Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The Moose and the Birthday Cake

There are some folks out there who travel great distances to our neck of the woods with the sole purpose of catching a glimpse of one our most treasured wildlife; the woodpecker. Not very many people, but some, I reckon. But there are many more people who are far more interested in seeing an even greater natural icon; the moose. Occasionally, we will be asked where the best place to see a moose is. That’s kind of like asking where the best sighting of a rainbow will occur, or if it will be snowing when they come up for their vacation next month.

I’m from Maine, so I’ve seen plenty of moose in my time, and since living in Vermont, I’ve seen a fair share of the gentle giants, as well as a few bears, countless deer, foxes, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, hippies, poodles, and other vermin. It’s always a thrill to behold the beauty of these elusive creatures, and whenever I see one, I pause and reflect and consider myself fortunate to be living in such an amazing place that is home to all different walks of life.

This past weekend, my lovely fiancée, my dear mother-in-law-to-be, and I went out to East Bumf…I mean, Woodbury, to celebrate my sister-in-law-to-be’s 30th birthday party, and to eat delicious cake, baked by the birthday girl herself, with her husband and two kids. Last year they moved into a 4000 square foot farmhouse surrounded by acres and acres of quintessential Vermont country. It’s a long drive from the nearest beer store, but as long as the fridge stays stocked, which is does, there’s no reason why you’d ever want to leave there.

Right as we were about to settle down for dinner, the man of the house noticed, way down in the meadow, hanging out in their little pond down there, a moose. From our vantage point, way up on the hill, it could’ve been a large sheet of burlap draped over a swingset, but due to the fact that it was slowly trudging about, we assumed it was indeed a moose. I wanted a closer look, so I headed outside and made my way to the pond.

When I appeared from behind the bushes that lined the pond, the moose came into clear view. It was large, lanky, beautiful, and it was staring right at me. The sound of peepers filled the air as the two of us engaged in a staring contest that caused time to stand still. Eventually, I started getting bored, so I took one step forward, and that was that. The moose slowly turned around and disappeared into the dark forest. At that point it was just myself and the peepers, so I thought I’d find a few and check them out, as I had never actually seen one before. I made my way out to a rock near the edge of the water and crouched down. I could hear thousands of peepers peeping away at a volume similar to a Metallica concert. I swear there was one perched on my shoulder even, but that was just my imagination, apparently. Minutes passed, the peepers kept peeping, but I was unable to spot even one of the damn things.

I headed back towards the farmhouse and saw another one of nature’s most beautiful creations, my fiancée, briskly walking towards me. Apparently, when I crouched down on that rock, it appeared as though I had fallen into the pond with all the peepers, and she was worried. I assured her that I was fine and that I would never be that careless, considering we had delicious cake awaiting us.

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