Home Delivery

DrMike

Ballistician
Nov 8, 2006
36,864
4,963
Had an early morning visitor today. It was like DoorDash picked our house. Unfortunately, the delivery was about four months early.

Moose 2022 04 29 3.jpg

Moose 2022 04 29 2.jpg

Moose 2022 04 29 1.jpg

She was quite content to eat the vines growing on the side of the house before wandering into the yard to trim back the chokecherry limbs.
 
Yeah, it's been snowing for the past three days. Air temperature hovers around one to four degrees Celsius (thirty-four to thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit), but the snow keeps falling. It melts and more snow falls.

As for the "horse," some rancher apparently didn't keep his fences mended.:rolleyes:

My wife went to open the blinds this morning, and emitted a startled vocalization which was difficult for me to interpret. Her urgent demands that I rush into the living room made it obvious that something big was afoot. Before I had even cleared the stairs (I had been in the basement writing for a couple of hours) I said, "It must be a moose." And sure enough, it was an ugly horse. I didn't have a lariat (well, I drive a Lariat, but I am not adept at twirling it--yet), so I was unable to lasso the critter.

Two weeks ago, it was a cow and a calf that were looking in our front window. Then, there was another moose that was bedded down in our front yard early last week. We normally have four or five moose that winter over in town each year. We have a couple of moose that winter in the woods behind our church building. We have never had an incident with attacks on the townspeople, but tourist tend to be less cautious.
 
Last edited:
That's great! Thanks for sharing. The last our snow at low elevations has finally melted. I imagine that you're looking forward to spring!

Regards, Guy
 
The snow has already melted (mostly). It is a brisk 0 C (32 F) this morning, but temperatures are rising. Edmonton is projected to reach 25 C (77 F) early this coming week.

The horse (?) in my yard looked a bit scruffy. Didn't appear to be terribly tick infested, but she was shedding her winter coat. I was a little surprised that she didn't have a calf, as the moose the winter over in town are frequently cows bringing their calves into town for protection and food. I was also a little surprised that a CO wasn't nearby. They often drive close-by just to keep an eye on the moose as they wander through the town.
 
Moose in your yard. Intriguing. We get deer visitors which keep the flowers and shrubs trimmed. Dan.
We had mule deer and elk trim the bushes when we were living in Jasper. That was always interesting, as well. We do get mulies in the town, but the moose appear to be much more frequent visitors.
 
Grocery carts must be making the rounds Doc. Have had this little guy around for the past few days. Pretty sure momma kicked him out to make room for the new crop. Another tough winter up here for them so I cut down a couple poplars for him to snack on. Pretty skinny at the moment but hopefully he pulls through and fattens up for September...20220422_081456.jpg
 
Last edited:
Just checked outside. It is snowing again--large flakes. However, just to verify that we had a moose in the yard, she left her hoofprint and some fertilizer. It did create some consternation for my dear lady.

Reminder (1).jpg

A funny story is that a couple of years ago, when the snow was about like today, my lady was in the yard when I heard an anguished scream. Thinking some violent beast was about, or some major catastrophe had just occurred (perhaps the mother of all cometso_O), I rushed outside to defend her, or whatever. To my bewilderment, she was standing in the middle of the yard, her face red and that look on her face. "Someone let their dog loose in our yard and it left a deposit," she growled. Thinking that I had a mess to clean, I immediately went over to investigate.

When I began laughing, she fixed me with a glare, declaring, "This isn't funny!"

"But it is funny," I explained. "Those are hoofprints in the snow and that is the fertilizer that a cow and calf moose left for your lawn."

"Well, they can deposit it somewhere else," she stated firmly.

"Actually," I responded with some considerable care, "it will work into the grass quite nicely and serve to fertilize your lawn. This will mostly be decomposed by the time we begin mowing."

Since that time, she does scowl when she finds these deposits, but she no longer is driven into a rage. She merely grumbled a bit this morning when I pointed out the fact that our grass in that area will be a little greener this summer.:sneaky:
 
Grocery carts must be making the rounds Doc. Have had this little guy around for the past few days. Pretty sure momma kicked him out to make room for the new crop. Another tough winter up here for them so I cut down a couple poplars for him to snack on. Pretty skinny at the moment but hopefully he pulls through and fattens up for September...View attachment 16698
He is a handsome little brute. Good on you for giving him some nourishment. he does appear to be appreciative.(y)
 
Ha. Your wife would have a tough go of it at our house Dr Mike. Free ranging chickens sometimes leave deposits at annoying places on their way back through from the fields or woods to the nest box. Good trade off though. Can't top eggs from chickens that spend their day foraging for a variety of wild diet.

D21Alaska, I'm being nosey. What's in the bags on the pallet to the left of that young moose?
 
Yeah, most animals are not particularly fussy about where they leave their deposits. I raised chickens (free range) as a boy. The yard was always well fertilized, which necessitated some care for a boy who was prone to want to wrestle with his brother.
 
D21Alaska, I'm being nosey. What's in the bags on the pallet to the left of that young moose?
It's a compost/manure mix. Hate to have to buy it by the bag. At the moment for the amount I need each year and being without a tractor to turn my own massive pile it's the most economical/least labor intensive option.
 
It's a compost/manure mix. Hate to have to buy it by the bag. At the moment for the amount I need each year and being without a tractor to turn my own massive pile it's the most economical/least labor intensive option.

Gotcha. Yeah that home composting takes some turning and mixing of the pile if you're gonna have enough useable material of any amount. I'm assuming for garden work?

Not to derail the original thread, but I just hauled 3 spreader loads of horse manure from a neighbors farm this past Saturday and spread it on my big patch that I usually put in all sweet corn. Got big plans this yr. Doing some sweet corn, and I bought 75 lbs of seed potatoes. If all goes well that should make somewhere handy 1000 lbs of potatoes give or take. Hope family and neighbors like potatoes. :D
 
So cool! You're fortunate be able to experience such things. I would love a surprise like that. Although I think my dogs would have a stroke of that walked by "their" door.
 
Yup, dogs do get a little excited--almost as excited as my wife can be!:rolleyes: We don't have a dog, so at least I didn't have to hold him back. Moose definitely take exception to dogs. The neighbour's dog was rather excited, however. He was in a fence, so there was no interaction.;)
 
Back
Top