Two

Pictured today is a bull moose and some huckleberries.  These two items are related only in that I encountered them both yesterday. 

I bumped into the moose near my cabin early in the morning.  He trotted half-way around me as I climbed out of my truck and then he halted and stood there, swinging his rack back and forth.   Not wishing the moose to crash away before I snapped a decent photograph, I spoke to him in an even voice.  “Hello, Mr. Moose,” I said.  “Baseball season is in full swing and I am here to work on my cabin for a bit.  By the way, the stock market was up yesterday.”

I realized that I was spouting nonsense—but what does a moose know?  Additionally, as I spoke I removed one lens from my camera and twisted on another.   Finally, I hoisted my camera.

Click.

I found the huckleberries in the afternoon on a berry scouting trip to a high-mountain secret location which is apparently a secret location for about a dozen other people.  No matter.  I mountain-goated up the slopes and picked quite a few berries while being attacked by no-see-ums and deer flies.  And then I poked around in some lush understory filled with fireweed and the broad leaves of thimbleberry.

Click. 

--Mitchell Hegman