Friday, May 18, 2007

IN SEARCH OF THE ELUSIVE AND RARE NORWEGIAN ALBINO MOOSE

10:30 PM and a day earlier than most of you.
Still cold.
Serindipity.
Rain pelting down and glistening on the windows. We are crawling along a one lane road. My hand cuddles my camera. My cousin Helge wants us to see moose.
It is possible we will see one. Or none.
We come around a sharp curve and there standing in the road is an albino moose. There may be only 2 or 3 in country.
One is standing right in front of us. It stares


As he lopes into the woods he raises his head and stops giving me enough time to roll down the window and take another photo.



My flash catches drops of rain in mid air and reflects off his eye.
It is a wonder.
We are all amazed.
Our first moose is an albino and Helge had never before seen one.
Being in the right place at the right time.
Keeping our eyes open.
Looking for moose.
Writing.
Trying to become published.

And just ahead.
Two more moose out in the meadow.
The photographs are dark.
Fuzzy.
But they exist.
In my mind I still see them standing. Still hear them crash through the bush.
Clear.
Vivid.
The right place.
The right time.
And use your eyes
You must always use your eyes.

12 comments:

The Anti-Wife said...

This must mean good luck! Either that or Uncle Einar's been playing with the white spray paint again!

Lisa R said...

Wow, Moose watching in Norway, how cool is that? It must have been exciting but they can be kind of dangerous so I think it's good you stayed in the car.

ORION said...

Yes it is. One of my cousins actually totalled a car and was nearly killed when one leaped out into the road in front of him several years ago.
There are more moose now. The population is quite healthy.
And yes I consider it good luck!

Sam said...

I'm glad you saw it and took a picture, it's so amazing!
It looks like you're having a great time!! Thanks for posting the pictures!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! The Edgar Winter of Moose! What another world from Hawaii. Do you feel like you've landed on the moon? A beautiful, welcoming moon - but lunar nonetheless?

Kimber Li said...

Moose Rule! (The Alaska moose made me say that.)
;)

Holly Kennedy said...

What a gorgeous find, Pat.
Good for you. Another lightning bolt of luck coming your way.

Come to Canada and I'll show you a black bear asleep in my neighbors empty hot tub next door, or a family (no joke) of skunks who've moved in under my back deck, ignorant to the fact that I've sprinkled an entire BOX of moth balls under there to deter this from happening.

You must have been so excited! I sure would have been. Say hello to my Uncle Arvid for me. :)

Dawn said...

That would be so exciting, Pat. There is much controversy in New Zealand whether we have moose here. A small number were released into the Fiordland wilds about a century ago. Supposedly the last one was shot many years ago but occasionally someone thinks they see one. Nothing like a good mystery!

Travis Erwin said...

Thanks for sharing. I'll probably never get to Norway, but at elast I can say I've now seen an albino moose. native American consider white buffalo as sacred and seeing one was supposed to bring great fortune.

David L. McAfee said...

Wow. What a great thing to see! Albino Mosse! Imagine! I lived in Maine for years and never saw an albino moose. I saw plenty of regular moose. They are HUGE! Most people don't realize how big they are.

I would consider that good luck, too. Must have been beautiful!

Stephen Parrish said...

My heart skipped a beat when I read you were headed for Norway, first because my ancestry is Norwegian (Parrish isn't the name I was born with) and second because we're now in the same time zone (instead of the usual eleven hours apart). If you hit a dry spell on your agenda, feel free to pop down for some Bratwurst and Weizenbier.

Sandra Cormier said...

It's the ghost of Miss Snark fading between the birch trees. Elusive. Dangerous when you hit it with your car. Or nitwittery.