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.

Thanks once again to Pirate’s Cove, Whores and Ale, The Daley Gator, The Other McCain and Bacon Time for the Rule Five links.  As always, if I’ve overlooked your linkback, let me know in the comments and I’ll get you added to the weekly callout.

Now then:  I’m fed up with politics and public affairs at the moment, so I’m going to talk about the weather instead.

Winter is showing up on the horizon most places in the United States (and indeed, the northern hemisphere) but here in the Great Land, it’s already here and has settled in for a long stay.  Our recreation is still a bit hampered here as we have not yet found a good snow machine that suits our needs (for you folks in the 48, that’s a snowmobile; in Canada, it’s a sled.)  But I do have a good set of snowshoes, so I’ll get out some, and who knows, maybe I’ll get a few big-bodied snowshoe hares.  They’re good eating, and Mrs. Animal would like to have a few dazzling white winter hare pelts for some various crafting purposes.

Lots of folks still today living in places like Florida and Arizona haven’t really experienced a northern winter.  Here, from the Hulu show Letterkenny, is a humorous take on the northern winter.

Canada, not Alaska, but the winter weather is similar.  If you haven’t checked out Letterkenny, I recommend it.  It’s comedy as it used to be; they poke fun at pretty much everything, while still being a good-natured take on what life in a small town is like.  I enjoy that bit because I grew up in a small town, and after almost forty years of living in cities, I’m finally back in a small community again, and really enjoying it.

Back to the weather:  We have between six and eight inches of snow on the ground right now.  Temps have already dipped below zero a few times.  The snow will be here until May.  And it will remain as it is, pristine, white and beautiful.

Winters here are long and cold.  But that’s OK.  It’s Alaska, not Miami.  We’re prepared, with plenty of firewood, a utility tractor to move snow, and a well-stocked freezer.  As I’ve always said, the thing we enjoy most about winter is feeling proofed against it.  And here in Alaska, we have a long time every year to enjoy that feeling.