Bring it, girl friend!

Usually I have excellent moose etiquette, but maybe I crossed the line when I got a little too close to this fine mother's baby. This is the look that says, "You mess with my kid, you mess with me, girl-frenn."

I spotted these two in the river bed below South Fork park eat fresh green watercress on my way back up the canyon from dropping Xan at the school bus. We had meet this summer when the calf was much smaller at the salt lick by Charlotte's.

She must not have remembered our summer encounter fondly because the two turned tails and headed up stream as soon as I got my camera out. Naturally, I ran up the road to catch them. I climbed up the snow bank to see if they were below in the river, thinking they would head off into the willow marsh toward the mountain. It was a surreal feeling as I wrapped my brain around the potential consequences of what I saw at the top of the snowy hill.

The mother moose was quickly climbing up the other side to come check me out. I came nose to nose with her and immediately calculated the triangulated positions of the moose, my car and my butt. That mama moose was going to kick my trash unless I politely bid farewell and hustled back to the safety of my large vehicle.

I got the shot of the day, but she definitely got the final word. I swear I saw her squint those shiny black eyes and point straight at me with those long ears of hers as she mumbled, "You get on with your big bad self or else show me what you got this morning. You and me -- in the lower meadow at noon. Bring it!"

I admitted defeat and headed back to my little calf waiting by the window in the cabin.

(Static cabin hair girl.)