Howe sweet moose love is

We were about to head up the Howe Lake Trail a few weeks back when we ran into an older couple coming out.

“See anything interesting?” I asked.

The older woman shrugged.

“Nothing,” she said. “I thought we’d at least see a moose.”

“A moose?” I said. “I’ve hiked this trail a lot. I hardly ever see a moose.”

Which was true. I’ve seen some cool things at Howe Lake. Watched a pair of beavers mate once. Saw a river otter get up on a nice grassy spot next to a beaver lodge and take a nap. Watched a hawk owl eat a meadow vole.

It’s a fun hike and it’s short, so it’s a good after-work-don’t have-much time excursion.

But I’d only seen one moose, and that was only for a few seconds as it left the far side of the lake, years ago.

I hold great admiration for moose. A moose doesn’t ask much from the landscape — some willow shoots and other brush, some aquatic plants once in awhile, and yet it grows to be one of the biggest land mammals in North America.

The longer you spend in the woods, especially in the cold rain, the greater appreciation you have for anything that can make a living out of it. You especially begin to admire the critters that thrive in it.

So there we were having a snack at the edge of Howe Lake when lo and behold, out came a cow moose at the end of the lake, then a big ol’ bull right behind her.

The cow wanted nothing much to do with the bull, but he kept an eye on her while she fed and when she decided to leave, he was right on her tail.

She busted into the brush and downed timber and he got his big antlers caught in the jackstraw quick and it stopped him almost dead in his tracks.

The cow didn’t exactly get away, but she got a head start, while the bull untangled his crown out of the fallen timber.

Moose love knows no bounds, as the bull grunted his way through the underbrush.

I just missed my opportunity to watch mating moose and add it to the Howe Lake list of cool things witnessed.

Tennyson came to mind...

Tis better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all.

Chris Peterson is the editor of the Hungry Horse News.

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