're in a preserve not far from here ... nothing roams bigger than a deer or loose horse around here.

Nathan R. Petrie said...

Is it possible to mail moose(es)(i)(esi)? I'll keep her :) LOL jk jk

Unknown said...

I love nature no fair! i want a moose but ive seen videos of how they can act.........its not at all too pretty. But they are amazing creatures!

JTN said...

that's cool. My mom is envious. :)

dude, that's your backyard? That's a beautiful view! I'd almost consider leaving the city for a view like that. ;)

Brandon Barr said...

I wish I lived somewhere where moose could come up to my back door...I'm a nature-lover stuck in the city :(

Rachel Danielle said...

How awe inspiring! They're so massive. I remember riding my horse one day- when an elk popped out of nowhere. He was bigger than my horse! We sat there staring at one another (I was staring at the pointy weapons on top of his head, more precisely), and in the end the elk just plodded off on his merry way.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for following! :D
Say, that must be amazing! I don't think I've ever seend a live moose, let alone had one in our garden! Ö

Anonymous said...

Wow. Those are fantastic pictures. It's my first time to your blog, and I'm liking it.

See you again soon!

Jessica Greyson said...

Oh how beautiful! Maybe she is having a hard time with the Rocky and Bullwinkle jokes because Bullwinkle is a guy...or perhaps her sense of humor just needs improvement, keep trying them.

Ivorydancer said...

You deserve that Tribe leader award btw..... no questions asked!

God Bless

~Ivory

Ivorydancer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ness said...

lol Those are really cool pics!

what does it feel like to have a moose livin' in yer yard? lol just wondering :P

Ness said...

You really deserve that tribe leader award!

smiles,
Ness

Jessie said...

I know this has nothing to do with Lucy the wonderful moose.
But you really deserve the best team leader award.

Kat Heckenbach said...

It's been too long since you posted. So...I'm tagging you! Visit my blog to see what to do :).

Danielle said...

Nature is incredible but meant to be respected. Good for you not trying to interact with her. Hopefully your dog can get some outdoor time soon!

Caitlin Magness said...

OH MY! This is wonderful. =)