It’s always exciting to see deer and moose. But after we purchased our camp at Camp Phoenixin the north woods, we saw so many moose that our young daughter Hilary wouldn’t even look up when we said, “Hey, look, there’s a moose!” Moose surrounded us at camp, oftentimes seen right on the lawn.

One old cow had only one eye, so of course we called her one-eye, and she had a calf every year for many years. We’ve got a photo of One-Eye in the camp library. Eventually she disappeared and we figured she’d died.

One time another Camp Phoenix camp owner looked out his kitchen window and saw a bear stalking a moose calf, while the mother moose was in the beaver pond on our property. He rushed out and got the bear’s attention, and the bear came his way. He ended up in the back of his truck, while the bear leaned on the fender and looked in. The cow moose took notice and scampered away with her calf. It took a while for the bear to leave the premises, but our friend accomplished his mission, none the worse for the wear.

We had a canoe stashed at one remote pond near camp, and could always count on seeing a lot of moose in the water there in August. One year, there was an old bull with a withered set of antlers up at the far end of the pond, so we paddled up to see him. He’d dip his head under water, eating plants, then pop back up. His head was crowded with flies that would hover over the water every time he dipped his head under water.

As we approached and his head disappeared under water, I got too close and those flies – hundreds of them – moved over and settled on me. Linda and the kids were in the canoe, but all the flies surrounded me. I paddled furiously all over the pond, trying to get rid of them. Ouch!

Linda and I often saw moose when we walked the Perimeter Road in Baxter Park, right behind our camp. One time, we were following a cow when a truck came down the road, headed our way, and the cow turned quickly and galloped in our direction. We had just time enough to jump into the woods, and she whipped past us no more than 10 feet away.

One time, hunting through the bog on my woodlot in Mount Vernon, I heard a moose calf bleating, and then, suddenly, the cow burst out of the bushes headed right my way, kicking up her heals. All I had time to do was dive to the right into the bushes, and she blasted by me, no more than 5 feet away, still kicking. Close call!

From one of my deer hunting stands on my woodlot, I often saw moose, three young bulls one time, a huge old bull another time. That huge bull knew there was something in the tree, and he walked over to my stand and looked up at me, his antlers right even with my feet. Exciting!

Alas, moose seemed to have disappeared around our house. The last one we saw was five years ago, a young one. Up to camp, it’s equally discouraging. Last August I took our daughter Hilary’s boyfriend, who had never seen a moose, to all the usual places where we could always see moose in August, and I couldn’t find one.

Deer

We see lots of deer on our lawn in Mount Vernon and had to put up electric fence to keep them out of the garden. But it’s up to camp where we’ve most enjoyed them.

Deer were always around camp, often on the lawn. One year a doe dropped her fawn right in the deep grass on our lawn. We got photos, of course. Another year, a doe would join the kids out back in a whiffle ball game. I always wondered if she thought the wiffle ball was a salt lick. I have photos of her nosing the ball, while playing first base. Yes, she liked to play first base!

For several years, a doe at Sourdnahunk Lake had triplets and we got photos of them, a beautiful sight.

Alas, the deer herd in the north woods has also declined significantly, and we didn’t see a single deer last summer up there, not a one.

Wildlife Watching Series

This is the final of five columns in my Wildlife Watching series. They were all posted on Mondays, if you missed any and want to find them. Good luck with your wildlife watching adventures! I’d love to hear your stories, and use them in this column. Email them to me at georgesmithmaine@gmail.com or mail them to me at 34 Blake Hill Road, Mount Vernon, ME 04352.