The Moose Was a One-Time Thing (Day 13 of 31)
Did you hear, earlier this year, about the so-called Moose Sex Corridor? It was a news item from my part of the world, Canada’s Maritimes, that was picked up by a number of news outlets worldwide.
Here’s the gist of it: Moose are endangered and quite rare in mainland Nova Scotia, where I live, though they’re pretty common in the northern part of the province (which is Cape Breton island), in neighboring New Brunswick, and down through Maine. Because they’re such a hazard on the roads (moose are huge), the New Brunswick highway department spends vast sums of money fencing both sides of the highways for long distances. It’s pretty effective at keeping them off the roads but limits their movement and is an issue for them during mating season. Hence the moose sex corridor—not its official name—designed to make it easier for lonely moose to find one another.
Though they’re rare in my part of the province, they’re not unheard of. And last winter there was one in our small community, causing great excitement. I saw its prints in the woods but never got a chance to see the animal itself. Sightings were reported, and I had my camera ready, but I never got a chance to get the photo I wanted.
Our lives are full of these missed photos, like the fish that got away. We have to let them go, unmourned. It’s so easy for those of us who love taking photos to develop a collector’s mindset—but let’s be honest: Would my life be at all better, by even the slightest bit, if I had a photo of that moose on my camera?
No. No, it would not.
(For the month of October 2017, I’m participating in the 31 Days bloggers’ challenge. You can find out about it here, and check out the interesting work other bloggers are posting.)
that picture looks like a tall tale from scuttlebutt lodge
It must have been taken by Red Green.