We were pleased to again host "our" moose family yesterday morning.  It was dark and threatening rain, and mom and both calves wandered through, came and went and returned, bedded down for the night, and then wandered off early this morning.  There have been many local bear sightings and confrontations, including a recent one on a bike trail beside a well-trafficked road at a spot less than a mile by street, and even less cross-country, from our yard.  There were two fatal maulings in Anchorage and farther north in the last week and some non-fatal human maulings less than 30 miles from here.  So we were relieved to see the family of three still intact, having so far survived threats from bears and vehicles.

The calves have beefed up, to mix the species somewhat.  They have added weight, height, and musculature, looking now like what an eight-year old weightlifter who had bulked up on power lifts and steroids might look like.  They can't defend themselves yet, but if they survive through the summer, they'll have a good chance.  Meanwhile, mom looked alert and was eyeing the woods with suspicion, and the calves stayed relatively close together.

Some people have yard flamingoes and yard gnomes.  We have yard moose.  

This mom is probably 6 1/2 feet at the shoulder.