Bet You Didn't See THIS On Your Local News

 Video shows Anchorage woman shooing moose from grocery cart.

I bet you won't look at Costco parking lots the same way. :)

One More

What's for breakfast?

Alaska Problems

We keep getting sale flyers, e-mails, and so on, saying "Spring sale! Spring's just around the corner!"  But let me show you what the 1st day of Spring looks like, up here:

 

 

 

Then there's the inevitable concern about how much snow piles up on roofs. This area has a thriving roof shoveling industry, and one or two buildings collapse every snowy winter.

 

But snow isn't the only issue:

 

This was a case of a homeowner whose efforts to remove snow from his flat-topped garage resulted in a very large pile of snow next to the structure. And of course, if you build it, they will come to check it out.

 :^)

Anchorage Wants Our Help

According to a story at www.ktuu.com:

 

Bull Moose checks whether weather has delayed delivery! Kathleen Barth - Anchorage 11-16-16

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) -

State wildlife managers want to know how many moose roam the Anchorage bowl and need your help. 

Aerial counts don't always work because of bad weather conditions and some flight restrictions, which is why Fish and Game biologists are testing a new method of surveying moose on the ground, and that's where the public comes in. 

On February 26 and 27, citizens are invited to report moose sightings within the Anchorage bowl. 

Researchers will collect DNA samples from as many moose as they can. A small skin biopsy will be taken with darts designed to lightly strike a moose, collect a sample in the tip, and fall to the ground. 

Sightings may be reported by phoning 267-2253, texting 782-5051, or online at the department website. 

Reports should include moose location, time of the sighting, and number of moose seen at a given location.

 

 

The numbers usually provided, anecdotally, say the City of Anchorage is home to roughly 800 moose in the summer months. That number increases to some 1,200 in winter, due to scarcity of vegetation in the mountains. Moose then move into town seeking a greater food supply.

Remembering Buzzwinkle, the Drunken Moose

Erik Hill / Anchorage Daily News A bull moose sporting Town Square holiday lights settles in at Bernie's Bungalow Lounge Tuesday November 27, 2007 downtown.

 

Every autumn in recent years our boreal neighbors in Sweden and Norway have regaled the rest of the world with tales of drunken moose. In most of the stories, the moose have gotten smashed eating fermented apples, the active ingredient in applejack.

 

Recently, near Stockholm, a "mob of boozed-up moose" threatened a homeowner, daring him to step into his own garden. The online magazine Slate called the news brief issued by Radio Sweden "the best thing on the Internet today."

Sweden and Norway have lots of moose and loads of apple trees. Alaska has fewer moose and a paucity of fruit trees, but where the two entities overlap -- in Anchorage, for example -- reports of drunken moose also abound. Alaska's best-known public inebriate may have been Buzzwinkle.

 

Making a spectacle of himself

 

Buzzwinkle's name was coined by Anchorage Daily News columnist Julia O'Malley in November 2007 after a moose downed a few too many fermented crabapple cocktails in the courtyard of Bernie's Bungalow Lounge, across the street from the Nordstrom store in downtown Anchorage. When O'Malley and I arrived, the massive bull was standing rigid, knees locked, with his wide-set eyes fixed in an inscrutable expression. A long strand of small white lights tangled in his antlers attested to some careless twig noshing in Town Square earlier in the day. The most obvious sign of life was the cloud of vapor venting from his nostrils with every deep exhalation. He was blotto, and he knew it. Too large to fit in a taxi, we left him to sleep it off in the fenced courtyard. After he revived, Anchorage Daily News photographer Erik Hill captured Buzzwinkle's unapologetic, nonchalant departure -- party lights still firmly affixed. [Above - Ed.]

 

... In his prime Buzzwinkle sported a rack more than 60 inches wide and stood over six feet tall. Because Anchorage residents often enliven Alaska's dark nights by stringing lights on shrubs, and shrubs attract moose, bulls frequently wrap strands of the lights around their antlers. Buzzwinkle was no exception. In fact, his massive antlers accidently disassembled more than their share of holiday lights.

 

Read the whole article here.

Visitor Spoke With Forked ... Footprints

When I was leaving work this morning, I noticed some fresh prints which were made sometime after I'd gotten there.

Those are my tracks in, and back out again, and just to the right & bottom center ...

is the the evidence of the large, four-legged critter who crossed my path.

Didn't see Mr. or Ms. Moose, though.

Big Towns and Small

First, there's this:

That suspected bear mauling in South Anchorage? Fish and Game now says it was most likely a moose attack

Medical staff previously suspected a hospitalized man was mauled by a bear, but Fish and Game now says a moose was the most likely the cause of his injuries. The victim himself is so seriously hurt that investigators can’t talk to him.

Okay, then.

* * * * *

It's rather grey with a high overcast, and a 90% chance of rain today. There were a few light showers overnight, but nothing significant.

We've altered our routine, doing the grocery shopping in increments during the week, and today we're staying home rather than spending three to four hours hitting the stores. Now that we have our new place outside of Anchorage, we're zealously guarding the amount of time we can spend here.

By the way, we're not the only ones to notice something (although I haven't written about it until now).

In the last couple of years, Anchorage has grown from a rather laid-back, friendly "big small town" into an angry, impatient place. People there seem to be tense and ready to fly off the handle, these days. It probably has something to do with the continued rapid growth of the city into a more-and-more crowded venue; at least, that's my educated guess.

