Bedtime in Alaska – Naked Moose!
14 02 2009Go figure. I hadn’t seen Brian the moose in over a month, and now he’s shown up twice this week! And there’s some big news to report! In the yearly calendar of a moose, there are a few events that are really worthy of note. For cows, there’s mating season, and birthing season. For bulls there’s mating season, and this….the dropping of the antlers.
Yup, Brian showed up sans those attractive appendages he sported just last week. After mating season, Brian and all other males drop their antlers to conserve energy for the winter. They will regrow them with a velvety covering of felt in the spring . Each year, the antlers grow back larger and more interesting than the year before. Immature males may keep their antlers all winter.
I’m sure it’s a relief, especially for older males who sport huge antlers, to shed them. It’s easier to run through trees, and less weight to carry around. But there’s still something odd about seeing them in this condition. It’s almost like they’re running around naked. Maybe Brian was feeling a little frisky for Valentine’s Day and decided to pose for naked pictures? I had to see.
I wanted to get a nice closeup of the missing antlers, so I grabbed the camera, the Windex and a paper towel, rubbed it on the window, and sure enough, he trotted right over. I wondered if the window washing trick would work a second time, and it did. So, here’s Brian, posing in the buff. If there are children in the room, you may need to shield their eyes.
Naked Brian.
Creepy naked Brian.
The Full Monty.
And a Happy Valentine’s Day from Brian and Brenda, me, Spouse and ’Buf’ the dog to all you wonderful Mudflatters out there!
February 14th, 2009 at 10:20 AM
I bet we don’t see the “new baby”. Actually I won’t, because I wouldn’t allow my eyeballs to be assaulted in such a manner as Van Susteren, nor my ears as the Palins.
February 14th, 2009 at 10:23 AM
I love Brian! I really needed a smile today after hearing that Burris “forgot” that he was asked in 3 (three!!) conversations to make a 10K donation to Blago after he expressed interest in the senate seat. GAWD!!! Oh, let me look at Brian again and I’ll be happy!
February 14th, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Obviously the People photo shoot didn’t/isn’t. Those kind of things are an “exclusive”. Why would anyone buy a magazine if they can see it live ?? Something goofy goin’ on. Oh – it’s the Palins…….what EVER was I thinking ?!?!
February 14th, 2009 at 11:55 AM
AKM – I heart Brian, too and he’s so cute now. Guess he wouldn’t get tangled up in the swing set now, would he? He still might take it with him, but it would be on HIS terms this time of year and not his antler’s!
February 14th, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Interesting, Re: Greta. Just went over to her site and there was a poll about the judge who dissed SP about her DS baby, kind of, a little bit.
Greta’s up in arms and has a poll up. Who’s a better role model for women, the judge or SP?
You can go there and vote yourself if you put the following in your browser (delete that one space)
http://search.yahoo.com/
search?p=Greta%2BPalin%2BBristol%2BInterview&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
When I went it was about 96% in favor of SP
What’s interesting is that the acticle and poll have apparently been up since 2/6, and there have been lots of votes, but, as of when I went there a few minutes ago, there were no comments posted on the story itself.
February 14th, 2009 at 12:31 PM
DaisyDaisy said: “Should be an interesting interview. “On The Record” airs week nights on the Fox News channel @ 9pm central time. I expect that Tripp will make his debut appearance in front of the cameras when this is broadcast on Monday evening, 16th February 2009.”
I guess that means that Bristol finally gave birth to the REAL Tripp sometime this month (February), and has lost most of her baby belly. I don’t imagine with the size of the Palin extended family and all their church friends, it wouldn’t be hard to “borrow” a 2-month-old baby boy that is ready for Prime Time….
I guess you can tell I don’t believe the Palin Pregnancy Sagas, either mother or daughter.
February 14th, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Oh Moose Poop.
Sorry about the crummy link in my post above. I did it through a Yahoo search on Greta+Palin+Bristol+Judge plus I don’t remember.
