Bits and Pieces

Once the moose move in, the willows and shrubs start to suffer. It's not all bad because when the snow is deep, food is a little scarce for bunnies etc. I've noticed over the last few years the rabbits seem to follow the moose. Moose break it down, leaving tender tips available at ground level.

 Brooklyn was feeling lazy and decided to watch me rather than join me on the walk.

 This must have been a fairly inebriated mouse as he certainly did not walk a straight line!

 Even though it's only coming up mid February, the mild temperatures and additional sunlight is causing the melt rings around the tree trunks. Spring...Bring it on!

As you can see, there is not much happening on the Acreage. Tomorrow it's trim Tucker's feet day and clean up the paddock again. Oh yeah, coffee at 09:00 at A&W with the boys. I'm getting tired just thinking about all that activity.

Passing in the Early Morn

I was out shoveling snow (again) when I heard a horse blow. The light was not good but I watched these three go wandering by.

 I had just fed the horses and after Tucker gave his Defcon 2 snort, they went back to eating. Apparently food won out over flight.

I am very surprised that some hunter hadn't got these as they have been hanging around all year. What I need is a super flash for first light shots, then the image quality might be better.

Out of the Mist

This little fellow was probably driven away from Mama by a Bull looking to mate. He didn't stick around long, just enough to get one picture off the back deck. From the neck bell, I would say a one year old bull that hasn't developed his antlers. 

I Did a Sneak

 After yesterday's moose shoot, I sort of figured that it was time to do a sneak on the calf. The camera, unfortunately, decided to focus on the closer trees.

 She was a little cautious at first, eyeing me very carefully as I got closer. Curious, but not afraid. The snow had frozen, and was hard enough to walk on without making a lot of noise.

 Back to eating. Have you ever noticed that the best things are just out of reach? just like horses. The grass (twigs) are tastier if you have to reach a little.

 Yep, really reach!

I didn't want to try getting closer. Spooked moose tend to take out fences, which means more work for the fence repairer, me.

Besides mama was keeping a close eye on junior and that strange two legged moose eating guy with the camera.


From Wikipedia
The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe) (Alces alces) is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been re-introduced to some of their former habitats. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly fast if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for the right to mate with a particular female.

Canada: There are an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 moose 

A Horse Designed by an Engineer!

 I believe that the word Moose means "Eater of twigs" in Ojibwa. At least that's what I was told back in my younger days.

This gal showed up this morning along with last year's calf. The calf was in the bush and I couldn't get a picture, so you are stuck with the cow.

 The cow was doing some willow trimming for morning breakfast.

 As you can see, the moose and the dogs have things worked out. Brooklyn barked a couple of times, got too close and the moose did a couple of half hearted kicks then resumed eating.

 Moose are funny critters, but extremely fast when they get moving. This one was not in the mood. I think she was mooning Brooklyn!

Brooklyn is about 100 pounds to give you some perspective of the size of the moose.

We just ambled down the driveway to get the photos. She knew I was there, but saw me as no threat.

Hopefully, I have not offended any engineers out in blogland. It's been a kind of running joke over the years.

What's in your front yard today?

Newest Acquisitions to the Acreage

This is what I like about living on an Acreage. You never know what the morning brings. I went out on the deck with my grand daughter  and found these three about 100 yards from the house. The cow moose was looking very good and so were her twin calves of this year.

The calves sure grew quickly. Normally we don't see them up this  way until January. For some reason they were early this year. Boots and Brooklyn both ignored them.

The two calves were bedded down in this hollow when I first saw them. I don't know where the cow was, but I suspect that she was still laying down.

Moose are rather neat things to have around, but not if you are a horse. All three horses were on high alert, prancing and blowing their displeasure.

All in all, though, not a bad way to start out the day!

I apologize for the slightly out of focus pictures, but  at first light, the only steady rest was the top of a fence post. They turned out not too bad for 1/8 of a second shutter speed.

Our Visitor

I was out back stoking up a good fire in our crusher cone fire pit trying to get a 15 gallon barrel of water up near boiling point when I saw Tucker's ears go up, Boom's ears go up and all three go into startle mode and high tail it to the lower pasture. I figured there was a moose close by, so I snuck up to the hay shelter and sure enough there he was, a young bull. I was very happy not to be on any of the horses! I am not sure how to desensitize a horse to the presence of a moose. I know how to do it with other scary stuff, but a moose is too big to rub all over the horse. Besides, the horse would be long gone!

If you double click on the image, the detail comes out better.

Extra Horses

For the past six years, every February these guys show up. They seem to come out of the valley and hang around for a few weeks. To give some perspective, the top fence wires are 4 feet off the ground. These two are a cow, bull pair. The bull has lost it's antlers but is readily recognizable by the long bell under his chin. What is not shown are my 3 horses going absolutely nuts in the field, running, blowing and snorting. you definitely do not want to be on board when this is going on!

I tried to get some better lighting, but they were feeding and moving off, probably to find a sunny spot to sleep. The bull was not overly big, probably about 1000 pounds.

I kind of think that horses consider moose to be a horse designed by an engineer. Can you see the "Toyota" label on the butt of the one?

Click on pictures for full screen

It's Going to be a good day!

You just know that its going to be good when you wake up in the morning and the outside temperature is 0 C! A huge bonus happens when you go out to feed the critters and you see a large black lump on the driveway and find it to be a calf moose having a nap. The cow was about 15 feet away dutifully watching over. It was a little too dark for photos so I left them alone, hoping that they didn't meander up to the horse paddock. Also, hopefully they will have moved off before riding time today.

Yesterday it was also warm, about +2C so we saddled up two of the horses and went for about an hour and a half's ride in the fields back of our place. 360 degrees view from the top and about 25 miles in all directions. The two older horses were very well behaved, as they were together. The younger left at home one worked herself up pretty good as she too is herd bound.

I did groom her and walked her about a mile, then put a bridal on and barebacked her for another hour. Not so well behaved witha few unplanned bounds through the drifts on the side of the road. It felt pretty good at the time, but now I feel like I have been wish-boned. The horses aren't the only ones out of shape.

Decisions for today. Go for a ride? Trim 3 horses feet? Watch Olympics? Do flooring in the spare bedroom?
Too many choices, I'll probably have a nap! :0