September 20

Hello everyone. Today's lesson is about moose. Moose is both singular and plural. I have attached another photo of our beloved Alaskan moose so you can see how big this guy really is. Did you know moose are vegetarians? I didn't know that. They eat plants, leaves, bushes and berries. They are the largest members of the deer family and stand 6-7 feet tall and weight about 1700 pounds. You don't mess with this guy. The male moose (bull) grows huge antlers. The antlers are different from caribou and deer because they grow in a "scoop shape". The female moose (cow) does not grow antlers. These antlers grow traditionally about 5-6 feet across. In the beginning of the winter these antlers fall off. I have been told it will look funny when I see a moose in the winter and only one antler has fallen off. Eventually they both fall off. The beavers are especially grateful when these furry antlers fall because that is one of their main food sources in the winter. The food chain lives on! Our TV station keeps showing pictures of 100's of moose rutting (fighting for the cow's affection) and the sound of their antlers hitting is loud and thunderous. I called the station and asked where they filmed the moose so I can go and get a camera shot as well. They responded, "the Chugach mountains forest". Dah! Do they know the Chugach is over a million miles big and there are hundreds of entrances to the forest. They were not very helpful. I am still asking questions and hope to find them soon. My friend, Patty and I are determined to located the rutting area for pictures. Moose eat as much as possible during the summer and fall because if the snow is too deep they have a possibility of starving to death with no food. Moose do not migrate they stay where they know the territory.

So that is your moose lesson for the day. Why the moose lesson? A lot of moose stuff this week. First, 282 moose have been killed on our highway since July 1, 09. That is a lot of moose. Anchorage only has one highway that goes from South of Anchorage to Wasilla (75 miles or so) . Remember I told you that locals put their names in the lottery to receive the call to go and get the dead moose. That is their meat source for the winter. I have been told by my teachers that one year there were over 500 killed and they had to recycle names on the "pick up" list. Remember, I told you Alaskans recycle and live subsistantly. No joke. Then I had moose burger tonight. Remember from last week, moose meat has less than 1% fat. It was okay but next time I will be sure to add plenty of spices and veggies. It wasn't tough but had a slightly different consistency than beef burgers. The next thing about moose this week was the traffic jam that was caused downtown. Of course during morning rush hour. Apparently, according to teachers stuck in it and the news report, a family of moose were on the only highway in Anchorage. Dad, mom and several babies. They started to cross over the 6 lane highway and got half way and stopped. This of course, caused the traffic to stop in both directions. You don't want to hit a 1700 pound moose. The moose will win every time. So traffic was backed up for almost 3/4 of an hour. The news showed the Moose family strutting east and then stopping and deciding to strut back to the west lanes. The indecision was phenomenal. Eventually they headed east toward the neighborhood vs businesses. The next moose incident was a moose visiting our school's soccer field. So no outdoor recess. Indoor recess on such a beautiful day is such a waste. The kids were not that interested in the moose but I sure was. I took my school camera and took a few pictures. I don't have a lens on that camera so they did not turn out as good as when David and I met Mr. Moose earlier this summer. (pictured above). And finally my principal showed up for school with a broken arm. He and his family, wife and 4 children under 6! Do I have to remind you all what happens in Alaska when it is 20 hours of darkness!!! Baby explosion!! Anyway, back to the story, he and his family were strolling on one of the most beautiful hiking trails (I rode my bike there a few weeks ago), and they came upon Mr. and Mrs Moose with twin moose babies. I asked him how he knew they were twins. His quickly replied, "You are the health teacher I hope you know how that happens!". He finally said they were the same size. It is pretty common for moose to have twins. Anyway, Mr. Moose started to charge my principal and family. His wife grabbed the two little ones and the other boys followed. He tried to distract the moose in the opposite direction. Mr. Moose took his dare and started charging him. He was running for his life and looked back to see if he was winning the foot race or was Mr. Moose gaining on him. Just as he looked back he fell into a ditch and broke his arm. Mr. Moose stood on the path looking at him and then strutted back to Mrs Moose and babies. Mike said he was scared to death. He had a few bruises on his face but he survived and so did his family. Trust me, I am going to be so much more cautious now that moose season is in full swing.

I met the cutest guy this week. He has the most beautiful blue eyes and long eyelashes. We are going to be good friends. His name is Evien. I told his mom I love to change diapers. She took me up on my offer. Evien is 2 months old and a smily little guy. Then the ladies in the neighborhood and Evien went to IHOP for breakfast today. It just opened. We used our coupons and had a wonderful time. Not only did I get to hold Evien but we sat near Sarah Palin's father. He was there to celebrate the opening of IHOP!!! Robin, I hope my next meeting is with Sarah and not just her father. If I do you will get that autograph. He father was quite the friendly fellow and made sure he greeted everyone at IHOP. If I didn't know better, I would say he was raising money for something. Nothing in the news so maybe it is just his friendly way to meet people.

I drove to Mirror Lake (towards Palmer) and walked the path there. This is one of my pictures. The mountains look spectacular right now. Either they are purple in color or covered with yellow and gold tone from the trees. The lake is named appropriately. It is like looking in a mirror. Clear and still as can be. I hope to hike to the Thunderbird Fall (huge waterfall). I am checking out the cross country ski path in Chugiak area before it gets dark.

As for our weather. It is gorgeous. It has been in the 70's and sunny and unbelievable beautiful. We are wearing short sleeves and sandals. I wear a vest as I leave for work but it is plenty warm in the buildings and the ride home I have all windows open. Our sunset is still about 30 minutes long. It is dark by about 10:30 pm.

I am joining the local ladies for a "coupon queen" seminar. I have heard about these ladies who save so many coupons that they only pay $2 for a grocery cart of food. I always thought it would be so much work. I will find out on Tuesday night. If it is easy I will let you know how to do. If it requires hours of work and printing stuff off the computer I will let you know that as well. Oh well, a girls night out.

That is my blog for today. Enjoy your week. I hear my Memphis ladies are heading out for the yearly golf weekend. Enjoy every minute. Don't forget to ring the bell on the 18th hole!!! And don't forget to take a camera to the local restaurant (I forgot the name of it) and take a photo for me. Enjoy your day.

Sheryl