Facing the Fear

Every night my dog barks at something in the darkness in the backyard. She freaks- there's definitely something out there that makes her furious. Jesse always tells me to look out there with a flashlight, but that seems freaky to me.

During my mom's visit (that was far too emotional when we said goodbye at the airport- Maximus crying hysterically and calling for Gamma Barth even 20 minutes after she left, thus making me cry like a baby...yeah, my parents are pretty addicting when they visit because we have withdrawals when they depart)...back to what I was saying: During my mom's visit, she was in the livingroom at night and heard something right next to the open window she was near. She was terrified. So terrified that she bent down to reach up and close the window above her. She didn't want whatever it was to see her and you know, attack her through the window. (Sorry mom, that was a hilarious one and I would have done the SAME thing). The next morning I saw a moose on my run. He was the Ptarmigan Moose, not the Willowbrook one though. (Each neighborhood here has a family of moose)

Tonight I heard Jackie barking at "the thing" at 10pm, like usual. I was upstairs in our bedroom and I walked to the upper patio and turned the light off. I stepped out and leaned over the hot tub and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. After several minutes, I heard the moose noise. They just exhale loudly, no grunt, nothing. Just a weird breath. Then I saw "it" (not sure if it was a female or male) and you know, I guess I never realized how big a moose is until I saw it standing on one side of the fence and my 14lb Jack Russell Terrier on the other side. I only saw the ridge of it's back as it walked along the back side of our backyard.

It's funny to me. It's also so fascinating. My neighbor told me she saw "the big guy" near the freeway eating some grass today. Our landlord stopped by today (he is the BEST landlord ever. So nice, chill and loves that we love his house) and said the mother moose, "teenager" moose and father moose stop by his yard a few times a week. They're cool yet ugly creatures. I'm still amazed that I live in their territory and they feel so comfortable roaming around.