It’s been a long time between moose sightings so maybe you’ll forgive me for nearly driving into the ditch when I spotted this guy.
The beauty of moose is that they are perfectly suited for my wildlife spotting skills. They are huge – almost impossible to miss – and their natural dark camouflage is particularly useless in bright yellow canola. Perfect!
What were the odds of this all coming together in my hour and a half drive? Slim to none as my hundreds of other miles of moose-country driving will attest. I have discovered that saying I am looking for moose and actually finding one are slightly different. What was I looking for again? 
I knew there were moose in the area but I somehow had to take the right grid road at precisely the same time as the moose was close enough to the road to photograph.
When the excitement happened, the light was so low that I pushed all my camera settings while hoping I could get something useable. But it seemed to work enough to get something and I was beyond thrilled.
I must not forget to thank the farmer who carefully planted the foreground … err canola and fertilized it so it would provide such a wonderful setting for the moose. He appears to be almost swimming in the sea of flowering canola. The truth is he’s clomping through it with those giant hooves, knocking down stalks while grazing away. Maybe I won’t bother to thank the farmer. Chances are he might prefer to harvest it himself.
So it was just me, the moose, a little light, canola and trees in the background. Yup that’s all it took.
The moose seemed a lot less excited than me. He gave me a few looks and kept on eating. I probably would have done the same in his hooves. 
Krahnpix 
Ah, it’s been a while since I looked through your blog (or posted anything on mine, there seems to be a correlation), and now I realize how much I’ve missed it. Wonderful post, beautiful photos and yes, that farmer sure provided a perfect foreground for your photos! Thanks for sharing your humour and your photos. 🙂
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Happy to have you back engaged in blog world! Yes I’m still smiling about the series of coincidences that brought me to that photo. I went there a few weeks later and the whole area was dull and boring with no colour. It seemed hard to believe I got those photos there.
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Hilarious photographer engagement
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That moose got me moving around pretty good. Glad you enjoyed the story.
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Moose in canola field, now that is something I have never seen before. Your photos are awesome, love all the colour! Reminds me a bit of the photos I just saw on twitter of polar bears in Churchill in fields of fireweed:) That was white and pink, this one yellow and brown.
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This was definitely a treat and I don’t think I’ve seen it before. The polar bear photos sounds wonderful. Now I need one of those too!
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Great images – so glad you were out driving that day with your camera. Thanks for sharing.
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I appreciate that. The sighting made for a wonderful evening. And I think the moose was bemused.
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Such a beautiful bull. Love these Lyle!
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Thanks. I can assure you it was a happy meeting!
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Love that first photo though all the canola is bringing on some serious hayfever. And it’s not even spring in your part of the world.
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When that canola is in bloom, it’s quite a sight and could cause other other issues. Just for fun I went back to the exact same spot and the canola was no long blooming, no moose to be found and the light was bad. I still smiled at the memory.
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Ha, ha – your first shot looks as if the moose is also thinking something similar “It’s been a while…and where did you learn to drive?!?” As you mention, what a perfect contrasting environment to see and photograph a moose – those canola flowers are impressive alone and then to capture such a fine beast as Mr. Moose enjoying himself (while also looking a bit out of place) is indeed a great shot. Congratulations on the moose sighting – and the last photo too is something, as if to say it is OK for a big guy to take a stroll amid flowers and to enjoy the day. 🙂
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I like the way you are thinking – giving the moose all kinds of thoughts about the odd situation he found himself in. I bet that’s exactly what he was thinking. Thanks for that.
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Incredible shots Lyle. I would have smoked my camera from shooting so much if I saw that scene. Great work and thanks for sharing.
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Thx Tim. I gave the shutter a good workout until the darkness won. Creased my face with a smile too!
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Great captures! Unique, I like them for sure!
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Thanks so much. Glad you liked them.
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Gorgeous! I’d never have imagined a moose being in mustard grass.
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I was shocked to see a moose in that nice setting! It certainly made for a fun evening.
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Beautiful moose shots! I remember one restaurant which was located out in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. The chef called the owner over to the window one evening, as he thought he saw a “funny-looking horse” out in the driveway. The owner took one look and said, “That’s not a horse! It’s a moose!!!!!”
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That’s funny! They are a funny-proportioned animal which is why I think I enjoy them so much. Watching them walk in the snow is priceless.
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Brilliant! The images are absolutely beautiful… Love your commentary, ALWAYS! 🙂
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It was a fun experience and nice to have some visual memories of it. I really appreciate your comments about the photos and commentary. It was a friendly moose!
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Lol. All we get are sheep and Blue Cranes among our Western Cape canola. I’m trying to imagine a farmer in our Overberg region waking up one morning to see a moose wandering around his fields. That’s when you know you had too much Cape wine 🙂
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That’s funny. I sometimes daydream of a polar bear or croc in the neighbourhood.
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Those photos are awesome, not only for the luck of finding them in the yellow flowers, but also for the goody expression on his face. Those are great captures. I can only imagine your excitement seeing not only a moose, but one in the canola field.
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Yes it made for a great day. The puzzled look on the moose trying to figure out what was going on with his poor eyesight was just a bonus. Of course, he mostly ignored me and kept on eating. I didn’t take it personally.
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That first shot looks almost coy, then there’s that “are you still watching me” look, but the last one is priceless. “What, are you STILL there?” Perfect.
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That’s great. I wished I had your ideas before I wrote the post!
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The eye contact and golden glow in the first one nailed it. I must say that I have never seen a moose’s nose from the perspective of the third pose.Not to ignore the second shot, all are so beautiful with his velvet antlers and shiny summer coat er, in the canola field-sh-h-h-h don’t tell, I promise I won’t..
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Thanks for keeping that a secret though he might have left an obvious trail. It was a special encounter though I’m trying to ignore that he was looking down his nose at me:)
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That last photo is priceless. What a great capture in the golden field.I do believe the farmer was not too happy though.
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Well it was all fun for me so who am I to argue:) I do like that look.
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What a great combination…moose in a field of yellow flowers. Driving off the road seems quite appropriate. I’d wait a while before mentioning it to the farmer. He might have a different canola and moose combination in mind after seeing his field munched away.
Great Images. I’m favoring the last with the look straight at you. With those ears up like that, he is not at all worried about you and just a little curious I’d say.
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Yes, you may be right about the different canola and moose combination in mind! I decided to keep that snack our little secret.
He did seem curious and would look over once in awhile but I don’t think it stopped him from eating his fill.
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Fantastic photos. Persistence and patience paid off.
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I appreciate that. It did pay off. I do wish there was another way on the “dry” days.
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Three excellent captures. I’m favoring the first with that over-the-shoulder pose. Also you really nailed the focus on the eyes with that one.
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Thx. It’s nice when my aiming for the eye focus is actually successful.
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What a face! Love the images. 🙂
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Moose are such unusual creatures – everything is just odd about them. I think that’s why I like them so much.
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Bellissime foto, bravissimo!!
Saluti, Patrizia
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Sono contento che ti sia piaciuto loro.
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