Kicking Off The New Year!!

I desperately wanted to post this yesterday, but would you believe that I had used up all of the free space that Google/Blogger allowed for such things?  I myself was shocked! (o:

So I had to BUY more space.  $5 a year for space they equated to 10,000 pictures.  I plan on using it all up!!  Hahaa!  So after you buy this space, it takes about 24 hours for it to become available.  So here goes my late post!!

When I got up this morning, I decided that I'd try and get a couple of pictures of the sun rise before we went into work.  I knew from feeding earlier that morning that it was cold...but it would only take a few seconds to get a couple of pictures.  I slipped into Chads boots while in my P.J.'s and sweatshirt and stepped onto the back porch.  I snapped a few pictures of the sky and then decided to take a couple of the dogs, because all three of them had come outside with me.  I started to walk them into the drive way when I saw it!  I stopped short and tried to quietly get the dogs redirected back into the house.  It took as few panicked seconds to get them back on the porch and headed to the door.  I threw open the door and the dogs charged in...  I yelled to Chad MOOOOSE in the driveway and headed back outside.

I walked back outside and heard blowing I snapped two pictures and went back inside...I told Chad I got a picture, but there must be another one as I heard it blowing at me.  He was standing in the bedroom looking out the door and said there was another moose and it was near the horses gate.  I said, do you think there are three?  I had heard the blowing coming from the opposite side of the drive.  He said that he had no idea.  I said watch for it, I am heading out to take more pictures.   

I was pretty shocked to see that when I returned that it was a cow/calf pair.  It seems that mom wouldn't be taking care of the kid this time of year, but I really don't know much about moose.  So maybe they are more like cows and tend to their calves until the next one is born if no one intervenes.  At any rate there they were enjoying the alfalfa that I had dropped and scaring the crap out of my horses.  (They were in the trees spying on the giant visitors.  But at least they weren't running around like chickens with their heads cut off.)

And the blowing??  My fearless donkeys were taking turns blowing and charging their fence.  Tough as nails these little Hee-Haws are.  I was glad it wasn't a third moose.  Keeping an eye on two is plenty.  I had to make sure that I stayed close enough to my truck that if momma decided that I was too close to her and the calf I could use it for some sort of protection.  Being anywhere near a wild animal and her young is not smart, its dangerous.  But I really wanted to take a few pictures and Chad was watching from the door, so I am a fearless dip$hit, trying to see if I can not get killed by a cow moose at 7 something in the moring!!  (o:  Making my parents proud daily...that's what I do!!

Momma stood near the car while the baby ate at the gate.  It was down on its knees eating.  I have been feeding the girls on the ground since Tari had gotten all tangled up in the feeder.  And because of the gross amount of snow we've gotten, I've been making several trips through the small gate carrying my hay in by hand.  Well after loading it into the Danger and backing into the gate.  So as I pull the hay off of the Danger, its inevitable that I drop some fines.  Those fines are tasty to horses, donkeys, and apparently moose.

Once the little dude/dudette became aware of my presence, it would eat for a few seconds and then stand up and look.  Then down again for some grub.  And back up.  All the while momma just stood there and the donkeys charged and blew.  I am not too sure how long we all did our thing, but I do know that by the time I got inside, I was freezing...head to toe frozen!

Momma finally decided that it was time to do something else.  She turned away from me and headed towards the baby.  She really just meandered up to the calf.  She had decided that I wasn't going to do anything (and I knew I sure wasn't going to get any closer), and that the donkeys couldn't leave the space they were in, so why not go see what the kids doing.

For a brief second when she got to the calf, I thought they were going to go through the fence.  Well over the gate actually.  Nothing that I was wanting to see...I know they can jump but seem more predisposed to just amble through everything.  I am pretty proud of our fence and the last thing that I want to do is fix it this early into the game...I also had neglected to turn it on after filling the hoses water the day before.  So even if getting whack would deter them, it wasn't going to happen today.  Lucky for me, they just sniffed it and then got back to business.

Moose are fun to watch.  They are graceful, yet sort of cumbersome at the same time.  It seemed as though she checked to see if he/she was full and then told him/her to go and stand by the car and keep an eye one me.

But the the calf decided to see if mom had found something better than what he/she had just left behind.  So it returned to double check while the cow was down on her knees eating.

She promptly told the little brat to do what he/she was told or else there would be some sever punishment.  Good parents come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and species I guess.

So off the little one went to do what it was told.  And mom when back to finishing up the alfalfa.

Cute as can be the calf is.  I tried to "fix" the pictures color, but don't have the software to do a really good job.  So this is what it looks like...  Better?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Anyhoooo the calf stood its turn on people watch while the mom ate and the donkeys blew and charged.  It didn't seem to bother the little one either.  Poor little Hee-Haws get no respect!!

It didn't take mom long to finish off the food and decide it was time to hit the dusty or snowy trail.  The calf wasn't in a hurry to leave...but she didn't look back, she just kept walking.

The calf double checked the feed spot before deciding that mom knows best.

And then followed her up the road.

I then headed to the house, frozen...like I said before, I wasn't really dressed to be out there that long...heck at all!!!  So the thermometer on the left hand side is the low and the right is the high.  The bottom of the blue line marks the lowest temp of the night (I reset it nearly every night) and the top of the silver tells the current temp.  On the right, it reads the same way.  Bottom of the blue being the high and if you could see the silver that would be current....

I turned and took one more picture of Lone Mountain with the sun coming up and then thought hey that tree looks kind of neat, so I took a picture of it too...I didn't like it and deleted it.  But then noticed that the girls were coming from their hiding spot to continue eating their breakfast.

Horse Girl was relieved for me to see what has been tormenting her little brain all this time...and in a way, I guess I'm glad she hasn't started spinning a screw also!!  ( o:

They are facing where the moose headed off to.  Making sure they moved on I guess.

Then I tried the tree photo one more time...better, but not great!  ( o:

This is Seven with her half gutted Raccoon listening to me whine about not being able to post on time...see how sad she was for me?  Mostly I think she was offended that I woke her up.  Spoiled puppy, very spoiled puppy!

And lastly, here is one of the would be hero's of our story.  I am sure that Jack Jack and Patron would have really given the big beasts hell if only they could have gotten to them!  Love ya boys!!  Really I do!