Hints of Spring

When your legs are too long, you adapt so you can enjoy your lunch. 

Hard to avoid this little one as it made its way around the hospital grounds yesterday. 

For a while, I thought it was going to follow hospital greeter Mike Witte inside to get admitted.

After finding another shrub for nibbling, it did turn away. 

I've seen pictures of the moose baby on Facebook, so I think it's made its presence known in other parts of town too. 

Here's the scoop about its appearances around town. 

The Sandpoint Police Department and Idaho Fish and Game are aware of the baby moose that has been observed without its mother here in our local area. 

As spring approaches, baby moose, or calves, may be spotted alone, seemingly orphaned. While it may be tempting to intervene, wildlife experts urge the public to leave them undisturbed. 

Mother moose often leave their young alone for extended periods while foraging. Interacting with or attempting to “rescue” a calf can not only put the animal at risk but also trigger a defensive response from its mother, which can be dangerous. 

Respecting wildlife from a distance helps ensure the safety of both humans and animals. 

If you encounter a baby moose:

• Do not touch or move it. The mother is likely nearby.

• Keep your distance. Moose are large, powerful animals and may become aggressive if they feel their young are threatened.

• Report concerns to wildlife officials. If you believe a calf is truly orphaned or in distress, contact local wildlife authorities for guidance.

I did some yard work yesterday. 

It felt great to get outside on a day that felt like spring and to accomplish something productive.   

We had some powerful winds here on Sunday night, so our yard was littered with branches.  We also had a tarp show up next to our garden fence, seemingly from out of nowhere. 

So, the day started off with a lot of clean-up.  Bill carried off some of the bigger branches.  

Then, while pulling his woods wagon, I removed all but the twigs from various parts of the yard.

Next, came some raking.  

Enough snow has melted along both sides of the driveway that I could rake leaves and the gravel that had been deposited during the few snow plowing sessions we had over the winter.

Two observations came during this task:  we don't have nearly as much gravel and rocks from plowing to rake out of the lawn AND no big piles or trails of caked dirt to clean up. 

The underground vermin have given us a break, and I'm not complaining.  The less I have to clean up the better. 

While I was enjoying being outside on the springlike day, I grabbed the pick and did some more scooping up. 

This time I removed dog poops of various consistencies in Bridie and Foster's favorite dumping spots. 

Usually dog poop pickup comes in March, but with all the rain and wind, we have more bare ground than snow-covered.  

Some poop piles have to wait since they're still frozen to pockets of snow. 

It will be when the yard is cleared of the piles because wherever I've picked up, I feel a new sense of freedom, knowing that with every step taken, I won't be picking up yuck stuff with my boots. 

During my yard work times, I noticed that certain crows have arrived to scout out their respective areas for the upcoming spring, summer and fall. 

It can't be too long before the robins show up and go through the same land grabs. 

This morning, while taking Bridie for the second walk, I noticed another sign of spring.  The morning air was filled with several segments of honking overhead from Canada geese. 

No more quiet of winter around here.  I have a feeling the mornings will continue to get noisy. 

Another announcement about the creatures of nature:  our resident deer appear to have made it through the winter without having to head south.  

We've seen them one or two times nearly every day of winter.  And, now with the thaw and all the water they'd ever want to drink, there's no reason to leave now. 

I can hear blasting for avalanches up at Schweitzer as I type. 

I also read that the weather was pretty wild and woolly in Seattle last night, so it's possible, if that storm is coming our way, yard work may not happen today but will definitely be needed again after the storm.  

It will be nice to get back to work I love. 

Happy Tuesday. 

 

GAME DAY for the ZAGS

Another late game tonight, but worth watching. 

The Gonzaga Bulldogs tip off against Santa Clara at 8 p.m. PST tonight.

 

"We play a team that's red hot," Few said. "I saw the stats from the first half against the Cougs.  They made 15 3s in the first half, so we've got our work cut out for us.

"We just need to focus on that one, we don't need to worry about the one on Saturday (against San Francisco).

"We just need to focus on that one, get back right and not dwell on this one (Saint Mary's) and go out and compete.  It's the beauty of college athletics. 

"God grants us another opportunity to go out and compete." 

So, let's hope for the best as the ZAGS take on the Broncos in their home gym. 

Telecast on CBS Sports---DISH Channel 158

GO, ZAGS!!! 

Let's get Win No. 22.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