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| Photo by Paulina Hrebacka, The Kemptville Advance |
A moose wandered out of the Ferguson Forest Centre and out
onto the highway on Friday the 12th of October. No one was hurt,
thank goodness, and the moose was ushered out of town by police, without
incident. She was spotted crossing County Road 18 at midnight and again on
October 13th in a soybean field outside Oxford Mills. But she hasn’t
been spotted since then, unless people have seen her and are just keeping it to
themselves. It’s all quiet on the Western front where the Moose on the Loose is
concerned.
It was a big deal, to see a moose up close and personal, in
our neck of the woods. We don’t normally get them this far south unless you are
in a heavily wooded area. So on the 13th when I saw the cars pulled
over at the side of the road and people standing in the ditch, taking photos of
the moose and attempting to call her over with their faux-moose mating calls, I
decided I would like a word with her myself.
“You can come and live at our place,” I told her. I
understand that moose can’t see really well. They rely a great deal on their
hearing, for their survival, so it is probably their best sense. I just spoke
to the moose in a regular voice and she turned to stare in my direction.
“We have 200 acres. Much of it is forest. We also have
soybean, but I don’t recommend you tramp all over it or the Farmer will get
ticked off. Stay on the edges of the field, like you are now. If you get
thirsty, there’s the creek. And if the winter is particularly cold, you can
find shelter in our barn. We don’t have any animals right now. It’s just the
Farmer in there, with his sawmill. He’s milling his own wood for the cottage he
is building…”
I realized I was speaking to a moose. And I thought the
people doing the moose calls were weird.
But seriously, I hope she comes to live on our property. If
she doesn’t head back up north out of loneliness, that is. I don’t imagine
there are too many of her kind around here. I wonder if she gets along with
deer? We have at least one complete family living in our forest. The buck has a
huge rack. She might be impressed by that.
A female moose is called a cow. Maybe she would like to
spend time in a herd of cattle. She has probably already passed through several
head of cattle on her recent journey. If she finds a farmer who is a little
nearsighted, she might even blend in enough to help herself to their hay.
We are only 3 farmer’s fields south of where the moose was
last spotted. If she continues to follow the creek, she will find us. It’s
quite possible that she already has. Fergus the Golden Retriever has been doing
an awful lot of barking at night. Perhaps he senses she is out there, in the
meadow, just beyond the stone fence.
Our neighbour has been working for months, turning his
forest into hay fields. Soon the leaves will be off the trees and I will be
able to see past the tree line into his property. With the forest gone, my view
will likely be unobstructed for miles. Maybe I will be able to see right into
the village.
If that moose wanders out into the open, I will be able to
see her. It would be comforting to know that she is in a safe place, and not
having too many encounters with humans and civilization. Bad things tend to
happen when wildlife and humans mix.
My son-in-law christened the animal Lucy the Moose because
she is on the loose. I’m sure she would like to keep it that way. Oh and I know
what you are thinking – the Farmer is a hunter. No need to worry, though. He
only hunts what he likes to eat and he has had moose before. It was not to his
liking. I’ve had it before as well, and I’ve got to admit I’m not a fan. So
Lucy is more than safe here, should she decide to wander over and stay.
When the snow comes we will be able to track her like we do
the deer in the forest.
It’s always nice to know your property is being enjoyed to
its fullest.
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email: dianafisher1@gmail.com
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