Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  Prior to moving to Wasilla, I'd never had too many dealings with moose. When I was living at the farm many years ago, we were all outside on the beach doing a "family" project. That was where most of the people came out to do something that would benefit the whole camp, in this case chopping firewood. Of course, there were always those who had some reason or another not to be doing the lowly manual labor that the rest of us were required to do, but it's a moot point. While were were all out there sawing the logs  and chopping the rounds, one of the fellows named Wayne Bender suddenly stopped what he was doing and pointed across the mud flats to the wooded area. "A moose! A moose! " he declared. Sure enough, there was a moose, hightailing it on the edge of the flats, headed to the point. Moose don't live on Chichagof Island as a rule. They periodically would swim across from the mainland. They are really good swimmers apparently, because its at least fo...

There is a moose on the loose And he's in my front yard  He's eating my branches, The big tub of lard  He's come down from the mountains Searching for food Eating twigs, leaves and bushes  It's really quite rude All summer long I take care of my plants I keep out the dogs, with loud, vile rants  Now that it's winter, and there's lots of snow The moose leave the mountains, they know where to go Let's head down to Tom's place, we'll have us a feast So they come to my yard, the great hairy beasts They feed on the willows, they break off the trees With no one to stop them, they do as they please  I don't really begrudge them,  a small branch or two If I were a moose, I know what I'd do  I'd head into town, where the snow isn't too deep I'd eat some dry branches and then go to sleep Here in Alaska, we've learned how to share  With all the wild animals, deer, moose and bear Mutual respect, we must endeavor to pay And so every mornin...