In search of truth and beauty

Yesterday driving to Anchorage I was able to slow down along that blind slough of the Knik River where in the past I've seen swans. There were four, two adults and two cygnets. Note to self: 2 p.m. lots of sunlight, four swans, tomorrow for sure, another exercise for this fancy new telephoto lens.

You can see the nubs from antlers on this one and he looks
 heavier and more developed than the other two.

So with great anticipation I set out early this afternoon with all the new camera gear and drove over there – not a swan in sight. I even sat there for about half an hour to see if they might show up, but nothing white anywhere in the landscape. There were, however pans of translucent ice floating on the surface of the water and I wondered if that might be the trigger that sets them into flight southward.

Disappointed I drove home slowly, scanning the woods for signs of life or, as the common knowledge tells it, something out of place, a color or a shape. But everything seemed to have followed the swans.

Then I turned off the highway onto the road to my house and after about 300 yards or so noticed something dark ahead by the roadside. Absolutely convinced I couldn't have this kind of luck, I sped on but then one of those dark shapes crossed the road, the unmistakable silhouette of a moose. I slowed to a crawl and approached. The shape I had seen turned out to be three, two eating grass on one side of the road and a third across from them. They looked at me as I approached and one moved off into the thick woods, but the other two just went on grazing even after I stopped.

I carefully rolled down the window and fumbled for my camera and that's where I learned
something. Moose don't seem to appreciate Lady Gaga blaring at them. Both stared at me but went back to their meals as soon as I shut off the music

This one seemed to be getting agitated. Notice the ears laid back and 

hair standing up on the neck.

Now, I have been talking about this fancy long lens I bought. It stayed in the bag. These were all shot with a 28-105 zoom lens mostly in the middle of that range. I looked at all that money resting in the camera bag and just had to sigh.

For their part, the moose were very cooperative even when I moved the car to stay with them as they moseyed along the roadside, affording me ample opportunity to come up with at least one good shot. Fortunately there was no traffic so I could stop in the road or move at my own pace without worrying about other cars. It seemed like I stayed with them for maybe half an hour but it was probably less than that.

What's going on back there?

Finally another car approached from the rear and I prepared to move. I could see him slowing down but as he approached, the remaining two moose meandered back into the forest, invisible again but probably still within 20 feet of that tempting green grass along the ditches.

Over all it made the trip much more satisfying and I still have the swans to anticipate.

And, as for truth and beauty, there certainly is truth here, but it would be difficult to compare the ungainly ambling of a moose with the grace of a swan yet they do have a journeyman's sort of beauty about them.
A post for Suzy
In Alaska you have to pay attention all the time