{Close Encounter of the Moose Kind}

The weather the last few days has been positively spectacular. We suddenly went from freezing rain and wind to warm, sunny days.

Squirrel, Little Bird and I took a celebratory picnic to enjoy the weather at our local Nature Park. It has a play area and a creek, as well as a pond system with lots of ducks and geese to pelt with feed bread.

So the kiddos ate:

And then we headed for the ponds to feed the ducks. As we were putting our own picnic leftovers in the car, this little fellow came dashing out of the brush and stuck his head over the ridge. Luckily, I had my camera slung over my shoulder. He and I shared a moment, neither of us particularly keen on getting any closer to the other. He was just a young little guy, but the North American Moose isn't exactly known for its patience and friendliness with people he happens upon...

He crossed over to the stream, which he climbed into... 

...and then he thought long and hard about going over towards the playground to 

nibble the juicy green grass. After a minute, he decided he didn't like the looks of all the 

people, and headed back from whence he came. 

We finished our long afternoon tossing out bread for the ducks and geese, who seemed rather uninterested. My guess is, with the weather as nice as it was, that we were far from the first group of people with the same idea. Maybe next time their birdie bellies will be less full!