No moose loose in garden...at least not yet...
Did you happen to see the story about the moose that was on the loose up north? As in Alaska.
Specifically, the moose was on the loose in Anchorage, Alaska, according to a story, accompanied by a photograph, which appeared in the April 10 issue of USA TODAY. Or maybe it was a photograph accompanied by a story.
Anyway, the story reported that a young moose had spotted some green plants in a medical building in Anchorage. In addition to being hungry, and perhaps looking for a salad, the moose apparently was pretty smart, too.
“The moose triggered the sensors on the doors to the building,” got inside and starting munching on some plants inside the building, the story explained.
The story had a happy ending, as the young moose did not end up in a mousse. “Security officers formed a semicircle to corral the moose and shoo it out the door,” the story reported. Loose moose shooing, I suppose. The moose then went to a nearby restaurant that had a salad bar.
Lots of critters like to munch on green things. Bob, our cat, for example. Sunday evening, I watched him snack on a couple of tender green something or anothers which The Other Half has growing in trays upstairs at our humble abode. I believe the green things include peppers, cucumbers and some stray grass.
Bob likes to eat the grass. It’s easy to chew, which is a good thing, since Bob doesn’t have any teeth. They are somewhere in Decatur. Sometimes, he will eat grass and then leave us a gift in the middle of the floor, which we will step on with bare feet in the dark
An assortment of critters like to munch on the nice green things The Other Half grows in her garden in the back yard. As a matter of fact, she has been busy during the past couple of weeks putting out a new buffet for the critters.
I’ve mentioned some of those garden-munching critters over the years in this space. Skunks. Deer. Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks. Possums, and their Irish cousins, O’Possums. Raccoons. Mice. Box turtles. Various kinds of birds. Slugs.
The critters apparently have some sort of seasonal daily planner at home so they can keep track of the best time to stop by and chow down on our future chow. Young plants seem to be a favorite for deer. Groundhogs like to munch on sweet potatoes.
The groundhogs also seem to be trying to figure out a way to get into the small greenhouse which The Other Half has in the back yard. We’ve seen signs that they might be using shovels. Or maybe power tools. I’m pretty sure the groundhogs would enjoy the tiny green tomatoes which are already on some of the plants in the greenhouse. (A few of those tiny green tomatoes also can be seen on plants in her garden. Given the forecast for this weekend, with low temperatures in the 30s, their future may be uncertain.)
Mice just kind of gnaw on whatever they find. Box turtles seem to enjoy tomatoes. They wander through the garden, take one single bite out of a tomato and move on to the next plant. I don’t remember what a skunk likes to eat in the garden. We just know when a skunk has paid a visit.
Some of the critters like to have dinner in the dark of night. We’ve been told that deer have been seen wandering up the street in the direction of The Other Half’s garden at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning.
Don’t get me wrong. We kind of like being able to see these critters. We just wish they would find someplace else to eat.
I almost forgot to mention a new critter which has shown up in the garden. Armadillos. Armadillos are not “supposed” to be here. Yet, here they are.
We also do not have – badgers...wolverines...great white sharks...grizzly bears...Tasmanian devils...javelinas...sloths...kangaroos...or gnus. I am especially grateful about that last one, ‘cause no gnus are good gnus.
I suppose we should be grateful that there aren’t any mooses in Southern Illinois, either. Well, not that we have seen...yet...