Then I went to Greta wire to try to find it, and lo and behold, she’s apparently got interview from ALaska stuff up already! Not that I’m trying to promote traffic, ’cause I’m not.
But I had trouble linking to actual, well, stories. All I could get to was short blurbs and the comments on them. Completely non-edifying.
It still seems there are no pictures of Tripp!!! Unbelievable.
Anyway, any intrepid souls who go over there, if you can find and corroburate (or not?) and elaborate on anything I thought I saw, comments are eagerly awaited.
February 14th, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Greta confirms that she has met Tripp here -
http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2009/02/14/just-interviewed-members-of-the-palin-family/
No pictures of him so far though.
February 14th, 2009 at 1:54 PM
What a sexy Moose! I love your photos! Happy Vday!!
February 14th, 2009 at 1:58 PM
Congrats, Ripley!!! Way to go- Yahoo!! A great Valentines present for you:-)
2010 Moose Calendar, anyone? That’s after a Brian mug (with antlers), moose pjs in royal blue/gold…
February 14th, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Careful there, AKM. Brian just might absorb bad vibes if you are thinking he is creepy without his showy antlers and who knows what detrimental effects a blow to a moose’s self esteem might have, living in the wild as he does…
Keep on thinking, ” Brian is beautiful, Brian is beautiful…”
I am pretty sure he likes you, maybe even in an improper way, the way he approaches when you “rub the glass”. I think that is just amazing! At the least it shows some degree of intelligence and curiosity from a creature who, along with most all creatures not human, were considered by scientists until only recently, not to have the capacity for such things. Even now it seems they are only admitting abilities in animals that they just can’t deny because the data is finally there (like some making tools.) This really makes me wonder about the sum total of scientific facts, as we “know” them. We humans are just so arrogant. I mean why did this stuff even need to be studied? We have known since forever, that a mother cat will risk or even give her life, to save her babies. Not all cats, of course. But THAT is not just instinct. There are so many many examples. Anyone who has ever loved a pet of any kind knows that they are far more in total that humans have traditionally wanted to recognize. No doubt, because they think doing so would somehow diminish that great stature of superiority that humans apply to themselves, although I think just the opposite is true. Seeing the amazing capabilities of animals just reinforces in me the belief that we humans, too, have far more powers and talents and raw brain power than we recognize in ourselves. “It’s all connected.” Our life, our intelligence, our talents, human and “animal” alike, all comes from the same place.
February 14th, 2009 at 7:21 PM
amen
February 14th, 2009 at 8:23 PM
Happy Valentines to all you Wonderful Mudpups & AKM & Brian!
Love the pictures of Brian, what a hunk of a guy! How does that work though, regarding moosets and Brianettes? Do the babies only hang out with the Momma Moose, or would Brian be banding with them as a family unit to be able to bring them around AKM’s compost pile? Sure relieved that he’s safe from hunters and busy highways.
February 14th, 2009 at 8:33 PM
Congratulations to Ripley!!!
I know that takes a LOT of hard work to accomplish getting the certification. I’m proud of you kid!
February 14th, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Your moose pictures are great! Thanks for sharing!
February 15th, 2009 at 9:40 AM
Hi mudflats!
I’m wondering if you may have 2 differant male moose judging by your photos. The last photos of Brian showed a small set of antlers, almost looked like new growth antlers. The photos of Brian in the fall seemed to me, if I recall correctl,y had a much larger rack than the last photos you took of him a month ago. I couldn’t find the photos of Brian in the archives from last fall. I could be wrong but you might like to review all your photos of Brian.
Regardless, great photos! I always get a chuckle.
P.S. Have you ever heard of moose referred to as “swamp donkies”? We Canadians refer to them as those now and again.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:41 AM
i still think you should pen a children’s book about brian…i know a great artist who could do the drawings of brian…
February 15th, 2009 at 2:01 PM
Why drawings? I’ll bet there are enough photos of Brian for a book alá Stranger in the Woods.