Before we start, check out my latest over at Glibertarians!

Add this to the list of “reasons we love Alaska.”  Last Sunday, a young bull moose spent the day relaxing under the big spruce tree behind the workshop.  Here’s a photo:

Now, a couple of precautionary notes on that photo:

You really don’t want to try approaching one of these animals, even a young one like this.  A big mature bull in his prime can weigh close to half a ton, and they are frequently ill-tempered.  Even a cow can weight 7-800 pounds and will vigorously defend any calves she has in the area.  I should note that when I took this photo, I was:

• Behind a six-foot pile of packed, plowed snow.
• A couple of steps away from being able to duck behind the tractor.
• A short distance away, using a 300mm telephoto lens.

Even so, it’s great living in a place where you can have visitors like this, even if it does require some caution – and a good sidearm, just in case.

Oh, and as for photography; while so much seems to be done with the ubiquitous cellular phone camera now, and while I do a lot of that my own self (it’s nothing if not convenient) a really good digital SLR just can’t be beat.  Ours is a Canon EOS Rebel, which brand we chose as we’ve had good luck with their film cameras – Mrs. Animal still has her 35mm setup which is based on a Canon A-1, one of the best 35mm film cameras ever made.  While the megapixel rating may not seem much different than a newer phone camera, the light-gathering ability of the big lens and the ability to use wide-angle and telephoto lenses makes it vastly easier to get really good photos.  Like this one:

Well worth the cost, if you like catching those moments.