I haven’t done #MooseMonday in a while so…

With its antlers freshly clean of the velvet, this big guy was anxious and ready and willing – but lacking a suitable target for his love. Something though got the attention of his nose and he was taking a serious smell of the air.

This is called the flehmen response. Many mammals will do this, curling their lips, raising their head and inhaling deeply allowing them to get a better sampling of a particular smell that interests them – kind of like a human taking a big whiff to smell something.

Taken last September in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.

Winter arrives early in Colorado’s high country oftentimes and such was the case in September 2017 when I photographed this pretty lady. While at lower elevations we were enjoying a mild, fall day, arriving at 10,000+ foot in altitude was a stark contrast. Thick fog limited visibility greatly and light snow was falling.

I soon found one of the big bulls of the area and as I carefully hiked through the brush to get a shot of him, I hear a noise behind me. I turn around and much to my surprise, this cow was munching away on the willows not 10 feet away.

She had had her head down and I would never have known she was there were it not for the noise and the fact she picked her head up. I backpedaled slowly, being sure to give her plenty of room and allowing her to continue eating her breakfast in peace.

These are the type of scenes I relish when I camp in the Colorado high country during the summer.

Having arrived earlier than the rest of my family, I headed out for an evening hike while I waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. The sun had just dropped below the towering 13,229-foot Mount Audubon to the west and the light was fleeting.

Four moose bulls were grazing on the willows along the shoreline so I pulled up a rock to sit and watch. The still and quiet was only interrupted by the occasional grunt from the big guys and the sound of them munching on willows.

This bull, the youngest of the group, decided he was thirsty and came down for a drink. For a moment, he hesitated, looking to the west and the setting sun, seeming to soak in the beauty before him. Well, probably not, but it sure seemed like it and it made for a pretty cool moment – and a nice capture.

Happy Moose Monday!

Taken September 8, 2018 in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

One for #MooseMonday. Taken back on August 1, 2018 in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado. As always seems to be the case, the rest of my camping crew was sleeping in so I ventured out alone in search of photo subjects. Moose were my biggest goal as I knew they frequented the area and I was not disappointed.

I happened across four bulls grazing through willows in a canyon. Three of them were big boys and, I admit, garnered most of the attention from my camera.

This one though was not to be denied some clicks of the shutter as the youthful curiosity of the yearling seemed to get the best of him and he couldn’t help but watch me. He was a bit wary, never really wanting to fully show himself, but this made for some cute scenes like this when he would peek out at me.

Perhaps this big guy knew his mug would be seen online and made famous. 😉 In truth, he wasn’t so much smiling as I just happened to catch him mid-chew, giving the appearance of a toothy grin.

This image was taken back on August 1 of last year during a camping trip in Arapaho National Forest. I headed out early while the rest of my crew slept in and was rewarded with four bulls grazing on the willows at 10,000 feet.

It was a very special morning as it was just myself and them, not another soul in sight and not another sound in the forest. Just awesome!

Certainly that isn’t really what was going on here but when it was happening, it seemed like it. This big guy was grazing on willows, regularly dipping his head down and completely out of sight. He would then pop his head back up, giving a look at me to see if I was still there watching him.

This was a very fun encounter, particularly since he was one of four bulls in the area at the time thus giving me a ton of photo ops.

Taken on August 1 in the Sulfur Ranger District of Arapaho National Forest.

The calendar still may have said summer but on this early September day at 10,500 feet high, you definitely had a feel for a change of the seasons. Temperatures were near freezing and frost had coated flora and fauna alike – including these two big guys.

With the frost coating their backs, the sun was rising and so too were the bulls’ temperatures. The rut was starting to kick in and the bulls felt nature’s calling to begin to establish a pecking order. Two chose to test each other’s mettle with some sparring, an event that was a ton of fun to watch.

The pushing and shoving was relatively mild but impressive nonetheless as you might imagine with two 1,000 pound creatures going at it.

For as big as these guys are, you would think they would be easy to spot. However, with as dense as the foliage is in Colorado’s high country, moose can sometimes seem to appear out of nowhere. Such was the case with this big guy last month.

I was studying the trees and willows soon after dawn trying to find the moose bulls that are usually in the area. This big guy had his head down and with the thick brush, was virtually invisible. Once he picked his head up though, he was pretty hard to miss with those massive antlers.

It definitely serves as a reminder to keep close watch when you are in remote locations as you never know what is right nearby.

Yeah, these guys can definitely be a bit intimidating. Don’t worry though, I definitely was keeping a respectful distance as this was shot with a 600mm lens and cropped to give this kind of a close look.

On this particular morning a few weeks ago, there was a good bit of sparring between the bulls as they geared up for the rut. This particular guy was probably about the second biggest in the area so he was large and had the potential to be in charge.

From a couple weeks ago, this big guy was one of four I was taking pictures of. They weren’t being particularly cooperative as they tended to stay covered pretty well. This one though did give me some nice shots and I think this one is my favorite. The soft light, the foliage framing him and the gentle look on his face make for a nice capture. Taken in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

This image would look awesome on your wall! Get it here!