Moose Can't Decide What To Do.

Bryan says he sees this same moose here each trip.  It ran over right over to where Bryan's Skidoo had just passed.  Vikki thought they were going to met.  When she turned off the video, here it came again right back to where it had started and then walked back again to the right.  When Vikki finally drove past the Moose it was 30 feet away in the tall trees standing behind a tree. 

This Moose Will Be Dead in 4 Days....

The Wolves will be back.... This Moose will have stiffened up some and will not have the same fight.  There is probably not an animal that has to suffer more than a Moose before it is finally killed by Wolves.  It is very stressful to thing about and so most people don't.   Most times the Moose is still looking at the feasters as they are being eaten alive.  The only hope is that they bleed out and loose consciousness.

MOOSE ROMPING.... For the sheer joy of it all

This happened last Feb, 2012 but I want to share it with you again.  It was the most amazing thing to witness.  The sheer job of their running together.  Back and forth just like horses on a spring day.   KEEP VOTING FOR THE CANADA POST STAMP DESIGN... EACH VOTE COUNTS... YOU CAN VOTE MANY TIMES A DAY.

Advice from a MOOSE

One Gutsy Game Warden!!! Saves Bull Moose

 
The short film clip of a Game Warden cutting a child's yard swing from a Bull Moose's antler.
www.liveleak.com//ll_embed?f=f9132a37d604

Bull Moose Still in the Rut.... Overflow

 -1 Cel.  Down on the Inklin Bryan saw lots of Moose tracks, then out on a 40 acre islandie sandbar was a big Bull.  As Bryan took the picture he noticed the area was all torn up.  He'd interrupted a fight.  There, about 30 feet off was another Bull Moose.  Bull Moose aren't just in the rot on Sept 20....  it last until they drop their horns in mid Jan or Feb.  One layer of cells around the horn goes soft and the horns drop off.  Usually within 5 to 15' of each other.  Then they turn into more of a steer.

 The other bull.

 Just before the Inklin Line Cabin Bryan looked back and the toboggan was floating.  1' of water in 2' of snow.  He got off "Miss Piggy", the Scandic 800 SWT, unhooked the toboggan, shoveled the snow out from in front of "Miss Piggy", drove out.  Got a 20' rope and pulled the toboggan free.  If Vikki had been following on her Tundra 300 she would have been really stuck.

 Bryan hung up the 5 Marten and squirrel to thaw.  Ishi stood guard occasionally looking back at Bryan.... saying "Well!!!!!"

An American Dipper

55" BULL MOOSE....Hunter/Gatherers and Shoppers

Well.... a trapper doesn't make a high living for the hours they put in....  BUT THE LIFESTYLE REWARDS MAKE UP FOR IT.
Out in the fresh air everyday, getting paid for a hard workout instead of paying big bucks to workout in a gym or health club.  
There is not the lure of "fast food" at every bend of the trail.  You stock the basics and make your own comfort foods.  Chocolate bars, chips and pop are expensive treats to be used on special occasions.
There is lots of quiet time so that you can hear yourself think.  You can relax enough to read a book.  You can spend an hour watching Dollie Varden spawn.  Or watch a Bull Moose pass you in the trees.  You work hard because you are your own boss.  Your time is your own.  The nature things you see will stay with you forever.
Lots of people nowadays love to shop for that great bargain in the store.  They just don't realize they are fulfilling the age old "hunter/gatherer" instinct.  Out in the wilderness you get that free when you find that special mushroom, that huge bush of blueberries, that strange burl, see that little owl, hear that wolf pack, watch that moose.  It is more rewarding, you don't need your Visa card.  There are no bills each month for stuff you really don't need.
The only requirement is the need to be very self reliant and willing to do without at times.  We are not on the grid except for satellite.  Otherwise we rely on everything ourselves.  

MOOSE Meat Recipes... CHEESEBURGER PIE, MOOSE WITH SAUERKRAUT AND DUMPLINGS

MOOSE CHEESEBURGER PIE.... Fabulously good!!!!
Biscuit crust
 2 cups flour
1 tbsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
Mix above and add 2/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup cooking oil.  Stir.  Line bottom of greased pie plate 9".



FILLING 

Fry 1 lb of ground Moose meat and 1 Onion in cooking oil.  Add 2 Tbsp Ketchup with a little salt and pepper.  Add to crust.
Combine 1 -14 oz drained can of cut up tomatoes with 1/2 tsp sugar.  Add to top of meat.  Cover with 1 cup of grated cheese.   Cover with Glide tinfoil and cook on wood stove for an hour.  

CANNED MOOSE MEAT WITH SAUERKRAUT AND DUMPLINGS (Quick and Easy)
Put a little oil in Roasting pan.  Add two pints of canned Moose Meat (partially cooked before canning).  Add one cut up lightly fried onion.  Add salt and pepper. 
Add 4 cups Sauerkraut and 3 cups boiling water. Stir.  
Dumplings
2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt and a little pepper
Mix and add 1 beaten egg, 3 tbsp melted butter and 2/3 cup milk.  
Mix and drop by spoonful onto Moose meat/sauerkraut. 
Cover with Roasting pan lid.  Cook on Wood stove for about 30 minutes.

Boreal Owl, Moose Rub, Cinnamen rolls

 Bryan saw this little 10" Boreal Owl sitting by the trail.  He stopped and watched it til it flew off.  Lots of Moose sign up in Walkers Valley, fresh rubs and tracks on the trail.

Trail end for now.

 One of Vikki's favorite Cook Books for in the bush.