Flickr Photo Credit: Fisherga
Well, it has certainly been an exciting couple of days on the wildlife watching circuit here at St. Froid Lake.
While we’ve seen numerous animals all along, including the moose we’ve been seeing along the road while we are running errands, we’ve been wondering where and when we’d be seeing them right here at the camp, as everyone has been saying we would. When my folks were here this past weekend, my father the Maine woodsman told us that once the lily pads started blooming we’d be guaranteed to have some moose visiting. Boy was he right!
Within 24 hours of the first blooms on the lily pads in front of the porch, we’ve been having serious moose sightings every 12 hours or so. The night before last, David noticed a huge one was swimming and munching across the lake and playing in the rain for nearly two hours. Yesterday morning, on my way out to pour my first cup of coffee, I looked up to see one looking back at me through the porch window. I called to David and got the video camera fired up. Unfortunately, by the time that happened, he was already nearing the end of the next door neighbor’s property. But he was a sight to behold and took his time meandering around the water’s edge on our land and the lot of the cabin next to us.
Last night’s sighting went to Maggie, our Labrador and youngest dog. David and I were both working on some things when she started going crazy with her barking. We assumed someone had pulled into the yard that we for some reason had not heard. Nope. As we made our way to the porch to open the door for whoever it was, we saw that “whoever it was” was Mr. Moose again, coming out of the water and looking in the direction of our porch again. This time I got luckier with the video camera and was able to walk right up and get some really great footage. Apparently, he found me interesting as well because he turned around and headed directly for me. (Guess I should be trying harder to remember my childhood wilderness skills. As I headed back for a little more safety on the porch, David reminded me that was probably a good idea because after all . . . it was a buck.) We got a few more moments on video before he headed for the road via the property line of the neighbor’s fence. I followed from behind on my side until he stopped and noticed my presence. We eyed each other for a little bit and then he trotted up to the road, turned right and then turned toward me at the end of my driveway, stopping to give me a long look that said, “Do you mind?”. Then he meandered along the road for a while (David and I moved out to the road to watch.) and headed back into the woods.
This morning, I’m up early with the video camera out of the pack and charging. Hopefully, I’ll get lucky again. I’m really hoping for a great close up shot when he walks up out of the water again. Will keep you posted. Gee, and we thought it was ultra cool when we saw the eagle the first week or so. . .
