Friday, November 18, 2011

"You are mine to toy with."

On my morning walks to work, when I take the (slightly) shorter path through the woods, I've always been vigilant about looking for moose. The afternoons are a different story all together. I think about how nice it is to be done with my day, plan out dinner, anticipate the dog's flip-out greeting, how cold it is. You know, normal stuff. So naturally, that's when I come across a moose.
In the dark, I was staring at the snowy path so I wouldn't lose my footing, and I heard something. So I looked up, and there's a moose. I screamed a word I won't repeat here and started backing up. That was when I heard the mother come charging out of the woods to my right, running right over the spot I'd just been in to get next to her baby. I've never encountered anything as scary as an angry moose charging out of the woods in the dark. Imagine having roughly 1600 pounds of angry mother come charging at you. Absolutely terrifying. And moose can be so mean. So I screamed again and backed up a whole bunch more. When neither of them followed me, I turned and ran. I still didn't want to lose my footing in the dark, though, so I slowed down. And called Shane. I remember telling him, "I just got charged by a freaking moose!" Then he offered to have tea waiting for me when I got home. He understands me so well.
It wasn't until I was about halfway home that I remembered writing yesterday, "What does Fairbanks have in store for us next? I can take it," and I doubled over with laughter. It's a good thing I can take a joke, because it appears this one's on me.
I did take the longer route to work this morning, not through the woods. Just to be safe.
If you're interested in he record-breaking cold we're having, you can read about it here.

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