Moose

[Diane CBPFC]

Roger, I know you like to hear when the moose stop by, they are late with this year's visit by about a month due to the mild winter we have had. All three are back and the baby who had a bad case of mange last year is looking much better.

[Roger Kettle]

Thanks, Diane, these are great. They really are magnificent beasts and remind me of the Red Deer from my Highland background. (Although, in truth, Red Deer look more like Elk. I suppose you have them there. too.) Anyway, thanks again---loved the photos.

[Diane CBPFC]

I lived and worked in a central Alberta town called Red Deer when I first came to Canada - funnily enough that isn't a native deer in the area. After 39 years of living here, your thoughts made me look up why a city would be named after a non-local animal.

Red Deer was named after the river on which it sits on. The natives called the river Waskasoo Seepee- interpreted as “Elk River.” However, the British traders translated it to “Red Deer River” as they mistakenly assumed that Elk was the European red deer. Although the settlers named the place “Red Deer,” the name of the river is still Waskasoo Seepee.

[Roger Kettle]

Yes, the Red Deer and the Elk are almost indistinguishable. I spent a couple of pleasant evenings in the Mint Bar, Sheridan, Wyoming, which has an astonishing array of stuffed hunting trophies around the walls. What I had assumed to be the head of a Red Deer turned out to be that of an Elk, which the bartender kindly explained to me. They also had a ten-foot long skin of a rattlesnake in a case above the bar. I was glad I hadn't met its owner when it was alive. Are there rattlesnakes in Alberta?

[Diane CBPFC]

Yes, there is an area on the very south east part of the province called Cypress Hills that has a bit of a desert vibe going on. I had planned to go down there last year in my camper van but alas, covid and the engine falling out stopped that dream in its tracks.