As the oil industry continues to collapse and constrict, we suspect the resulting contraction of the economy has people on edge. Oil has been a mainstay of the Alaskan economy for 40 years, but suddenly isn't. And the crime rate has slowly started to go up, leaving people less and less outgoing.

Our decision to move wasn't really ours; it was the Lord's timing, and He nudged us with the idea. But we were happy to go. Moving away to a small town was the right thing to do. Folks are much happier and friendly here.

And so are we.

A Tale of Two Moose

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times (with apologies to Charles Dickens).

Story the first:

Hikers survive moose attack in Kincaid Park

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Two hikers are out of the hospital after being charged by a moose while hiking in Kincaid Park. The hikers say they were about a mile from the Kincaid Chalet at around 2 p.m. on Friday when they looked up at a plane overhead and didn't notice when the moose began charging.

“An instant I saw the body of the moose hit me full force and Catherine was right beside me,” said Melanie Sandstrom who suffered three cracked ribs, puncture wounds and bruises. “In a moment I was on the ground and it was just stomping on my back and on my head.”

Alongside Sandstrom was Catherine Dwinnell and her dog Molni who were also on the ground after being hit.

... The two hikers where then taken to the hospital. Dwinell had a broken wrist, gash on her shin, and broken ribs.

And the second:

Moose gave birth in Lowe's parking lot

Mama Moose, apparently after being chased by a bear, took refuge in Lowe's parking lot and gave birth. There's video at the link, but won't allow me to embed it here.

Slide show here.

An Interesting Drive

This morning's commute was ... interesting.

It's windy and rainy, with squalls here and there, making the ruts in the highway a bit more challenging than usual.

There was a yearling moose cavorting in the road at the edge of town, as I left on my way to Anchorage. Or perhaps he was panicked. It's hard to tell with a moose. Either way, he didn't quite seem to know where he was, or how to get off of the road.

Traffic was coming to a complete stop to assess his behavior, before moving slowly on. He could easily leap the median barricades and take out a small car, and moose are VERY unpredictable where traffic is concerned.

As I neared the end of the route, there was a large Mama Moose munching on a roadside tree. With most of Mama in the roadway. The passing cars were of no concern to her.

Moose are like that.

Think 1,200 pounds of horse-sized cow, only not as intelligent, and easily spooked.

Our Neighbors, the Moose

From the local NBC affiliate:

There are 89 pics at the link; these are just a few. :)

A Moose Climbing a Tree

Your argument is invalid.

Found at www.ktuu.com

What Do Moose Like?

Apparently, they like wandering in traffic:

Note: these were taken in previous winters.

And pumpkins.

And coffee, too.

Only In Alaska

Yep, you've got it: the city moose have learned that if they walk up to an auto-door in winter, it will let them into a nice, warm room.

:)

This, That, the Other, and a Want

Thank you, to all who left comments and/or e-mails regarding our 35th anniversary yesterday. 'Twas a good day indeed.

* * * * *

A brief note to several who were thrown off by the snow in the "old aircraft" photos I re-posted. Those pics were taken about three years ago, on a late winter's day. Sorry; it wasn't my intention to mislead anyone.

* * * * *

Two light planes collided at low altitude at the Talkeetna airport yesterday, one of which was a Cessna 185 (an air taxi). The other was a student pilot in a Cessna 172, who was the only one injured. Details can be found by clicking this paragraph.

from the linked story at www.adn.com

* * * * *

A local TV viewer submitted this video to the NBC affiliate:




* * * * *

And lastly, WHY ISN'T THIS REAL???

That's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by, friends.

Worth a Thousand Words: Shopping in Anchorage

Just another routine visit to the garden center:

www.ktuu.com

Roman Candles and Ornery Moose

There's a classic story about wildlife management officers and moose in Anchorage, in today's paper. "Oh, really?" you might ask.

What, you're not convinced? Then try this excerpt:

I should have sworn off Roman candles after the state troopers set that moose on fire.

... It started when Alaska State Troopers Peter Mlynarik and Sven Skille responded to a complaint of a moose acting like it owned a backyard off Dimond Boulevard.

The two troopers had unsuccessfully attempted to squeeze the moose into a nearby greenbelt by yelling and bluff-charging it. That didn’t work, so it was time to unholster the big guns.

... One of the great balls of fire launched by the troopers in 1998 buried itself in the long guard hairs of the moose’s shoulder, setting the hairs afire. Fortunately, the moose appeared to be unscathed. According to a witness, Caren Hoeft, “The moose put out his own fire by shaking real hard a couple of times.”
I inherited the idea of hazing moose with Roman candles from my predecessor. It was clearly a better option than either shooting the moose or pressing close enough to get myself stomped. However, I soon realized the downside.

 

Srsly, you need to read the whole story.

Pushing Your Luck

There are some things a person would be well-advised to avoid: spitting into the wind, tugging on Superman's cape ... and then there's this:

(early summer 2014)

Testing where a yearling's personal space begins. And Mama won't be too far away; you can trust me on this.

NOT a good idea.

And yeah ... he got away with it. But you couldn't have paid me to get that close to a thousand pounds of skittish bull moose.

Winter Moose

From the Anchorage Daily News: