Moose

It has been a long while since I have posted. I have been torn about whether to get started again or not. Between Facebook and Google+ it seems like I am constantly posting photos so the question of whether or not a blog adds anything is one that is hard to answer. But I admit to missing the writing part. Even if no one but me ever reads the words, there is something cathartic about typing them in. And even if a picture is worth a thousand words, it sometimes tells a slightly different story, especially in the age of photoshop. So I will try to get started again and continue adding images and stories of my adventures in the outdoors of NW Wyoming. I hope you will join me occasionally.

I have not seen a moose in more than a year so it was a thrill to see two of them just off the cross-country ski trail at Pahaska (near Yellowstone's East Entrance) last weekend. The real treat was in realizing that the big male in front is actually a baby. Even though he is almost as big as his mother, there are several telltale signs. For one thing, it would be pretty unusual to see a bull and cow hanging out together like these two were. For another, the antlers on the bull are tiny compared to "normal" and last but not least, an adult bull would have shed his antlers by this time of the winter. Young bull calves often retain their antlers during their first winter.

In just a few short months this fellow will be chased off by his mom and made to fend for himself as she brings another calf into the world.